Apple is actively exploring a shift towards AI-powered search engines in Safari, as its long-standing multi-billion dollar deal with Google comes under pressure from regulatory scrutiny and rapid technological change.

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The news emerged during court testimony by Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in the US Justice Department’s antitrust case against Alphabet. Cue revealed that Apple has held talks with several AI search providers — including OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Elon Musk’s xAI — and expects to integrate some into Safari in the near future.

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Although Google currently remains the default search engine on Apple devices, Cue acknowledged that “there is much greater potential now” in alternative AI models. Safari searches declined for the first time last month, which he attributed to users increasingly turning to AI assistants.

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Apple’s possible pivot could spell the end of its estimated $20 billion-a-year revenue-sharing deal with Google. Cue admitted he has “lost sleep” over the idea of losing the financial benefits of the partnership, but noted that AI is ushering in a new era of search competition.

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“We will add them [AI providers] to the list — they probably won’t be the default,” he said. “But people will switch.”

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Investors reacted sharply. Alphabet shares fell as much as 8.7%, while Apple dipped 2.7%, pulling broader markets lower. Cue’s remarks suggest that Apple sees AI as a genuine opportunity to disrupt the dominance of traditional search — even at the cost of short-term revenue.

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The company already offers OpenAI’s ChatGPT via Siri and is expected to integrate Google’s Gemini later this year. Cue revealed that OpenAI was selected following a competitive “bake-off” with Google, whose terms Apple ultimately rejected.

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Apple is likely to unveil further AI enhancements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month. However, Cue acknowledged that Apple still lags rivals in some areas of generative AI and search functionality.

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Even so, he argued that rapid advances in large language models and new user experiences will inevitably pull users away from traditional engines like Google Search.

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“AI is a new technology shift,” Cue said. “And it’s creating opportunities for new entrants.”

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