- Apple is reportedly looking to make AI tools for the default search option for Safari
- Google is the current default search engine for safari in a $ 20BA year-old deal
- Apple looks AI as possibly more appealing to users for search purposes
Apple flirts with the idea of making AI tools for the standard search option for Safari instead of Google. As first reported by Bloomberg, Apple’s Secretary Manager Eddy Cue revealed this week in the US Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google that Apple is “actively watching”, which brings AI-run search engines as a Google replacement.
Apple and Google currently have a mutually advantageous and lucrative deal, with Google paying Apple about $ 20 billion a year to remain the default search engine across all Apple devices. This agreement was part of the antitrust study, which led to the revelation of Apple’s interest in alternatives.
Eddy Cue mentioned several large AI -Chatbot developers as potential new search partners for Apple, including Openai, Perplexity, Anthropic and Xai. CUE told the court that searches on safari actually fell last month for the first time in recent memory, and his theory is that people start switching standard search engines for AI tools. Instead of entering “How does Wi-Fi work?” In a search beam, users ask chatting to explain it as if they are five.
Cue was not exactly subtle in the hint of Apple believing that traditional search may be on the way out. “The only way you really have real competition is when you have technological shifts,” he said. “AI is a new technology change and it creates new opportunities for new participants.”
Apple AI search
Apple’s already dipped the toes in AI search, Siri connects with chatgpt and is reportedly planning to do the same with Google Gemini. Cue also noted that Apple is open to adding more AI search options directly in Safari, although no decision was made on a new standard.
AI search tools have some good points, but they come with shiny weaknesses. In particular, they can respond with incomplete, inaccurate or even hallucinatory information. Whether these questions are worth the benefits of AI search tools are debatable, but Apple clearly thinks it can be a valuable change to make. After all, if people are in order to switch from Google to AI tools because they are easier, and despite their mistakes, this is the direction that any business wants to follow.
And there is a reason why Google has been willing to pay so much for its status on Apple devices. This user base is crucial to its search dominance. Just hint that this may not be the case forever, Google’s stock sent almost 9% after Cue’s testimony. Apple shares also slipped, but much more modest.
None of this might matter if Apple decides it has a good thing with Google as a company and makes Gemini for its standard search tool with a similar deal. And while AI still can’t quite trust to write a college essay or navigate the DMV site, it is already transforming how we expect to interact with information. This means that the tools we use to access this information will develop in a way they do not have since perhaps the widespread adoption of mobile versions of sites.
