Ask Jeeves Is Gone After Nearly 30 Years Of Search via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Ask.com, the search engine that started life as Ask Jeeves, shut down. Parent company IAC discontinued its search business as part of an ongoing effort to refocus its operations.

A farewell message posted on the Ask.com homepage, reads:

“Every great search must come to an end. As IAC continues to sharpen its focus, we have made the decision to discontinue our search business, which includes Ask.com.”

The message thanked the engineers, designers, and teams who built the platform over the decades, as well as the users who relied on it. It closed with a short line: “Jeeves’ spirit endures.”

What Ask Jeeves Was

For anyone who came online after 2005 or so, Ask Jeeves might just be a name. But for users who first experienced the web in the late 1990s, Jeeves was something new.

Garrett Gruener and David Warthen founded the company in Berkeley, California, in 1996. The service launched publicly as AskJeeves.com and introduced an idea that felt strange at the time.

Instead of typing keywords the way every other search engine expected, Jeeves encouraged users to type a full question in plain English. The search engine would try to return a direct answer.

The mascot, a cartoon butler named after the fictional valet in P.G. Wodehouse’s novels, became one of the most recognizable characters on the early internet. Jeeves made search feel approachable when the web was still intimidating to millions of new users. Jeeves also crossed into mainstream advertising, including appearances tied to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ask Jeeves went public in 1999, riding the dot-com boom. By that point, the search engine was already handling over a million queries a day. It competed alongside Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, and Lycos in a search market that hadn’t yet consolidated around a single winner.

Google’s rise changed the market.

The Long Decline

Google’s PageRank algorithm delivered better results faster, and users noticed. Ask Jeeves tried to keep pace. In 2001, the company acquired Teoma, a search technology firm with its own way of ranking credibility. The Teoma engine powered Ask’s organic results and earned respect among search professionals for its quality.

But the gap kept widening. IAC acquired Ask Jeeves in 2005 and quickly dropped “Jeeves” from the name. The rebrand to Ask.com was meant to modernize the product and position it for broader competition.

It didn’t work. By 2010, Barry Diller said at TechCrunch Disrupt that Ask.com couldn’t compete with Google and carried no value in IAC’s stock. That same year, Ask.com shut down its own web crawler and laid off much of its engineering staff. Core search functions were outsourced to third-party providers. The company pivoted to a question-and-answer community model.

That kept the lights on for another 16 years, but Ask never came close to relevance again.

SEJ Was There

Search Engine Journal covered Ask Jeeves extensively during its peak years.

SEJ founder Loren Baker reported in 2005 on the company’s plans to launch a paid search advertising platform to rival Google and Yahoo. He covered the rebrand rumors when Diller first floated the idea of dropping the Jeeves name. He tracked the iWon and Excite acquisitions that briefly doubled Ask Jeeves’ market share.

Those articles are now a time capsule of the era when search was still a multi-player race.

Why This Matters

Ask Jeeves pioneered asking questions in one’s own words, but Google’s rise made keyword searching standard. Now, natural-language search is central again, with Google’s AI features built on Jeeves’s original premise of asking questions in plain language.

Looking Ahead

IAC’s farewell message gave no indication of plans for the Ask.com domain or any associated properties. The shutdown appears to end IAC’s consumer search business under the Ask brand.

For the search industry, the closure is a reminder of how fast the market consolidated after Google’s rise. Of the best-known consumer search brands from that period, Google is the one that emerged with an independent global search engine.

Featured Image: viewimage/Shutterstock

What Google & Microsoft Earnings Say About Search via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 earnings with Google Search & Other revenue rising 19% year over year to $60.4 billion. Microsoft announced on the same day that Bing reached 1 billion monthly active users for the first time, with search ad revenue up 12%.

Both companies posted strong search quarters. But one line item in Alphabet’s report tells a different story for the websites that depend on Google’s ad network for revenue.

Google Network Revenue Fell Below $7 Billion

The “Network” segment, including AdSense, AdMob, and Google Ad Manager, isn’t a proxy for the entire web’s ad economy but is a clear financial indicator tied to ads outside Google’s surfaces. For publishers and app developers relying on Google-brokered ads, the decline affects them more than it affects Search revenue growth.

It has been shrinking over two years, with Google Network declining each quarter from Q1 2024 to Q1 2026. Q1 2026’s $6.97 billion is the lowest, below $7 billion for the first time.

The gap is increasingly evident. In Q1 2024, Google Network accounted for about 12% of Google’s ad revenue; by Q1 2026, it fell to roughly 9%. Meanwhile, Google Search & Other grew from $46.2 billion to $60.4 billion, with Search expanding 31% and Others contracting 6%.

