iAskWeb Partners With H&R Block to Power the World's First Natural Language Personal Tax Answer Engine

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000

Industry leader H&R Block to Provide Content for the iAsk(TM)Tax Answer Engine; Partnership To Result in Future Licensing of iAskWeb's

Natural Language Answer Engines At-Large

iAskWeb, recognized leader in natural language search and navigation technology announced today a partnership with H&R Block, the world's leader in tax preparation, to power the industry's first natural language personal tax answer engine. Based upon H&R Block's authoritative tax content and driven by iAskWeb's patent-pending technology, the iAsk(TM) Personal Tax Answer Engine will allow users to ask a tax-related question in conversational language and get an immediate and accurate response.

A component of iAskWeb's suite of financial answer engines, the iAsk(TM) Personal Tax engine will provide licensees with H&R Block's knowledge and expertise in a customized format. The iAsk(TM) Personal Tax Engine will provide answers to a variety of tax-related queries, including tax forms, schedules, and deductions.

Charles Wilson, CEO of iAskWeb commented, "We believe that our partnership with H&R Block will result in the most authoritative and efficient personal tax engine of it's kind. Our answer engine technology, coupled with H&R Block's expertise, will provide customers with quick and reliable responses to a wide range of tax-related questions." Wilson added, "customers will no longer have to search endlessly through hundreds of documents for an answer to their tax questions. With one simple step, people can get a reliable answer from content licensed from one of the best names on the web."

Ric Moxley who is in charge of content services for H&R Block, further elaborated on the benefits of this new partnership. "We are always looking for innovative ways to improve customer satisfaction and believe iAskWeb's technology will help us move toward meeting our goals," said Moxley. The iAsk(TM) tax engine, part of iAskWeb's family of financial answer engines, will be available for licensing on January 1st 2001.

About iAskWeb

iAskWeb, Inc. is the world leader in building natural language answer engines. Founded to meet the needs of people searching for real answers on the Web, iAskWeb combines brand-name content with its patent-pending iAsk(TM) technology to provide people with a more efficient way of getting the information they seek. iAskWeb offers unmatched accuracy of answers and scalability of the knowledge base. The company offers generic engines that can be customized to meet its customers' unique business and marketing needs. Licensing terms are either on a monthly or "pay-per-answer" basis. The company has offices in Waltham, Massachusetts, San Bruno, California, and Moscow, Russia. For more information, please see or call (781) 647-1800.

About H&R Block

H&R Block Inc. is a diversified company with subsidiaries providing a wide range of financial products and services. In 2000, H&R Block served 19.2 million taxpayers - more than any tax or accounting firm - through its more than 10,000 offices located in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. H&R Block served another 1.8 million tax clients through its award-winning software program, Kiplinger TaxCut(R), and through its new online tax preparation services. H&R Block Financial Advisors, member NYSE, SIPC, offers investment services and securities products. H&R Block Mortgage Corporation and Option One Mortgage Corporation offer a full range of home mortgage products. RSM McGladrey Inc. is a national accounting, tax and consulting firm with 100 offices nationwide, as well as an affiliation with 550 offices in 75 countries as the U.S. member of RSM International. Quarterly results and other information are available on the company's Web site at www.hrblock.com.