After the latest news, where Apple would be thinking of giving the option to change Siri for a different assistant, or even that Act as a search enginemany people may wonder what would happen to Google if this really happens.
And Google is the most popular search engine in the world, but, in a way, lives from mobile phones, and Apple has a very high market share, which could mean a huge loss of power if no one, with an iPhone, use its service.
Apple could forget Google in its products
We are going to analyze all the possible scenarios that would imply that this happened, since it would be a very large change in two of the most valuable companies in the world.
Financial Impact for Apple
Currently, Google pays Apple approximately 20,000 million dollars annually to maintain its position as a predetermined search engine in Safari. This represents a considerable part of Apple's income, and dispensing with it could affect its annual balance. However, Apple could compensate for this loss by developing its own search engine and generating income through advertising, although this would require a significant investment and time to settle in the market, hence they talk about an AI, as it could be a faster and less expensive solution.
Development of your own search engine: Pegasus
Apple has been working on an internal search engine called «Pegasus», led by John Giannandrea, Google exejecutive. This search engine is already partially integrated into functions such as Spotlight and the App Store, and it is expected to offer an experience focused on user privacy, one of Apple's main strengths, although we return to the same, and that is to try to replace Google with another search engine, it could not be the most appropriate.
Exploration of alternatives based on AI
As we explained, Apple is exploring the integration of search engines driven by artificial intelligence in Safari. The company has had conversations with companies such as OpenAi, Perplexity AI and Anthropic to improve safari search capabilities through AI. This strategy could offer users a more personalized and efficient search experience, with low costs for them, and even generating what Google offers them annually, without depending on them.
Implications for users
For those who use Apple devices, changing the default search engine can be noticed at the beginning. But if Apple manages to offer an option that works well and respects privacy, many people could be willing to try it without problem. In fact, having more competition between search engines could be something positive, more quality, more variety and better options for all, without so much advertising or based on own interests.
Consequences for Google
Although Apple would lose the annual income that Google grants it, these would also be impact, and much more serious, since, as we said, possibly almost 50% of the smartphones today use iOS, so if the predetermined search engine ceases to be Google, most of its income would be affected, which could mean the fall of the giant, and that it should counterattack them, and that it should counteract them More to Apple, at least if you don't want to witness this.
In summary, if Apple stops using Google as a search engine in Safari, things could change a lot. It would not be an easy decision, but I would give Apple the opportunity to continue growing in their own way, taking more care of users. For Google, however, it would be a hard blow. And for us, users, maybe it means having more options and that the competition forces to improve search engines.
