The End of the Ask Jeeves Era: Legendary Ask.com Domain Put Up for Sale

One of the largest deals of the decade is brewing in the premium digital asset market. The domain name Ask.com, owned by IAC (InterActiveCorp), has been officially listed for sale. According to industry experts and domain brokers, this lot is positioned to become one of the most expensive domains in the history of the internet industry.

The sale is being managed by recognized heavyweights of domain consulting — Andrew Miller of ATM Holdings (who recently closed the sale of club.com for $10 million) and Larry Fischer of LPL Financial. The arrival of this iconic three-letter .com domain on the open market is a direct consequence of the definitive shutdown of the Ask.com search engine in May 2026. The parent company, IAC, made a strategic decision to completely exit the search business.

The Ask Jeeves search engine was launched in 1996 in Berkeley by entrepreneurs Garrett Gruener and David Warthen. Its concept was far ahead of its time: instead of delivering raw links based on keywords, the system utilized early natural language processing (NLP) technologies to answer direct questions from users. The character of the clever butler Jeeves from P.G. Wodehouse's novels highlighted this philosophy. In 2005, IAC acquired the service for $1.85 billion, later shortening the name to Ask.com. However, the platform ultimately failed to sustain competition with Google.

In the IT business, the value of Ask.com is measured in millions of dollars due to three core factors:

1. Flawless Characteristics: The word "Ask" is a powerful call-to-action verb consisting of just three letters, free of spelling ambiguity, and globally understood.
2. Colossal Trust (SEO Capital): Over 30 years, the domain has accumulated a massive backlink profile from the world's oldest and most authoritative resources (Wikipedia, global media, government websites).
3. AI Synergy: The name is an ideal fit for the interfaces of modern AI assistants and chatbots, making artificial intelligence developers the most probable buyers.

Source:

Domain Incite / Amul Info Analytical Center