The butler has left the building. Search engine Ask Jeeves is now to be known as Ask.com.

Gary Price of Resourceshelf reports that Ask Jeeves has changed name to Ask, following in the footsteps of European Ask sites.

Gary Price has, as Pandia recently reported, joined the Ask.com team, although he will continue to edit his site on online searching.

Ask has abandoned the Teoma search site. Given that Ask is powered by Teoma search engine, the company apparently feels that there is no need for a second, “experimental”, site. The Teoma search technology is now sold under the name of ExpertRank.

The new site is even less cluttered than the previous one, and boasts a Zen like simplicity. We like it.

There is a new Ask.com toolbox on the right hand side that links to various specialized search tools, like for instance for image search, a dictionary, news, maps, weather information and shopping search. The toolbox includes a new encyclopedia search facility.

The image search engine is now powered by Ask’s own search technology. They do not use the database of Picsearch anymore.

Gary points out that Ask continues to develop natural search capabilities — meaning that you can ask a question in “normal language” — at least in some areas. However, unlike the original Ask Jeeves, this is not based on responses hand edited by human editors, but is done automatically by the Ask search engine.

Gary adds that the new Ask.com “also brings the launch of a new and greatly enhanced Ask.com map and directions service (also using AJAX technology). You’ll also find very detailed (…) aerial and satellite imagery provided by GlobeXplorer. Imagery is available as of today for the U.S. and Canada.”

Indeed, the map and satellite photo service is impressive, and represents a true alternative to Google maps.