In Search Of...

By
31 August 2001 07:02 PM
Tags: search, query, result, site

Ask Jeeves

Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse's indispensable butler, performs every task asked of him, perfectly and without question. Ask Jeeves, the natural-language search engine, would do better to ask for clarification, however, since it often fails to understand requests. Since Ask Jeeves's main strength is meant to be natural-language requests--queries typed in plain English--this is a serious shortcoming.

Jeeves performs best when given shopping and business queries. It did poorly with simple keyword searches and offers no way to perform more advanced searches or to drill down for answers. Given a natural-language query, Jeeves comes back with a short list of similar questions for you to ask instead of your original question. The service has answers to its own questions, but its list of questions often misses the point. Ask what region in France a particular wine comes from, and Jeeves will tell you where you can buy wine online and where to find tips on travel in France.

Your best bet for almost any type of search is to head straight for the second bank of answers on the page: "People with similar questions have found these sites relevant." These links are Direct-Hit-rated and tend to be dead-on.

Ask Jeeves

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Talkback 1 comments

    Matilda Keith -- 04/01/06 (in reply to #120126443)

    The Correct address for Matilda is
    http://www.matildasearch.com
    Is theee any chance you coulds replace your content with a simple link?
    Keith

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