Apple Plans To Introduce AI Search On Its Safari Browser
This comes following a fallout with Google.
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Apple users may soon be able to use AI search on the tech giant's browser, Safari
According to Bloomberg, Apple's head of services Eddy Cue hinted that Safari, the default browser across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, is being quietly reshaped to embrace AI-first search engines.
According to Bloomberg, Apple's head of services Eddy Cue hinted that Safari, the default browser across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, is being quietly reshaped to embrace AI-first search engines.
"We will add them to the list, they probably won’t be the default," Cue said, referring to AI players like Perplexity, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
He dropped the hint when speaking at the US Justice Department's antitrust trial against Alphabet on 7 May.
Apple has already begun experimenting with ChatGPT via Siri and is expected to include Google's Gemini later this year
The potential shake-up comes as Apple's USD20 billion (RM85.4 billion) per year deal with Google, which currently ensures Google's spot in Safari, appears more fragile than ever.
Cue admitted the company has had "some discussions with Perplexity," and the very fact that Apple is exploring alternatives signals a broader pivot.
"Prior to AI, my feeling around this was, none of the others were valid choices.
"I think today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way," Cue said.
Cue revealed Safari searches dipped in April 2025 for the first time, attributing the drop to users experimenting with AI tools instead
With large language models improving rapidly, Cue believes the switch from traditional search is only a matter of time.
"There's enough money now, enough large players, that I don’t see how it doesn't happen," he said.
Apple is not ready to remove Google from Safari just yet. Cue still sees the current deal as financially sound, but it is clear Apple is preparing for a future shaped by AI.