Ask Jeeves Reports Financial Results For Second Quarter 1999; More Than 90 Million Questions Drives Record Revenue.

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 1999--

Ask Jeeves, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASKJ), which provides natural-language question answering services on the Web for consumers and companies, today announced revenues of $2,717,548 for the second quarter ended June 30, 1999. This compares to revenues of $1,131,568 for the first quarter of 1999 and $35,355 for the second quarter of 1998. Revenue for the first six months ended June 30, 1999 was $3,849,116 compared to $50,121 for the first six months of 1998. During the second quarter of 1999, the Consumer Question Answering Service accounted for 70 percent of revenue and the Corporate Question Answering Service accounted for 30 percent of revenue. This compares to 94 percent and six percent, respectively, for the first quarter of 1999.

The Company incurred a net loss as it continued to invest in technology and infrastructure to drive the growth of its question answering services and build the Ask Jeeves brand. For the second quarter ended June 30, 1999, the net loss excluding amortization of deferred stock compensation and the write-off of in-process technology acquired was $9,068,032, or $0.42 per share. The reported net loss including charges for acquired technology, goodwill and deferred compensation was $10,020,922, or $0.47 per share. This compares to a net loss for the same period last year of $573,655 and $0.09 per share and a net loss of $4,869,160 and $0.29 per share for the first quarter of this year.

The net loss, as adjusted for the amortization of deferred stock compensation and the write off of in-process technology acquired, for the six months ended June 30, 1999 was $13,620,143, or $0.71 per share. The reported net loss, including charges for acquired technology, goodwill and deferred compensation was $14,890,082, or $0.78 per share compared to $909,010 and $0.15 per share in 1998.

"This quarter's results reflect the growth of our question answering services for both consumers and corporations," said Rob Wrubel, president and CEO of Ask Jeeves. "We believe that our approach to Web interaction continues to make the Internet a much more usable place for consumers and a more effective way for companies to realize the commercial potential of their Web sites."

Quarterly Growth Metrics -0-

--   Questions reach all time high. The Company received an all-time
     high of 92.3 million questions across the Consumer and Corporate
     Services during the second quarter.

--   Sharp rise in unique users to Ask.com. More than 3.1 million
     unique users visited Ask.com at the end of the second quarter
     according to Media Metrix, a 68 percent increase from 1.9 million
     unique users at the end of the first quarter. This compares to a
     2 percent growth rate in total unique users on the Web, also
     according to Media Metrix. (See related news release, "Ask
     Jeeves' Consumer Question Answering Service at Ask.com Makes
     Media Metrix Top 50 Web Properties").

--   Page views increase more than 70 percent. The Company's page
     views on Ask.com increased 73 percent to 269 million during the
     second quarter, compared to 155 million page views in the first
     quarter.

--   Corporate Service expands with new customers. Ask Jeeves signed
     key customers in targeted vertical markets, including technology,
     financial services and e-tailing. Customers added during the
     second quarter included: Iomega Corporation, Office Depot, Inc.,
     Datek Online Holdings Corporation and Oxygen Media, Inc.

-0-

"We are making progress toward our vision of building a question answering network on the Web that generates revenues through two robust services," continued Wrubel. "Our Consumer Service at Ask.com has become a Media Metrix Top 50 site. In addition, since its introduction less than a year ago, the Corporate Service has been adopted by industry leaders like Compaq, Dell, Datek, Office Depot and Oxygen Media."

"We remain focused on building our brand, extending our reach, adding increased functionality and continuing to build the intelligence of the knowledge bases supporting our services around the questions people ask," added Wrubel.

Quarterly Highlights

Ask.com Ranked No. 1 in User Satisfaction

For the third consecutive quarter, the Ask Jeeves Consumer Service at Ask.com was ranked the number one Web site in user satisfaction and loyalty in a study issued by NPD Group, Inc., a market research firm. (See related news release, "Recent Survey Rates Ask Jeeves Number One in Consumer Satisfaction for Third Consecutive Quarter")

Branding Campaign Accelerated

Ask Jeeves launched a major advertising campaign on June 1st to build the Ask Jeeves brand. The campaign centers around the Jeeves character, the world's first Internet butler.

Strategic Consulting Alliance Signed With USWeb/CKS

Ask Jeeves signed a consulting alliance agreement with USWeb/CKS. USWeb/CKS will be the first Internet professional services firm trained and enabled to deliver the Corporate Service. Ask Jeeves intends to leverage the partnership to accelerate the growth of the Corporate Service.

Pilot Shopping Service Introduced With New Site Design

Ask Jeeves introduced a pilot of its shopping service with more than 30 partners across eight categories. In addition, Ask Jeeves launched a new site design to enhance the look and feel of Ask.com.

