Jeeves Search Engine Creates Alter Ego

By KAREN KAPLAN

Dec. 21, 1998 12 AM PT

Jeeves, the English butler who expertly retrieves information on the Web, has a new cousin named Dudley.

The folks behind the plain-English search engine Ask Jeeves (https://www.ask.com) have created a similar service for Round Rock, Tex.-based Dell Computer. Customers looking for help with their PCs can submit their questions to Ask Dudley at https://support.dell.com/askdudley.

With thick glasses, a ponytail and a pocket protector, Dudley looks like a rather distant relative to the more formal Jeeves, who answers more than half a million queries a day. But unlike the general-knowledge Jeeves, Dudley specializes in questions like “Why did my CD-ROM stop working?” and “How do I delete and reinstall Windows 95?”

“Natural-language-based question-and-answer systems will revolutionize online customer interaction,” said Rob Wrubel, chief executive of Berkeley-based Ask Jeeves.

Technology and the Internet

Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

Jeeves Search Engine Creates Alter Ego

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