Google’s stock took a hit Wednesday after an Apple executive testified in court that the iPhone maker is considering adding artificial intelligence (AI) search engines to its web browser as search traffic reportedly declines.
The search giant saw its share price tumble 9 percent when Apple senior vice president of services Eddie Cue took the stand. Its stock recovered slightly Thursday, rising nearly 2 percent.
Cue told the court Wednesday that search traffic on Safari fell for the first time last month due to AI, Bloomberg reported. He also said Apple will likely add AI search engines, such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity, to the browser.
“We will add them to the list — they probably won’t be the default,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
“Prior to AI, my feeling around this was, none of the others were valid choices,” Cue added. “I think today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way.”
However, Google pushed back on the claim that search traffic was falling, arguing that the number of queries has continued to grow overall, including 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,” the company said in a statement.
Cue’s testimony comes as part of a multiweek hearing to determine remedies after Google was found to have an illegal monopoly over online search last August.
At the heart of the case are a series of exclusive distribution agreements that Google struck with device manufacturers and browser developers, including Apple, to make its search engine the default.
The court found the agreements to be unlawful, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to block them going forward, in addition to pushing for a breakup of Google and its Chrome browser.
