Yahoo is getting ready to roll out its AI answer engine Scout across its products this year, betting that AI search can win back younger users. Scout first launched in beta back in January, and it’s already live on Yahoo’s US web experience and in the Yahoo Search App.
Scout isn’t Yahoo’s own homegrown large language model. Instead, it leans heavily on Anthropic’s Claude, pulls web results from Microsoft Bing, then layers in Yahoo’s own news, finance, and sports content — plus three decades of accumulated search data. Every answer comes with source links attached.
The AI engine is also expanding into Yahoo Mail, Finance, Sports, and News. Yahoo also plans to introduce ads into AI search results, migrating its existing search ad business onto the new answer engine.
Yahoo is currently under the control of Apollo Global Management. Investment bankers believe the company could file for an IPO or be sold as early as next year. CEO Jim Lanzone declined to comment on any deal plans, saying only that the immediate priority is restoring growth.