美国司法部起诉谷歌之际，苹果公司高级副总裁Eddy Cue在法庭上透露，苹果正在积极考虑将Safari浏览器转向AI搜索，而非依赖谷歌搜索。这一举动标志着行业内的重大转变，预示着互联网搜索领域格局的改变。随着用户越来越多地依赖AI聊天机器人进行网络搜索，如ChatGPT，以及OpenAI和Anthropic等公司不断推出新的搜索功能，谷歌的搜索垄断地位正受到挑战。苹果此举将对整个网络产生广泛影响，同时也可能影响其从谷歌获得的巨额收入。然而，谷歌也在积极发展AI搜索技术，推出Gemini AI模型和AI overviews等功能，以应对这一趋势。

🍎 苹果正在积极探索将Safari浏览器转向AI搜索，标志着行业内的重大转变。Eddy Cue的证词表明，苹果可能不再依赖谷歌作为Safari浏览器的默认搜索引擎，转而寻求AI搜索解决方案。

🤖 AI搜索的兴起正在挑战谷歌的搜索垄断地位。用户越来越多地使用ChatGPT等AI聊天机器人进行网络搜索，OpenAI和Anthropic等公司也在积极开发新的搜索功能，侵蚀谷歌的市场份额。

💰 苹果此举可能与其与谷歌的合作关系有关。苹果每年从谷歌获得200亿美元的收入，作为Safari浏览器使用谷歌搜索的报酬。美国司法部的诉讼可能加速了苹果对AI搜索的探索。

📊 谷歌也在积极应对AI搜索的挑战。谷歌推出了Gemini AI模型和AI overviews等功能，旨在保持其在搜索领域的竞争力。谷歌拥有海量数据，为其在AI领域的发展提供了坚实的基础。

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Google (or Alphabet Inc., if you prefer), and in testimony today, Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue dropped a bombshell in the courtroom: Apple is now "actively looking" at focusing its Safari web browser on AI search instead of Google Search.

As Bloomberg reported, the revelation marks a "seismic shift for the industry."

The default search tool used by a web browser with only 18% market share might not seem like a seismic announcement, but it's further proof that a massive shift is underway. And that shift threatens one of the foundations of the internet as we know it: Google Search.

As of this writing, Alphabet stock is down 7.5 percent for the day, a sharp drop.

Why AI search matters

Increasingly, some users are relying on AI chatbots like ChatGPT for their web searches. Just today, the AI company Anthropic announced a new API that would expand the search capabilities of its Claude AI models. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has also been encroaching on Google Search's territory, first with the introduction of ChatGPT Search in October 2024 and more recently with new shopping features.

Now, even Apple is signaling a shift toward AI search — and away from Google. Due to the dominance of Apple iPhones, Apple's approach to search will have much wider impacts across the web.

Apple also stands to lose significant revenue as a result of the Justice Department's lawsuit, which highlighted the payments Google makes to Apple to use Google as the default search engine on Safari.

In his testimony, Cue seemed to defend the relationship, which nets Apple $20 billion a year. By highlighting the inevitable shift toward AI search, Cue suggested that Google's search monopoly is naturally coming to an end.

The news isn't all bleak for Google, however.

The company's Gemini AI model has surged to the top of some AI leaderboards, largely due to the truly mind-boggling amount of data Google has at its disposal. And Google itself is diving headfirst into AI search, first with the introduction of AI overviews, and then with the beta for AI Mode, a new chatbot-style search tool.

If the trend wasn't clear before, it is now: the era of Google Search is ending, and the era of AI search is nigh.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.