Is Google Trying To Become Ask Jeeves 2.0?

For those who remember the days before Google essentially established a monopoly in the web search market, one website might spark some nostalgia: Ask Jeeves.

Users could type in a question and its algorithm would respond with an answer. It might not have been what you were looking for, but many people found it to be a fun way to conduct internet searches.

Why Google took over

The reason most of us say we’re going to “Google” something instead of saying we’re going to ask Jeeves about it is that Google managed to provide what a majority of users preferred.

Instead of coming up with an answer on its own, the search engine would deliver pages of links that allowed individuals to do their own research. At first, it seemed like a perfect arrangement.

Gaming the system

As Google grew bigger, so did the rise of search engine optimization schemes. In certain scenarios, such website optimization can be a harmless way for smaller sites to increase their ranking in search results.

But irrelevant sites were able to gain an unfair advantage, thus compromising the reliability of all the results.

Add in the promoted sites that paid for their top placement and the first page of Google was no longer the most reliable place for information.

Trying to mimic Jeeves

Now that AI is taking over and Google seems to realize that it has squandered the trust its users placed in it, there seems to be an effort underway to revert to the Ask Jeeves model.

Instead of providing a list of results, Google’s AI bot forms its own answers based on a collection of data. This might create an opening in the market for another company to provide unbiased and relevant links … you know, what Google used to do.

Chris Agee May 15th, 2023

Share this story: