On Wednesday, Engadget reported that Apple is exploring the possibility of incorporating an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search engine into its Safari browser.
During his testimony in the Google search monopoly lawsuit, Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, suggested that AI search engines like Perplexity and OpenAI’s SearchGPT could be integrated into Safari. Cue highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionize traditional search methods, noting that although there were no alternatives in the past, AI now provides new approaches to problem-solving.
However, Cue indicated that Apple is unlikely to set an AI search engine as the default option in Safari. Google reportedly pays Apple over 18 billion USD annually to maintain its position as the default search engine. Interestingly, Cue noted that last month saw the first-ever decrease in Google search volume on Safari. He speculated that this decline might be attributed to the growing influence of AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT or Gemini. Although Apple is developing its own AI system, recent setbacks in AI projects, including improvements to Siri, have prompted the company to strengthen partnerships with external AI providers.