Apple explores AI search options for Safari
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The news: Apple is “actively looking at” revamping the Safari web browser to focus on AI-powered search engines, Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue said in testimony during the US Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alphabet.
According to media reports, Cue said AI providers including OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and Grok “will eventually replace standard search engines like Google” and that Apple will “bring those options to Safari in the future,” although “they probably won’t be the default.”
Cue attributed the first-ever decline in Safari searches last month to people using AI.
The context: Google is currently the default search engine in Safari under an estimated USD20 ($31) billion-a-year deal, which Cue said “still has the most favorable financial terms.”
He confirmed Apple held a “bake-off” between OpenAI and Google’s Gemini before choosing ChatGPT, and that Apple’s deal with Microsoft’s Bing is now year-to-year.
The numbers: Alphabet shares fell as much as 8.7% and Apple’s dropped up to 2.7% following Cue’s remarks.
