Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, experienced a significant stock decline of over 9% on Wednesday following revelations that Apple is exploring AI-powered search alternatives to Google’s search engine for its Safari browser. This development emerged during a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust trial against Google, where Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, testified about the company’s considerations.
Cue disclosed that Apple is evaluating AI-driven search platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Anthropic for potential integration into Safari. He noted that searches conducted through Safari had decreased for the first time, attributing this trend to users increasingly turning to AI tools for information retrieval. While Google currently pays Apple approximately $20 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Safari, this arrangement is under scrutiny in the ongoing antitrust case .
The potential shift by Apple to incorporate AI search options poses a substantial threat to Google’s dominance in the search engine market. Analysts suggest that if Apple diversifies its search offerings, it could lead to a significant loss in Google’s mobile search advertising revenue, which heavily relies on its default status on Apple devices .
In response to these developments, Alphabet’s stock dropped to $149.09, marking a more than 9% decrease and contributing to a 22% decline in the company’s stock value for the year. Apple’s stock also saw a decline of up to 2.5% following the testimony .
As the landscape of online search evolves with the advent of AI technologies, Google’s position as the default search engine faces unprecedented challenges. The company’s future strategies will likely need to adapt to this shifting environment to maintain its market share and revenue streams.
