Apple (AAPL, Financial) is actively looking at for a major shakeup in how Safari users search the web. During testimony in the US Justice Department's antitrust case against Alphabet (GOOG, Financial), Eddy Cue, Apple's services chief, hinted that AI-powered search engines like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic could eventually make their way onto Apple's browser. While the $20 billion-a-year deal that keeps Google as Safari's default search engine is currently in place, Cue clarified that these AI options “probably won't be the default” just yet.
The market didn't take the news lightly. Alphabet shares plunged 8.8% at 12.44pm on Wednesday, while Apple slipped 1.55% as investors digested the potential fallout from Cue's remarks. Cue acknowledged that AI search engines are gaining ground, saying, “There's enough money now, enough large players, that I don't see how it doesn't happen.” Apple has already integrated OpenAI's ChatGPT into Siri and is expected to add Google's AI-powered Gemini later this year.
The stakes for Apple are massive. Cue admitted that Google still offers the best financial terms, but he emphasized that AI is a transformative wave that could open doors for new players. “Technology shifts create these opportunities,” Cue said. “AI is a new technology shift, and it's creating new opportunities for new entrants.” Expect more AI announcements at Apple's developer conference next month, as the company continues to bet big on the AI frontier.
