Ask Jeeves Launches New Image Search

By Geoff Duncan Published January 25, 2006

Ask Jeeves has rolled out its first proprietary image searching technology, dropping imagery provided by PicSearch and including improvements to image search ranking algorithms and integrating “Zoom” technology to help users refine and cluster image search results.

Ask Jeeves says image searches account for 16 percent of its overall search traffic, and the company has been working on its own image search database and indexing technology for over a year. In addition to the Zoom feature (which suggests refined queries and alternative search topics), the new offerings expand inline graphical previews of search result pages, include Image Smart Answers which provide image results directly from normal search queries, and users can save pictures in personal MyJeeves folders for later browsing.

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Ask Jeeves also launched a beta German site today, Ask Deutschland, featuring localized versions of most Ask Jeeves features, as well as the capability to restrict searches to German-only results.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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