Successful Initial Public Offering

At the beginning of July, Ask Jeeves completed an initial public offering with net proceeds to the Company of nearly $45 million. The Company sold 3,450,000 common shares at an offering price of $14 per share. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, BancBoston Robertson Stephens and Hambrecht & Quist led the offering.

About Ask Jeeves, Inc.

Ask Jeeves provides natural-language question answering services for consumers and companies on the Web. The Ask Jeeves Question Answering Services allow users to ask questions in plain English and receive responses pointing to relevant answers on the Web. The Consumer Question Answering Service at Ask.com makes it easier for people to quickly find relevant information, products and services online. The Corporate Question Answering Service, which provides question answering services for company Web sites, helps companies manage customer interactions for electronic commerce and support. Both services leverage a set of proprietary technologies to create knowledge bases containing questions and answers that become more intelligent with use and can be integrated together to create a question answering network. For more information visit http://www.ask.com or call 510.985.7400.

This news release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Company that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that such results or events discussed in these statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Ask Jeeves with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically its recent S-1 registration statement which identify important risk factors such as the Company's limited operating history, history of losses and anticipation of continued losses, potential volatility of quarterly operating results, and other risks that are contained in the Company's reports and documents filed from time to time with the SEC. -0-

                           ASK JEEVES, INC.
                       STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                              (Unaudited)

                            Quarters Ended         Six Months Ended
                                June 30,                June 30,
                           1999          1998       1999       1998

Revenue
 Consumer              $  1,898,817  $  35,355   $ 2,957,885 $ 50,121
 Corporate                  818,731        --        891,231      --

 Total revenues           2,717,548     35,355     3,849,116   50,121

Cost of revenues:
 Consumer                 1,162,199     69,734     1,861,330  116,105
 Corporate                1,129,955     29,408     1,952,536   50,707

 Total cost of revenues   2,292,154     99,142     3,813,866  166,812

 Gross profit/(loss)        425,394    (63,787)       35,250 (116,691)


Operating expenses:
 Product development      1,145,707    170,463     1,887,873  298,235
 Sales and marketing      7,492,367    183,343    10,161,532  264,215
 General and
  administrative          1,150,493    157,354     2,032,323  234,959
 Amortization of deferred
  stock compensation        592,193        --        909,242       --
 Write-off of in-process
  technology acquired       360,697        --        360,697       --


 Total operating
  expenses               10,741,457    511,160    15,351,667  797,409

 Operating loss         (10,316,063)  (574,947)  (15,316,417)(914,100)

 Interest income, net       295,141      1,292       426,335    5,090

 Net loss             $(10,020,922) $(573,655) $(14,890,082)$(909,010)

Basic and diluted
 net loss per share   $      (0.47) $   (0.09) $      (0.78)$   (0.15)

Weighted average
 shares outstanding
 used in computing
 basic and diluted
 net loss per share     21,410,421  6,516,415    19,083,190 6,216,135


                           ASK JEEVES, INC.
                       CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

                                        June 30,      December 31,
                                          1999            1998
                                       (Unaudited)

ASSETS
Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents            $ 12,719,291   $  5,587,883
 Short-term investments                  4,506,424           --
 Accounts receivable, net                2,151,258        236,258
Prepaid expenses
 and other current assets                3,895,952        148,545

  Total current assets                  23,272,925      5,972,686
Property and equipment, net              2,933,276        835,486
Intangibles, net                         1,327,673           --
Long-term investments                    4,550,000           --

   Total assets                       $ 32,083,874   $  6,808,172

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable                    $  3,597,200   $    605,283
  Accrued compensation
   and related expenses                  1,250,282        253,062
  Accrued marketing expenses             1,766,775           --
  Other accrued liabilities              3,074,025        188,220
  Deferred revenue                         942,635        149,842

   Total current liabilities            10,630,917      1,196,407

Capital lease obligations                   25,297         45,945
Commitments
Stockholders' equity
  Convertible preferred
   stock, no par value;
  (5,000,000 shares authorized)               --        6,088,222

Common Stock, no par
 value; 150,000,000 shares
 authorized; 23,284,995
 and 11,358,077 shares
 issued and outstanding
 at June 30, 1999 and
 December 31, 1998,
 respectively                           43,433,633      4,771,781
Deferred stock compensation             (2,298,692)      (476,984)
Accumulated deficit                    (19,707,281)    (4,817,199)

   Total stockholders' equity           21,427,660      5,565,820
   Total liabilities
    and stockholders' equity          $ 32,083,874   $  6,808,172