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Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) are under pressure on Wednesday after an Apple (AAPL) executive said the iPhone maker was exploring adding AI search to its Safari browser. According to comments made during Google’s antitrust trial, Eddy Cue said searches in Apple’s browser fell for the first time in April and that Perplexity and Anthropic could be options.
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ADDING AI SEARCH TO BROWSER: Apple is “actively looking at” reshaping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines in light of the potential fallout of its deal with Google and broader industry shifts, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Leah Nylen and Stephanie Lai report. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, made the disclosure Wednesday during his testimony in the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alphabet. The heart of the dispute is Apple and Google’s estimated $20B-a-year deal that makes Google the default offering for queries in Apple’s included browser. He also noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time last month, which he attributed to people using AI. Cue further stated that he believes AI search providers, including Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI, Perplexity AI and Anthropic PBC, will eventually replace standard search engines like Google. He said he believes Apple will add those players as options in Safari in the future.
With that said, the executive still believes Google should remain the default in Safari, saying that he has lost sleep over the possibility of losing the revenue share from their agreement, the authors write.
OF NOTE: According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed for Google to sell its AdX digital ad marketplace and DFP platform for managing and delivering ads of website after a judge found the company illegally dominated two online ad-tech markets, Reuters reports. The DOJ said in a court filing that the proposed remedies, including divestitures, are necessary to end Google’s monopolies and restore competition in the space.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia last month found Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in those two markets. The ruling was another blow for Google after a separate judge found last year that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. Brinkema set a September trial date on Friday, after hearing from Google and the DOJ on potential remedies for the company’s dominance in ad tools used by online publishers.