Apple is adding direct support for AI-powered search services to its Safari web browser, reports Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
Apple’s senior vice president of services Eddy Cue on Wednesday said Apple is “actively looking at” reshaping Safari around AI search. Cue’s comments came in his testimony in the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Google which focuses on the $20 billion deal Google pays Apple to be the default search engine in Safari on Apple devices.
Cue noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time in April 2025, which he said was due to users switching to AI services. He said that he believes AI services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude will eventually replace conventional search engines like Google. That means Apple will need to provide them as search options in Safari in the future. Cue said the company was already in discussions with Perplexity.
Cue sid the AI options “probably won’t be the default,” but will instead be added “to the list” of options. He also said the services still need to improve further, adding:
You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now as crazy as it sounds. The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts. Technology shifts create these opportunities. AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants.
He said that even if AI services aren’t able to quickly improve their search indexes, users are still likely to switch rapidly due to the other compelling features that are “so much better.”
Cue did admit that he believes that Google should remain the default search option in Safari, saying he had experienced sleepless nights over the possibility of Apple losing the revenue share from the Google agreement, which now includes Google Lens integration in Visual Intelligence.