The decline doesn’t match the overall digital ad market. The IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report found that U.S. programmatic advertising grew 20.5% in 2025 to $162.4 billion. The programmatic market grew while Alphabet’s Google Network line didn’t.

The quarterly numbers smooth over sharper disruptions at the publisher level. In January, a two-day technical failure in Google’s ad exchange led AdSense publishers to report eCPM and RPM drops of 50-90% without corresponding declines in traffic. Google resolved the issue, but it showed how fragile publisher-side network monetization can be.

Bing’s Milestone In Context

While Google’s revenue mix hints at an ecosystem shifting inward, Microsoft is leaning heavily into user acquisition to prove its AI bets are paying off.

CEO Satya Nadella revealed during the FY26 Q3 earnings call that Bing reached 1 billion monthly active users for the first time. Search ad revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, grew 12%. Edge has gained browser market share for 20 consecutive quarters.

The broader segment, which includes Bing, was down 1% overall to $13.2 billion. Search advertising was the bright spot within it.

Bing’s global search share still sits at about 5% worldwide per StatCounter’s March 2026 data. That gap between 1 billion MAU and roughly 5% global share raises questions about what the MAU figure measures. Microsoft hasn’t defined frequency, overlap, or how AI-related Bing usage is counted.

Microsoft is also building measurement tools that matter for SEOs. Bing Webmaster Tools now maps grounding queries to cited pages, and Microsoft previewed Citation Share at SEO Week in April. When Citation Share ships, it could become one of the first platform-provided tools for comparing AI visibility on Bing against competitors.

CFO Amy Hood reported Q4 search ad growth in the high single digits, down from three double-digit quarters. Nadella said the consumer business is doing “the foundational work required to win back fans.” Bing’s results support maintaining coverage, not dropping Google-first focus.

Why This Matters For Search Professionals

For over a year, SEO professionals have monitored whether AI Overviews and AI Mode decrease clicks to publisher sites. These reports don’t settle that question but support a pattern documented by independent research.

Google’s Search business is growing, with CEO Sundar Pichai calling queries “at an all-time high.” Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler attributed the quarter’s strength to retail, finance, and health.

What’s contested is what happens after the query. Google Network revenue fell, while Search revenue accelerated, suggesting more searches stay on Google surfaces. The data doesn’t prove AI Overviews or AI Mode caused the Network decline. Google Network can decline for various reasons, such as ad demand and product changes, providing search marketers with another financial signal to compare with traffic, CTR, and publisher revenue.

Third-party data partially fills the gap, though studies measure different things. An Ahrefs study analyzed 300,000 keywords using desktop CTR data and found that AI Overviews correlate with 58% lower click-through rates. Chartbeat data shared by Axios showed small publishers lost 60% of search traffic over two years, medium publishers 47%, and large publishers 22%.

Seer Interactive tracked an organic CTR drop from 1.41% to 0.64% for queries with AI Overviews. Its April update showed some recovery. Organic CTR on AI Overview queries climbed from 1.3% in December to 2.4% in February. The worst of the initial drop may have eased, but CTR is still well below that of pages without AI Overviews.

Google’s Liz Reid on Bloomberg claims AI Overviews reduce “bounce clicks” rather than useful visits, but doesn’t provide supporting data. She said they track search recurrence, which measures Google’s retention rather than publisher traffic. Google executives made a similar argument at Google Marketing Live, calling clicks from AI-enhanced search “more highly qualified” without sharing supporting data.

Search activity continues to grow according to disclosed metrics. However, the value capture is shifting. Metrics like referral traffic, AdSense RPM, or organic CTR may no longer align with search revenue growth. Google’s revenue can rise even as publisher traffic declines.

What Neither Company Disclosed

Neither company disclosed how much AI-assisted query growth produces outbound clicks to publisher sites; that number has been absent from earnings reports since AI features launched in Search.

Pichai said queries are “at an all-time high,” referring to searches, not clicks to external sites. Microsoft hasn’t clarified what counts toward Bing’s 1 billion MAU, including whether Copilot interactions, API calls, or agent queries are included.

Looking Ahead

Pichai said more Search info will be shared at Google I/O in May and Google Marketing Live.

Microsoft’s Citation Share hasn’t shipped yet; once it does, it could be among the first platform tools for comparing AI visibility on Bing. Its usefulness depends on whether Microsoft discloses outbound click data alongside its MAU figures.

