Successful induction of B cell activation and memory depends upon help from CD4⁺ T cells. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, glycolipid-specific, CD1d-restricted innate lymphocytes, provide both cognate (direct) and noncognate (indirect) helper signals to enhance B cell responses. Both forms of iNKT cell help induce primary humoral immune responses, but only noncognate iNKT cell help drives humoral memory and plasma cells. Here we show that iNKT cognate help for B cells is fundamentally different from the help provided by conventional CD4⁺ T cells. Cognate iNKT cell help drives an early, unsustained germinal center B cell expansion, increases marginal zone B cell numbers, and sustains an early expansion of antigen-specific, IL-10 producing, regulatory B cells when compared to noncognate activation. Cognate iNKT cell help also fails to upregulate germinal center B cell expression of PD-L1 or PD-L2 and does not induce as many T follicular regulatory cells as noncognate help. This is consistent with a mechanism whereby iNKT cells preferentially provide an innate form of help which does not generate humoral memory and has important implications for the application of glycolipid molecules as vaccine adjuvants.