Apple charges Google billions of dollars each year to keep it as the default search engine on its Safari browser across all Apple products such as iPhone, MacBooks, and iPad. This means that when you perform a search on the Safari browser, search results will come from Google. Although users can change the default search settings, many users tend to leave Google as the go-to search engine.
However, it appears that this deal might come to an end since Apple is reportedly planning to launch its own web-based search engine to compete with Google. Expanding Siri and Spotlight searches in iOS 14 beta, increased crawling from AppleBot, and a significant update to About AppleBot support page indicate that Apple may launch its search engine soon, according to marketing insights firm Coywolf.
The firm speculated that AppleBot regularly crawled the site daily, and in July, the company updated the AppleBot support page. In the United Kingdom, Apple has been under pressure from regulatory authorities to drop Google as Safari’s default search engine. Coywolf also said that regulatory pressure and a contentious relation with Google are presenting an opportunity for the tech giant to launch a search engine. Furthermore, since Apple is now the most valuable company in the world, it may those billions of dollars Google gives, however, Apple doesn’t need it.
According to Coywolf, Apple is also investing heavily in search. Apple’s job postings for search engineers reveal that the company incorporates NLP, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more into all of its services as well as applications. Likely, Apple’s search engine will look and work slightly different from modern search engines because the company historically likes to do things differently. The company has a lot to gain from launching its own search engine.
As most searches are performed on mobile and the most profitable users are found on Apple’s iOS, the impact of launching a search engine could be dramatic. According to Coywolf, the company will be able to promote its apps in search results which will benefit its services and detract from Google’s push towards Progressive Web Apps. Google’s monopoly on search will weaken, and Apple could also promote its products and services including struggling services such as TV+ and News+. The extension of Apple’s ad serving platform will also let developers promote their applications in search results.
Read next: A New Feature In Apple Maps Allows Users To Rate Places And Upload Pictures Of Points Of Interest
However, it appears that this deal might come to an end since Apple is reportedly planning to launch its own web-based search engine to compete with Google. Expanding Siri and Spotlight searches in iOS 14 beta, increased crawling from AppleBot, and a significant update to About AppleBot support page indicate that Apple may launch its search engine soon, according to marketing insights firm Coywolf.
The firm speculated that AppleBot regularly crawled the site daily, and in July, the company updated the AppleBot support page. In the United Kingdom, Apple has been under pressure from regulatory authorities to drop Google as Safari’s default search engine. Coywolf also said that regulatory pressure and a contentious relation with Google are presenting an opportunity for the tech giant to launch a search engine. Furthermore, since Apple is now the most valuable company in the world, it may those billions of dollars Google gives, however, Apple doesn’t need it.
According to Coywolf, Apple is also investing heavily in search. Apple’s job postings for search engineers reveal that the company incorporates NLP, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more into all of its services as well as applications. Likely, Apple’s search engine will look and work slightly different from modern search engines because the company historically likes to do things differently. The company has a lot to gain from launching its own search engine.
As most searches are performed on mobile and the most profitable users are found on Apple’s iOS, the impact of launching a search engine could be dramatic. According to Coywolf, the company will be able to promote its apps in search results which will benefit its services and detract from Google’s push towards Progressive Web Apps. Google’s monopoly on search will weaken, and Apple could also promote its products and services including struggling services such as TV+ and News+. The extension of Apple’s ad serving platform will also let developers promote their applications in search results.
Read next: A New Feature In Apple Maps Allows Users To Rate Places And Upload Pictures Of Points Of Interest
