Apple switches from Bing to Google as its default search partner for Siri, Search inside iOS (earlier called Spotlight) and Spotlight on the Mac. An Apple statement read, “Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari. We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible.”
Google search is already the default provider for Safari on Mac and iOS. All Google searches on Apple will be encrypted and anonymized, quite opposite to the regular Google searches. Google has been Apple’s search partner earlier, though the stint was short and Google was replaced by Bing in 2013.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, on being asked about Bing on iOS, “We value our relationship with Apple and look forward to continuing to partner with them in many ways, including on Bing Image Search in Siri, to provide the best experience possible for our customers. Bing has grown every year since its launch, now powering over a third of all the PC search volume in the U.S., and continues to grow worldwide. It also powers the search experiences of many other partners, including Yahoo (Verizon), AOL and Amazon, as well as the multi-lingual abilities of Twitter. As we move forward, given our work to advance the field of AI, we’re confident that Bing will be at the forefront of providing a more intelligent search experience for our customers and partners.”
It’s still not clear if the move is motivated to provide only consistency the the users or there is something to do with the $3B that Google is paying to Apple.
