A metasearch engine. Inktomi is not a front-end search engine service like Google or Alta Vista, but rather a private label search service for portal companies and enterprise applications. Inktomi is used by web sites like MSN, Looksmart, HotBot, etc. to search a number of other search engines in parallel.
 
Inktomi’s search results are a compilation of results from the other engines it searches. Inktomi is not a front-end search engine for web users. It operates transparent to web users so you only see Inktomi search results when you perform searches on Inktomi customer sites (like MSN & Looksmart).
 
Inktomi used to be a major player in the search engine field but over the last few years has lost substantial market share. An example is the recent switch (May, 2002) by AOL to use Google for its search results rather than Inktomi and Overture.