MATTER OF TIME

Shares Slump as Apple Says Google Search to Be Replaced by AI

Shares for Google’s parent company fell 8 percent in response.

Apple’s senior vice president of internet software said Wednesday that artificial intelligence search engines will one day replace Google and other traditional search engines. Shares of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, subsequently fell by eight percent. Eddy Cue said in federal court that Apple may add AI services like OpenAI, Perplexity AI Inc. and Anthropic PBC to the Safari browser, Bloomberg reported. “There’s enough money now, enough large players, that I don’t see how it doesn’t happen,” he said. Cue also revealed that searches on Safari last month declined due to AI alternatives, which is a first. Cue was testifying as part of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Alphabet. Google had an illegal monopoly over online search and text advertising markets, a U.S. District Court judge ruled last August, in part by outbidding competitors for Apple and mobile carriers like Verizon to be the go-to search engine. Google paid Apple up to $20 billion annually, according court testimony. After Cue’s comments Wednesday, Apple shares also fell, though only by two percent. The Washington D.C. court is weighing potential penalties for Google.