U.S. Navy Enlists Ask Jeeves

Michael Singer

Updated · Mar 18, 2002

Question and answer search engine Ask Jeeves is joining the U.S. Navy.

The Emeryville, Calif.-based company’s business division Jeeves Solutions has been tapped to power the Navy’s Distance Support/Anchor Desk Web site called “Ask the Chief.”

This site is intended to give the fleet a point of entry to access to Naval maintenance, technical, supply, training, administrative and personnel resources.

Navy service members can now ask such diverse questions as “Who is the technical point of contact for SPS-55 Radar?” or “Where can I find an overview of the Navy E-Learning course catalog?” or “How do I reserve a chapel for my wedding?” and be directed to relevant answers.

In addition, the Navy will use Jeeves Solutions’ analytics tool to learn from every question service members ask.

“After evaluating several vendors, we selected Jeeves Solutions because of its proven success at delivering innovative self-service solutions,” says Lynn Kohl, with the U.S. Navy. “Jeeves Solutions’ technology provides our service members with superior service, while also helping us understand their needs and interests. The insight we gain from understanding their questions will help expand and continuously improve our Distance Support/Anchor Desk Program to better address their needs.”

Until Jeeves Solutions’ came on board, the Navy relied primarily on phone calls and e-mails to interact with service members. During a pilot program in 2001, “Ask the Chief” successfully demonstrated its usefulness in the Navy environment. As the Navy moves forward, it expects to expand the site to a much larger user group.

The Navy is the first federal governmental agency to use Jeeves Solutions’ search technology. The State of Washington also uses Jeeves Solutions to help citizens with answers about state, county and city government services.

Jeeves Solutions has done the same type of search engine assistance for Compaq Computer and Nike British Telecom, DaimlerChrysler, Dell and Nestle.

Michael Singer
Michael Singer

Michael Singer is a career coach, podcast host, and author to help you step into a career you're excited about. Currently, He is a coach and trainer helping entrepreneurs and executives achieve business and leadership success. He is also an award-winning business journalist focused on the intersection of technology, Big Data, Cloud, SaaS, SAP, and other trending technology.

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