Apple may replace Google as the default search engine on Safari Bloomberg reports. According to testimony from Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior VP of services, the company is actively considering AI-powered search options like Perplexity.

During his recent testimony in the ongoing antitrust case against Google, Cue told the court that Apple believes AI search engines are changing how people find information online. Cue explained that Safari searches dropped last month for the first time in 22 years. He attributed this decline to the emergence of new AI search engines that users are exploring. Tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT offer conversational answers instead of traditional lists of links.

But Google has pushed back on Cue’s claims. The company said search traffic from Apple devices is still growing and AI tools have not disrupted user behavior as much as Apple suggests.

Apple may turn toward AI search tools like Perplexity and OpenAI

Cue said Apple will explore other AI search engines like Perplexity. “We will add them to the list. They probably won’t be the default,” he said. Apple has reportedly held discussions with Perplexity and is also exploring other providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Grok from xAI.

Since 2007, Apple users have relied on Google to search the web through Safari. That relationship has been financially significant. Google reportedly pays Apple about $20 billion annually to remain the default. 

Cue said that before AI, there were no alternatives to Google. However, with new tools approaching the search experience differently, Apple now sees "much greater potential.” He added that Apple has already brought ChatGPT into Siri as part of its AI offerings and is continuing internal discussions about expanding these capabilities further.

The antitrust case could reshape how search partnerships work

The U.S. Justice Department seeks to break up Google’s dominance, which may include forcing it to sell Chrome or limiting its default status on devices like Apple’s.

According to Bloomberg, Cue said Apple had previously considered Google and OpenAI in a “bake-off” for AI integration, but negotiations with Google did not move forward. He explained that the terms offered by Google were not favorable to Apple, which led the company to partner with OpenAI for its latest AI integrations. 

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