Apple Ready To Destroy Google! Safari Will Use AI From ChatGPT And Perplexity

JAKARTA - Apple's plan to add an AI-based search option in the Safari browser is a huge blow to Google, which has been heavily dependent on iPhone users to support its high-value digital advertising business.

This news immediately rocked Google's parent Alphabet stock, which fell 7.3% and removed about 150 billion US dollars from its market value.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Apple was "actively considering" reshuffle of Safari, citing Apple's executive, Eddy Cue, testimony in an ongoing antitrust hearing regarding Google's dominance in an online search.

According to the source, Cue said that the number of searches through Safari decreased for the first time last month as more and more users switched to AI technology. Apple's own shares closed down 1.1%.

Google replied that it was still seeing the growth in the number of search requests as a whole, including from Apple's devices and platforms. In a statement on the official blog, Google wrote that people increasingly think Google Search is more useful for various types of questions, including new use such as voice search and visuals.

Although it is unclear whether the comparison used by Cue is equivalent to Google data, his statement indicates a major change in the world of digital search that could threaten Google's dominance, which is currently the main target of US antitrust regulators.

Google currently pays Apple around 20 billion US dollars per year to remain the default search engine in Safari a strategic position that accounts for about 36% of Google's search ad revenue generated through the browser, according to analyst estimates.

The US Department of Justice proposed that such payments be banned, as part of efforts to dismantle Google's dominance in the online search market.

"If Google loses its exclusivity at Apple, the impact will be huge, even without additional action," said DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria.

Many advertisers are currently only advertising on Google because there are almost no other alternatives, where Google controls about 90% of the market share. If there is a really viable search alternative, advertisers can divert their many budgets from Google," he added.

However, Google is not without resistance. Although it was considered left behind in the AI race since the ChatGPT appearance in 2022, Google has poured large funds to strengthen its AI technology and take advantage of its data warehouse.

Earlier this year, Google introduced the "AI Mode" feature on the search page to keep users. They also expanded the reach of AI Overviews feature based AI features that appear above the search result site link to more than 100 countries, as well as adding ads to the feature to increase advertising sales.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, in testimony at an antitrust hearing last month, said it hoped to reach an agreement with Apple by the middle of this year to incorporate AI Gemini technology into a new generation iPhone device.

Meanwhile, Eddy Cue also mentioned that Apple will add other AI search providers, such as OpenAI and Perplexity AI, as alternative search options in the future, according to a Bloomberg report.

Apple's plan also shows how far AI-based search engines are, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, said Yory Wurmser, eMarketer's lead analyst for advertising and media technology.

Wurmser added that Google's desire to pay tens of billions of dollars to become a default search engine shows how important this deal is to their business continuity.

As an illustration, ChatGPT reports it has recorded more than 1 billion web searches per week as of April 2025, and has more than 400 million weekly active users since last February.