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April 30, 1999 ASK JEEVES INC (ASKJ) S-1 Filing (SEC form S1)
Ask Jeeves has pioneered the development and deployment of natural-language question answering services
on the Internet for consumers and companies, establishing a new way to interact with the World Wide Web.
Ask Jeeves was first introduced to the public in April 1997 to provide Web users with a more satisfactory and
productive experience by quickly directing users to relevant answers. Our mission is to humanize the Internet by
making it easier and more intuitive for consumers to find the information, products and services they need, and
for companies to better acquire, retain and maximize the value of their online customers. Our branding strategy
centers on the Jeeves character, a friendly and trusted assistant who provides help and guidance on the Web.
The Ask Jeeves question answering services let users ask a question in plain English and receive a response
that points to relevant Internet destinations to provide the answers. We believe that our question answering
services make interaction with the Internet more intuitive, less frustrating and significantly more productive.
While the growth of the Internet has drawn users at an unprecedented pace, the volume of online information
has made it increasingly difficult for users to navigate effectively. To take full advantage of the Internet, users
must be able to successfully navigate a network of dispersed Web sites, which are generally not connected in
a logical fashion. In addition, once at the Web site, users are faced with the difficulty of sorting through an
overwhelming amount of information. Users currently rely on Internet search engines or directories to locate
information and make online purchases. These methods typically require consumers to construct keyword or
complex search strings that often result in hundreds or thousands of irrelevant results. Given the magnitude of
this problem, companies are recognizing the need to provide a means by which their customers and potential
customers can more easily find relevant information, products and services on their Web sites. Until navigation
on the Internet improves, consumers will remain frustrated with their online experiences, and companies will be
frustrated by their inability to provide an easy, intuitive and intelligent user interface and as a result to maximize
returns on their investments in Internet strategies.
We believe that our services connect users to their products and services in a more targeted way than other
services on the Internet, thereby better unlocking the power of electronic commerce. Beginning with only 3,000
questions a day in its first month of operation, Ask Jeeves answered over 1 million questions a day in April
1999, and has grown its unique user base from 425,000 in September 1998 to more than 1.9 million in March
1999. Ask Jeeves, at ASK.COM, provides users with relevant answers to a wide range of questions such as
"Is it raining in Paris?" to "Where can I comparison shop for cameras?" Our Corporate Question Answering
Service is designed to improve customer satisfaction on Web sites, improve conversion rates of browsers to
purchasers and reduce expensive support costs such as phone calls to call centers. Since its introduction in
October 1998, our Corporate Question Answering Service has been adopted by industry leaders including
Compaq, Dell, Toshiba and WebTV.
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