More Resources:

Google’s Preferred Sources Is Now A Global SEO Signal via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Google updated its Search Central documentation to reflect that the Preferred Sources feature is now available in all languages supported by Google Search. The change clarifies global availability and introduces updated guidance for publishers looking to grow their audience through Top Stories.

Preferred Sources

Google’s Preferred Sources feature gives users a way to choose specific publishers they want to see more often in Top Stories and other search surfaces like Google Discover. Preferred Sources is a direct user-controlled signal that works alongside Google’s ranking systems to up-rank websites users have indicated they want to see more of.

The effect on Google Discover is that users will see more of their preferred sources in their feed. The Preferred Sources feature is one of the few ways that publishers and SEOs can indirectly influence Google’s algorithm to show their sites more often to users.

Image Of A Preferred Sources Badge

How Preferred Sources Works

Preferred Sources selections don’t override relevance. A publisher must still publish fresh content that aligns with a user’s interests.  Google Discover is a recommender system that shows users web pages that are relevant to a user’s interest, especially favoring fresh content (read more about Google’s freshness algorithm).

Google’s February 2026 Discover Core Update documentation made it clear that source preferences play a role in which sites are shown to users in Discover.

The documentation explains:

“We’ll continue to show content that’s personalized based on people’s creator and source preferences.”

What Changed

As of April 30th 2026, the feature is available in all languages supported by Google Search. This expands Preferred Sources from an English-only feature into a globally available system for users to signal their source preferences.

What It Means For Publishers

Preferred Sources functions as way for users to signal which sites they’d like to see more of, a signal that works alongside of other ranking factors.

The feature is one of the ways SEOs and publishers should use to build an audience. Publishers can guide users to select them through buttons and links.

Screenshot Of A Preferred Sources Badge

Preferred Sources Now Available Globally

Google’s changelog confirms that the Preferred Sources feature is no longer limited to English-language content and is now available across all languages where Google Search operates. Google has also published downloadable buttons in sixteen languages that can be used by SEOs and publishers to encourage site visitors to choose the website as a preferred source.

List Of 16 Languages With Downloadable Buttons

1. Danish
2. English
3. Estonian
4. Finnish
5. French
6. German
7. Hebrew
8. Hindi
9. Japanese
10. Korean
11. Portuguese (Brazil)
12. Russian
13. Spanish
14. Swedish
15. Turkish
16. Ukrainian

The original documentation stated that the feature was “available globally in English,” which has now been removed and replaced with language confirming full international availability.

Documentation Updated To Reflect Broader Access

Google also revised supporting text to reflect the expanded reach of the feature. Language that expressly limited the availability to English language publications has been rewritten to emphasize global applicability.

For example, guidance around adding a Preferred Sources button has been updated to clarify that the feature is not limited to a subset of languages. The revised documentation explicitly notes that the feature is available in all supported languages, even if only certain assets are listed.

The updated documentation now explains:

“The preferred sources feature is available globally for queries that trigger the “Top Stories” feature in all languages where Google Search is available.

These methods are examples on how you can build your audience and help people find your site as a preferred source. It’s not required to do them in order to appear as a preferred source.”

Another new section about the Preferred Sources badge was updated with the following:

“Add a button to your site alongside your other social CTAs. You may use your own design or download the Google button assets provided in the list. Note: This feature is available in all supported languages, not just those listed.”

Google’s Changelog Offers Insight Into Change

The official changelog explains the reasoning behind the update:

“Expanding preferred sources to all languages where Google Search is available

What: Added that the preferred sources feature is now available in all languages where Google Search is available, including new translated downloadable button assets.

Why: The preferred sources feature is now available in all languages supported by Google Search.”

Takeaways For SEO

The expansion of Preferred Sources to all supported languages expands the opportunities for publishers in all languages to influence Google Search to show their websites to users. While publishers and SEOs can’t manipulate the signal itself they can positively influence their site visitors to influence Google Search.

For publishers, this means:

• The ability to participate in Preferred Sources regardless of language
• New opportunities to build audience signals tied to Top Stories
• Clearer guidance on how to implement Preferred Source prompts
• Preferred Sources is now available in all languages supported by Google Search
• Publishers worldwide can now use Preferred Sources to build audience preference signals

Microsoft Says Bing Reached 1B Monthly Active Users via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Microsoft announced that Bing has reached 1 billion monthly active users for the first time. CEO Satya Nadella revealed this figure during the Q3 FY2026 earnings call.

Revenue from search ads, excluding traffic acquisition costs, increased by 12% year over year. Additionally, Edge has maintained its browser market share for 20 consecutive quarters.

Overall, Microsoft reported total revenue of $82.9 billion for the quarter, marking an 18% increase.

