Apple is “actively looking at” revamping its Safari web browser to focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search engines, potentially ending a long-standing partnership with Google worth an estimated $20 billion annually.
The revelation, first reported by Bloomberg, came from Eddy Cue, senior vice president of services at Apple, during his testimony in the US Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company.
Cue noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time last month, which he attributed to people increasingly using AI. “I think today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way,” he said.
“We will add them to the list – they probably won’t be the default,” Cue stated, indicating that AI search providers still need to improve. He specifically mentioned having discussions with Perplexity AI about potential integration.
The news had immediate financial repercussions, with Alphabet shares tumbling 7.3 per cent on Wednesday, wiping approximately $150 billion from its market value. Apple shares also declined by 1.1 per cent.
Since the iPhone’s launch in 2007, Google has been the default search engine on Apple devices. The Justice Department is seeking to ban Google from paying to be the default search engine as part of remedies to break up its dominance in online search.
Apple currently offers OpenAI’s ChatGPT as an option in its Siri digital assistant and is expected to add Google’s Gemini later this year. The company also considered offerings from Anthropic, China-based DeepSeek and Elon Musk’s xAI.
Cue revealed that before selecting ChatGPT for integration with Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, there was a “bake-off” with Google. He stated that Google had provided a term sheet that “had a lot of things Apple wouldn’t agree to and didn’t agree to with OpenAI.”
Despite the potential shift to AI search providers, Cue expressed concern about losing revenue from the Google agreement, saying he has “lost sleep” over the possibility. He maintained that Google should remain the default in Safari, noting that their current pact still offers the most favorable financial terms.
“Technology shifts create these opportunities. AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants,” Cue testified, adding, “You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now as crazy as it sounds.”
