---
title: "Ask X – New UI for Ask.com Secretly Launched"
date: 2006-12-18
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2006"
    url: "/tag/2006.md"
---

# Ask X – New UI for Ask.com Secretly Launched

Tonight I stumbled upon what appears to be a brand new User Interface for [Ask.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://ask.com/). I was doing some searches on Ask.com, when I noticed a link in the *top right* asking me to try out something called Ask X. Screenshot below:

When I clicked on the link, it regenerated my original query using a new interface – labeled Ask X. The following 3-pane UI displayed:

The 3-pane UI is pretty similar to the [Ask City](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://city.ask.com/) UI, which was launched a couple of weeks ago. Ask X appears to be live right now, at this domain: [http://www.askx.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://www.askx.com/). There’s no mention of it on the official Ask.com site, but there is [an About page](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/askx.shtml) on Ask X which explains more:

> “Thanks for stumbling upon Ask X, our double-secret sandbox for testing Ask experiences of the future.
> 
> In today’s version of Ask X, you’re not just getting back a list of links, but a slick, new three-panel interface (much like the new [AskCity](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://city.ask.com/city)), combining great time-saving features like:
> 
> \* **Left:** A search control panel that stays with you, complete with Zoom Related Search and Search Suggestions that update as you type.
> 
> \* **Middle:** Results front and center to provide clutter-free information without having to scroll down the page, and Binoculars to preview results.
> 
> \* **Right:** A preview of other types of search results, including video, news, images, blogs, shopping, encyclopedia and more.”

I explored the new Ask X and was impressed with the slickness of the UI, which has a liberal dose of Ajax. Also it makes the range of topical information that Ask provides much easier to digest and navigate, when presented across 3 panes. For example here’s a search on one of my music heroes, Lou Reed:

On the left, there are options to refine or expand your search (e.g. search for Uncle Lou’s lyrics). In the center, the main search results are headed by a ‘smart answer’ about Lou – including options to search for music downloads and ringtones. And in the right pane is extra topical info: images, shopping, video (see below – this is new), and an excerpted Wikipedia profile of Lou.

**Video search** results are included in the right hand pane, a feature which is not yet offered on Ask.com. Here’s an example, from my “lou reed” search:

I also searched for my home city, Wellington, to see what it displayed. There was some extra information in the right pane – time, weather and geographic facts.

## Summary

Ask X, the new interface for Ask.com, delivers a lot of useful, topical information across 3 panes in the first page of search results. So with the help of some Ajax magic, Ask X presents a very slick and appropriate solution to information overload. It also complements their focus on topic clusters and “smart answers” – see [our profile of Ask.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142559/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ask_what_differentiates_them_from_google.php) last month for more info on how Ask.com is differentiated from Google.

I’m looking forward to seeing Ask X go live on the main Ask.com site! Although it looks like I have a head start, because now when I go to ask.com it defaults to Ask X. There is an ‘Exit Ask X’ link, but actually I think I’ll stay right where I am…

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ask_x.php))*