Apple Poised to Shake Up Safari with AI Search as Google Deal Hangs in the Balance
Apple’s longstanding partnership with Google to power Safari searches—reportedly worth around US$20 billion each year—is under fresh scrutiny as AI-driven alternatives gain momentum. During a high-profile antitrust hearing, Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services, confirmed the company is “actively looking at” integrating AI search engines into Safari, signalling a potential pivot that could redefine how millions of users query the web.
The End of an Era? Cue Unpacks Safari’s AI Ambitions
In testimony before the US Department of Justice, Cue revealed that Safari searches dipped last month for the first time—a trend he attributes to users testing AI assistants over traditional search. He predicts AI providers such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and Anthropic will one day supplant legacy engines like Google, and Apple plans to add these newcomers as selectable options in Safari. “We will add them to the list—they probably won’t be the default,” Cue said, underscoring that these services must still mature before taking centre stage.
“Prior to AI, my feeling around this was, none of the others were valid choices… today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way.”
A High-Stakes Bake-Off: Google vs. OpenAI
Apple’s integration of AI into its operating system already extends to Siri, where ChatGPT was selected following what Cue described as a “bake-off” that left Google’s proposal on less favourable terms. Later this year, Apple is expected to bring Google’s own Gemini AI into the fold, reflecting a strategy of pluralising AI options rather than tying itself exclusively to one partner. Apple has also evaluated DeepSeek and Grok, illustrating its ambition to host a diverse AI ecosystem within iOS.
Market Ripples: Shares Slide and Competitive Pressure Mounts
Cue’s disclosure sent ripples through global markets. Alphabet shares plunged as much as 7.6 per cent—erasing over US$150 billion in value—while Apple stock dipped by up to 2.5 per cent in response to concerns over potential revenue loss. The S&P 500 briefly flipped negative as investors grappled with the implications of AI-powered search threatening Google’s ad-driven cash cow.
Technical Hurdles and the Path to Viability
While AI assistants excel at conversational queries, Cue stressed that newcomers must bolster their search indexes to match the comprehensiveness of established engines. Yet, he believes AI’s advanced features—such as summarisation, contextual understanding and multimodal analysis—offer a compelling enough proposition to lure users away, even before index parity is achieved. “There’s enough money now, enough large players, that I don’t see how it doesn’t happen,” he asserted.
Balancing Innovation with Financial Realities
Despite his enthusiasm for AI, Cue admitted losing sleep over the possible demise of Apple’s Google agreement, which remains the most lucrative search partnership on any platform. Google’s payment—estimated at US$20 billion annually—accounts for roughly a third of its mobile search ad revenue, making it a critical component of both companies’ financial ecosystems.
What Comes Next?
Apple’s contemplation of AI-centric search arrives at a pivotal moment when generative models are rapidly improving and user expectations are shifting towards more conversational, context-aware interactions. Whether Safari will soon default to an AI assistant—or simply offer it alongside Google—remains unclear, but one thing is certain: the browser landscape is entering a new era.
Conclusion
As AI reshapes the fundamentals of how we seek information, Apple’s push to diversify Safari’s search options could catalyse broader industry change. Will AI models fully supplant traditional search engines, or will a hybrid approach prevail? Only time—and user adoption—will tell. What’s your take: is AI search ready to be your browser’s first port of call?
Source: Bloomberg
UPDATE: In response to reports, Google noted that overall query volume on Search continues to increase-including on Apple devices and platforms-and emphasised that, as it rolls out new features such as voice input and Google Lens, users are turning to Google Search for a broader range of queries and in more diverse ways. The company said it remains "excited to continue this innovation" and looks forward to unveiling further developments at Google I/O.