EXHIBIT 99.1


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


   ASK JEEVES TO ACQUIRE DIRECT HIT TECHNOLOGIES, ADDING AUTOMATED SEARCH
                  TECHNOLOGY TO CONNECT CUSTOMERS TO ANSWERS

ACQUISITION FURTHERS ASK JEEVES-Registered Trademark- POSITION AS A PROVIDER OF
              CUSTOMER TARGETING, CONVERSION AND RETENTION SERVICES

EMERYVILLE, CALIF., JANUARY 25, 2000 - Ask Jeeves, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASKJ), a
leading provider of question answering services for consumers and companies on
the Web, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire
privately-held Direct Hit Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of
award-winning search technology, in a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction. The
total consideration will be 5.12 million unregistered shares, representing
approximately 12 percent pro-forma ownership of Ask Jeeves on a fully-diluted,
treasury stock basis. Ask Jeeves will use Direct Hit's Popularity Engine, which
tracks and organizes the Web sites and content that millions of people select
every day, to help companies provide a broader and more relevant set of answers
to their customers online.

         Across the Internet or within a company's Web site, Direct Hit
leverages consumer intelligence to identify the most popular Web sites. Ask
Jeeves believes that the addition of Direct Hit's popularity-based search,
directory and shopping products will enable it to provide a higher quality
experience for consumers looking for information and a more robust service for
companies looking to target, acquire and retain customers.

         The acquisition, when completed, will also provide Ask Jeeves with a
significant new business opportunity through expanded syndication of Direct
Hit's popularity-based search service. Today, Direct Hit syndicates this service
to brand name companies like AT&T WorldNet, About.com, Go2Net, InfoSpace.com and
ZDNet. Through Ask Jeeves' and Direct Hit's combined services, Ask Jeeves will
reach more than 80 million Web users, capture what nearly 10 million people ask
for and find every day, and leverage the collective insight of one billion
customer queries received to date.



         "The technology we gain through this acquisition will allow us to
combine human insight with advanced automated technology that can be scaled and
implemented on company Web sites across the Internet. Now we can offer
corporations an automated, intelligent service driven by customer preferences
that can be up and running quickly," said Rob Wrubel, president and CEO of Ask
Jeeves. "We will also expand the syndication of Direct Hit's search service to
aggressively pursue new business-to-business and business-to-consumer market
opportunities. We believe this puts us in a position to deliver greater value to
our customers and our shareholders."

         Direct Hit's automated search technology aggregates and organizes
online content by tracking the products, services and information people seek,
the amount of time they spend at various Web sites, and how frequently they
return. The core of Direct Hit's search technology is its Popularity Engine,
which leverages a database of more than one billion search records and employs
proprietary algorithms that dynamically rank the site selections of Internet
users. Direct Hit assimilates this data into popularity rankings, reflecting
consumer preferences for online information. This popularity-based technology is
applied across Direct Hit's line of search products, which include Popularity,
Search, Shopping and Directory Engines, and Personalized and Related Search.

         "Direct Hit is a natural fit for Ask Jeeves given both companies' focus
on combining powerful technology with human input to provide a higher quality
customer experience online," added Wrubel.

         Ask Jeeves will integrate Direct Hit's popularity-based, automated
search technology across its Corporate Service, its Consumer Service at Ask.com
and AJKids.com.

CORPORATE SERVICE

         Ask Jeeves plans to add Direct Hit's popularity-based search, directory
and shopping products to its' Corporate Service to provide a more comprehensive
and complete service for companies seeking to increase e-commerce conversion,
reduce supports costs and improve overall customer satisfaction. Ask Jeeves
believes that the addition of Direct Hit's automated line of products will
provide Ask Jeeves with valuable cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Ask
Jeeves will be able to provide corporate customers with both information gleaned
from their customer base and selected information about targeted customers
Internet-wide. Ask Jeeves and Direct Hit customers will be able to take
advantage of the combined companies' services, which will include
popularity-based automated search, natural-language question answering,
intelligent advisor and live help technologies and reporting analytics.



CONSUMER SERVICE

         Ask Jeeves believes that the acquisition of Direct Hit, when completed,
will nearly double the reach of its' Consumer Service. The combined unique users
would place Ask Jeeves among the top 20 Web properties according to the November
1999 Media Metrix rankings. Visitors to Ask Jeeves at Ask.com or AJKids.com will
now benefit from the experience of millions of Internet users to find the most
popular Web site in response to their question.

         "By harnessing the vast number of choices being made each day by
Internet searchers, it's as if millions of editors are classifying countless
sites, identifying the best on the Web," said Mike Cassidy, president and CEO of
Direct Hit. "From Internet-wide to site-specific search, we are extending Ask
Jeeves' strategy to make it easier for customers to get answers through a robust
platform for personal service on the Web."

TERMS

         Under the agreement, 5.12 million unregistered shares of Ask Jeeves'
common stock will be exchanged for all outstanding shares, warrants and options
of Direct Hit. The acquisition is expected to be accounted for as a purchase and
is expected to close in the first quarter of 2000. The acquisition has been
approved by the board of directors of each company and is subject to various
closing conditions, including approval by the stockholders of Direct Hit.


ABOUT DIRECT HIT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

         Direct Hit tracks the Web sites people find most useful for finding
information or products online, learning from the search experience of millions
of Internet users to deliver highly relevant search results. Direct Hit search
results are also available at many major web sites, including the Microsoft
Network; the Lycos Network; Go2Net; LookSmart; ZDNet; HotBot; InfoSpace; ICQ, a
division of America Online; and ATT.Net. Direct Hit and Direct Hit partners have
earned accolades from business and technology media, including Forbes Magazine,
PC Magazine, and CNET. Founded in 1998, Direct Hit is based in Natick,
Massachusetts. For more information visit www.directhit.com.


ABOUT ASK JEEVES, INC.

         Ask Jeeves provides natural-language question answering services for
consumers and companies on the Web by allowing users to ask questions in plain
English and be directed to Web sites containing the answer. 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 Ask Jeeves' proprietary technology, using knowledge bases containing
questions and answers to connect consumers to answers. For more information
visit http://www.ask.com or call 510.985.7400.

                                      # # #

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including those relating to the company's ability to provide
services to corporations that lead to higher conversion rates, increased
ecommerce revenues, the company's ability to deliver increased value to its
shareholders, and the ability to complete the acquisition of Direct Hit and
successfully integrate Direct Hit products, services and staff into the Company.
Results or events discussed may differ materially from actual future events or
results. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Ask Jeeves, specifically
its S-1 registration statement and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 1999, 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 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ask Jeeves is a registered trademark and Ask Jeeves for Kids and Ask.com are
trademarks and/or service marks of Ask Jeeves, Inc. Other product and company
names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.