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Google Disputes Apple VP's Claim of Safari Search Traffic Decline

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Google has issued a rare public statement seemingly contradicting Apple senior VP Eddy Cue's courtroom testimony that Safari browser searches declined for the first time in April 2025.

Google-Logo-Feature-Slack.jpg

Cue's comments, made during the ongoing U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against Google, triggered a 7.51% drop in Google's stock price on Wednesday.

In a post to its blog The Keyword, under the title "Here's our statement on this morning's press reports about Search traffic," Google said:
We continue to see overall query growth in Search. That includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms. More generally, as we enhance Search with new features, people are seeing that Google Search is more useful for more of their queries — and they're accessing it for new things and in new ways, whether from browsers or the Google app, using their voice or Google Lens. We're excited to continue this innovation and look forward to sharing more at Google I/O.
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The dispute centers around the $20 billion agreement making Google the default search engine on Apple devices. While testifying, Cue attributed the alleged search decline to users switching to AI services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.

Cue added that he believes AI services will eventually replace conventional search engines like Google. As a result, Apple will need to add them as options in Safari in the future. Cue said the company had already held discussions with Perplexity about browser integration.

Article Link: Google Disputes Apple VP's Claim of Safari Search Traffic Decline
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/08/google-disputes-safari-search-traffic-decline/
Cue is right. For knowledge searches AI is far better. However, I wonder how often is LLM updated on the latest news? Copilot reply to "What happens in the Vatican today?" > "Sorry I do not have real time information". Google could accurately tell me.
 
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iPadified said:
Cue is right. For knowledge searches AI is far better. However, I wonder how often is LLM updated on the latest news? Copilot reply to "What happens in the Vatican today?" > "Sorry I do not have real time information". Google could accurately tell me.
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ChatGPT did a search when asked your exact question.

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Does Apple seriously believe OpenAI has a future? They don't have the capacity to expand, that is why they won't go profit any time soon.Google on the other hand is killing it with Gemini 2.5 Pro
 
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Mark Gurman said Eddy Cue was trying to save this deal by claiming it was irrelevant because both Google search and the iPhone will be replaced by AI.
 
Rogifan said:
Mark Gurman said Eddy Cue was trying to save this deal by claiming it was irrelevant because both Google search and the iPhone will be replaced by AI.
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Eddy Cue is not wrong. LLMs are poised to disrupt Google search. Let the market decide the fate of Google search. Free market.
 
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Where has Apple wisdom gone? Can someone please find it and return it? Perplexity is *worse* than ClosedAI. At least offer Claude, Anthropic is the least problematic even though they just as TESCREAList and are all committing mass copyright violations, aka digital colonialism in expropriating other people's property and hoping a government will tell them it's okay, just as the church blessed it when colonialism began. There are deep cultural strategy questions all product leadership at Apple must become wiser about.
 
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What if Eddy Cue exaggerated the truth to try to save their $20 billion/year default search deal with Google? Try to convince the court Google is no longer as dominant as it used to be in search, in fact they're losing users and marketshare, because of A.I. and so there's no reason to force a break up of Alphabet or force Alphabet to stop paying Apple $20 billion/year to make Google the default search engine.

Now, Google comes along and ruins that plan by telling everyone Google search usage is strong, that they've actually seen "an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms."
 
alexxkidd said:
Does Apple seriously believe OpenAI has a future? They don't have the capacity to expand, that is why they won't go profit any time soon.Google on the other hand is killing it with Gemini 2.5 Pro
Click to expand...

What makes you think this isn’t solvable? I’m literally developing muscle memory and habits around using ChatGPT instead of Google for most of my knowledge searches. I don’t see this changing back easily.
 
Eddie Cue probably thinks safari search declined because he saw that nobody was searching for his name and his hideous outfits anymore.
 
sw1tcher said:
What if Eddy Cue exaggerated the truth to try to save their $20 billion/year default search deal with Google? Try to convince the court Google is no longer as dominant as it used to be in search, in fact they're losing users and marketshare, because of A.I. and so there's no reason to force a break up of Alphabet or force Alphabet to stop paying Apple $20 billion/year to make Google the default search engine.

Now, Google comes along and ruins that plan by telling everyone Google search usage is strong, that they've actually seen "an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms."
Click to expand...
Exactly this company will do anything to cling onto money regardless of any outcome
 
senttoschool said:
Precisely why I don't own Google stocks. I've been doing more and more queries on ChatGPT (I pay $20/month) and less and less on Google.

That said, I will be watching Google stocks closely. If it drops to something like 10 P/E, I'm buying.
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Same. ChatGPT gives significantly superior results to traditional search engines.
 
Eddie Cus channeling his best inner Eddie Murphy circa Beverly Hills Cop:

“That Google searches in Safari are down story that could have helped us protect a lucrative deal beneficial to both of was working, okay. It was working! You guys just messed it up. Okay? I'm trying to figure you guys out, but I haven't yet. But it's cool. You f***ed up a perfectly good lie.”
 
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Interesting. Think both are equally important and useful. However in the future as AI improves, people will shift more towards AI and there might be a drop in normal search traffic.
 
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Google is no longer necessary. There are options and privacy and quality varies and some use Google/Bing in the background:-

Bing: just as good results, just as bad privacy
Mojeek: Independent, good privacy, horrible results
Kagi: Paid, good results, use Google/Bing, privacy friendly
DuckDuckGo: uses bing, good results, free, privacy friendly
Brave:Independent, good results, free, horrible image results.
Startpage: good results, good privacy.use google/bing

then there is more like Ecosia and Qwant and Presearch
 
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