Search & Advertising

The segment that includes Bing was down 1% overall at $13.2 billion. Search advertising was the bright spot, with CFO Amy Hood pointing to higher volume and revenue per search.

Nadella was direct about where the consumer business stands:

“When it comes to our consumer business, we are doing the foundational work required to win back fans and strengthen engagement across Windows, Xbox, Bing, and Edge. In the near term, we are focused on fundamentals, prioritizing quality and serving our core users better.”

Search ad growth has held in double digits for three straight quarters. It grew 16% in Q1 FY2026, 10% in Q2, and 12% this quarter. For Q4, Microsoft guided that growth to the high single digits, a step down.

Back in 2023, Microsoft reported 100 million daily active users when it first added AI to Bing. Going from 100 million daily to 1 billion monthly is a big jump, though it’s unclear whether Copilot interactions count toward that number.

Edge is part of the story, too. It typically defaults to Bing, so five years of Edge growth means more people landing on Bing without actively choosing it.

Why This Matters

Edge has gained share for five straight years, and search ad revenue has grown in double digits for three consecutive quarters.

Microsoft has also been building the measurement tools to go with it. Bing Webmaster Tools now maps grounding queries to cited pages, and Microsoft previewed Citation Share at SEO Week earlier this month.

Still, Bing’s global search share sits at about 5% worldwide per StatCounter’s March 2026 data. That gap between 1 billion MAU and 5% share suggests a lot of those users are low-frequency or showing up through default settings rather than choosing Bing.

Looking Ahead

Microsoft’s next earnings call will show whether search ad growth picks back up or settles into single digits.

The Citation Share feature Microsoft previewed at SEO Week hasn’t shipped yet. When it does, it could be the first tool for tracking how your site’s AI visibility on Bing compares to competitors.

Google Search Revenue Grew 19% In Q1, Pichai Cites AI via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 earnings, with Google Search & Other revenue rising 19% year over year to $60.4 billion. CEO Sundar Pichai tied the quarter’s Search performance to AI Overviews and AI Mode, saying people are “coming back to Search more.”

Q1 revenue was lower sequentially than Q4 2025, when Search & Other came in at $63.1 billion, but year-over-year growth increased from 17% to 19%. Total Alphabet revenue reached $109.9 billion, up 22%.

What Pichai Said About Search

In his prepared remarks, Pichai connected the Search number to AI experiences, stating:

“People love our AI experiences like AI Mode and AI Overviews, and they’re coming back to Search more.”

Pichai also said, “queries are at an all-time high.” He described “strong growth in both users and usage of AI Mode globally” without sharing an exact figure. Past Google disclosures put AI Mode at roughly 100 million monthly active users and 75 million daily.

Pichai said AI Overviews “are driving overall Search growth.” Liz Reid made a similar engagement argument on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots earlier this month, describing AI Overviews as reducing low-value clicks rather than reducing useful traffic.

New Data On Search Speed And AI Costs

Pichai shared two efficiency figures.

The first was latency. Pichai said:

“Even as we’ve brought new AI features into our results page, we’ve reduced Search latency by more than 35% over the past five years.”

The second was the cost of running AI responses. He continued:

“Since upgrading AI Overviews and AI Mode to Gemini 3, we’ve reduced the cost of core AI responses by more than 30% thanks to continued hardware and engineering breakthroughs.”

Search Updates Pichai Highlighted

Pichai highlighted three Search rollout items from the quarter.

Personal Intelligence “expanded broadly in the U.S.,” referring to Google’s March expansion of Personal Intelligence to free U.S. users.

Agentic experiences shipped to new countries. Pichai cited restaurant booking as one of the early examples of what Pichai has called “search as an agent manager.”

Search Live multimodal capabilities went global.

Why This Matters

Over the past year, SEO professionals worried AI Overviews would reduce clicks to sites by satisfying user intent on the results page. Q1 numbers challenge that idea. If AI were cannibalizing traditional search, query volume and revenue would flatten. Instead, both increased.

But this doesn’t mean concerns are unfounded. “All-time high queries” doesn’t imply all-time high publisher clicks. Google hasn’t disclosed click-through rates or revenue split between AI Mode and traditional ads. More queries could mean fewer clicks per query if AI answers resolve intent early.

However, the revenue growth indicates the search ecosystem is expanding, even as user interaction patterns shift.

Looking Ahead

Google’s earnings show AI features are expanding search, but key questions remain about monetization and click-through rates.

Pichai said more info about Search will be shared at Google I/O in May and Google Marketing Live.