Key Takeaways
- Apple is actively considering integrating AI-powered search features into its Safari browser.
- Discussions have taken place with AI companies like Perplexity, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
- This exploration comes as Safari recently saw its first-ever drop in search volume.
- The information emerged during testimony by Apple’s Eddy Cue at Google’s antitrust trial.
Apple is seriously looking into bringing new AI search options to Safari, its popular web browser. This insight comes from Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services.
Cue made these remarks during Google’s ongoing antitrust trial. He suggested that AI search features are likely to be added to Safari within the next year as the technology continues to advance.
He explained that, so far, AI search options “are just not good enough” for Apple’s standards. However, the company is preparing for the future, having already held talks with AI firms Perplexity, OpenAI, and Anthropic, as reported by The Verge.
With the generative AI field still in its early stages, Cue emphasized the importance of flexibility. He noted that Apple’s existing agreement with OpenAI for other AI services means they need “the capability to switch if we have to,” should a different provider make a significant leap.
Cue’s testimony shed light on the roughly $20 billion Google pays Apple annually to be the default search engine on Safari. This deal is a central point in the antitrust trial.
Apple already has a ChatGPT integration with Siri. Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently confirmed that a deal to bring Google’s Gemini AI to the iPhone is getting closer.
Adding a new layer to the situation, Cue revealed that searches in Safari declined last month for the first time in 22 years. He described this as something that has “never happened.”
Under the current agreement, Google shares a portion of ad revenue from Safari searches with Apple. A decrease in searches directly impacts Apple’s revenue, a concern Cue admitted has caused him to lose “a lot of sleep.”
