Ask.com's Jeeves disappears on 'gardening leave'

Internet butler Jeeves--star of eponymous search engine Ask Jeeves--has gone missing, leaving many to wonder where he's gone and when or if he will be back.

Others may simply be tempted to wonder whether anybody will actually miss him.

Jeeves has come in for some stick over the years for returning results which often left users confused and his service has long been surpassed by search giants such as Google.

Now his employers at Ask.com have decided it's time for change and have taken the decision to put him on "gardening leave" as part of a rebranding exercise.

However, they are not ruling out a return for Jeeves once he is fully rested, though early suggestions from the company seem to be that he will need to undergo a bit of a makeover first.

Aylin Savkan, vice president of marketing at Ask Jeeves, said: "Jeeves has been finding solutions to millions of searches every day for the last four years. However, as our site evolves and updates, we felt that Jeeves too needed to take a break and a new look to personify the new, fresh and dynamic Ask Jeeves that we will launch on his return."

The butler appeared to have been a little slow on Tuesday morning, as the site limped along a little. It wasn't so much a case of "yes sir, right away sir", but more "cannot find server, this page cannot be displayed" from the pinstriped batman.

By Friday, Jeeves had resurfaced--in a manner of speaking. The butler's silhouette once again appeared on Ask.com's home page, linking through to messages posted by Jeeves during the course of a "secret mission to strengthen and improve Ask.com". Friday's dispatch, formatted to look like a mobile phone text message, originated from Utah where the character was engaged in "testing new engines for my search".

Ask.com's site contains a section about the P.G. Wodehouse character Jeeves--a gentleman's gentleman, rather than a butler--but clarifies that the successors to Wodehouse's literary rights have no association with the site.

Will Sturgeon of Silicon.com reported from London.

How Ridiculous!

I think the whole idea of a "gardening leave" for Jeeves the butler is nuts, as in absurd and ridiculous! What has it to do with the purpose of the Ask Jeeves search engine? It (the purpose) is to search, correct?

This leaves me wondering about the mental stability of the knucklehead(s) who're responsible for this!

I happen to like Jeeves!

BRING HIM BACK!!

[anthonycea]

No one cares about the Butler!

The Butler means nothing, in fact it is not an image for a high tech company to promote.

They also are smart enough to get rid of the "Jeeves" part of the name. It will serve them well to get rid of both.

If you want to see more search engines right now and their home pages see.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.searchenginesinternational.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.searchenginesinternational.com</a>

You will find many links to new search tools, software and engines there.

[born_on_ice]

yes we do

i care about the butler and so does my friend. you might not care but some people do.

[Razzl]

We want Steven!

Marketing is a funny thing--the companies that find the magic and create public recognition that other companies would die for are the ones who throw it all away. Remember when Boston Chicken decided to rebrand as Boston Market? The original name made your mouth water; the rebrand brings to mind an office-supply store. Remember the gen-x kid Steven in the Dell ads who sold them a gazillion computers a couple of seasons ago? They let him go when the real "Steven" got busted for pot at college. If they had kept him on Dell would have sold gazillions more computers in the following year.

Jeeves may be a cartoon from the New Deal era, but the quirky name and image sticks. Unless they go out and hire Steven, expect "The Search Engine Formerly Called Ask Jeeves" to slip into obscurity...

[TV James]

Maybe they could get Sock Dog

He was great on the Pets.com ads ("I'll give you thrrrrr...four dollars.") but lousy in the horrible cheap cars ads.

[born_on_ice]

have they lost their mind?

i think the people who thought of jeev's "gardening leave" have totally lost their mind. because i acctully happen to like jeeves. so i am telling you right now to Bring Jeeves back. NOW! I SAID NOW.