Jeeves’ Triumphant Return to the UK

When Ask.com retired him in 2006, Jeeves, the Internet’s favorite butler-cum-savant, began traveling the world in a “quest for knowledge.” Now he has made a triumphant return in the UK to uk.ask.com and transitioned flawlessly back into the role he played for 10 years. The new Jeeves, complete with his own Twitter and Facebook accounts, appears in 3D form and plays a more visible role in Ask.com’s search services, suggesting additional queries and interacting with users. In the future, he may also be a part of enhanced Ask.com advertising services focused on delivering contextually targeted ads based on user behavior. For now, Jeeves has not been restored to the U.S. version of Ask.com, but many have speculated that he might reappear in the future. (He also continues to contribute to www.askjeeves.com.)

Here’s hoping that the well-loved Jeeves will give Ask.com a boost in search market share. In the UK and US, Ask.com’s share hovers between 3% and 4%, well behind Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.