One of the longest-enduring characters on the internet, the business-suited mascot for Ask Jeeves, and its associated search engine Ask.com, are no more. On May 1, the service’s owner, IAC, discontinued the brand and posted a goodbye on the Ask website to the millions who remember its dot-com-era rise. The service went live in June 1997, but was rebranded from Ask Jeeves to Ask.com in 2006 after IAC acquired it.
“As IAC continues to sharpen its focus, we have made the decision to discontinue our search business, which includes Ask.com,” the website reads. “After 25 years of answering the world’s questions, Ask.com officially closed on May 1, 2026.”
The web page copy concludes, “Jeeves’ spirit endures.”
For years, the Jeeves character was portrayed by dozens of actors at trade shows, as a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade character multiple years, and even appeared in Super Bowl commercials in 1999.
Jeeves was, in its time, the personification of a helpful internet guide, predating the chatbots that now occupy the anthropomorphic online help space today. In 2008, Oprah named Jeeves’ successor, Ask.com, as her favorite search engine.
IAC has not said if it will revive or repurpose the character for a new generation. A company representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
