Apple is actively redesigning Safari to plug in AI-driven search engines such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Anthropic’s Claude, DeepSeek and xAI’s Grok—threatening to end its $20 billion-a-year default-search pact with Google. Bloomberg
- First dip in Safari-Google queries: Apple says April 2025 marked the first-ever decline as users flock to generative-AI tools. LinkedIn
- Big money on the line: Scrapping Google’s default slot would blow a multibillion-dollar hole in both companies’ revenue streams. New York Post
- Multiple AI options incoming: Apple has held talks with Perplexity AI and reviewed proposals from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and Grok. None are likely to be default—yet. Yahoo Finance
- Antitrust heat accelerates change: Testimony in a high-profile search-monopoly lawsuit underscores Apple’s eagerness to show it doesn’t need Google. Bloomberg Law News
- Market whiplash: Alphabet shares plunged over 7%, while Apple also dipped ~1%, as investors recalculated the future of mobile search. YouTube
- Long-term vision: Apple exec Eddy Cue hints that AI assistants could make today’s smartphones—and classic search boxes—obsolete within a decade. Bloomberg
Bottom line: A Safari overhaul could ignite a fierce AI-search land grab, forcing marketers and developers to optimize for multiple large-language-model engines instead of one Google algorithm. Get ready for an AI-powered, multi-engine SEO era where conversational results outrank blue links.