HotBot

HotBot is a Canadian web search engine owned by HotBot Limited, whose key principal is Kristen Richardson. The search engine was initially launched in North America in 1996 by Wired magazine. During the 1990s, it was one of the most popular search engines on the World Wide Web. The domain was sold in 2016 and was used for other unrelated purposes for several years. Hotbot search engine was relaunched in 2022 under new ownership and with a different technology.

==History== thumb|alt=Screenshot of HotBot search engine as it appeared in 1997, with directory categories and a bright blue and green page background|HotBot search engine and internet directory in 1997 (as captured by the [[Wayback Machine archive)]] HotBot was launched in May 1996 by Wired online division HotWired, as a tool providing search results served by the Inktomi database. The search engine was co-developed by Inktomi, a four-month-old start-up staffed by University of California, Berkeley students. HotBot was launched using a "new links" strategy of marketing, claiming to index the entire web weekly, more often than competitors like AltaVista, and its website stated it being the "most complete Web index online" with 54 million documents. Its colorful interface and impressive features (e.g. being able to search with any entered words, or an entire phrase) drew acclaim and popularity.