Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday said that the search engine deal between Google and Apple that makes Google the default search engine on Apple devices has made it impossible for Bing and other search engines to compete.
As Google is the default search engine on Safari on Apple devices, people become accustomed to using it, Nadella explained in testimony he gave during the ongoing Google vs. U.S. Department of Justice antitrust trial.
“You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, and you search on Google,” said Nadella. “With that level of habit forming, the only way to change is by changing defaults.” Nadella went on to say that Google is able to use its 90% market share to improve search results, further reinforcing its monopoly.
Microsoft continues to attempt to compete with Google, adding OpenAI chatbot technology to Bing, but Nadella says Google’s distribution advantage is huge.
Last week, iTunes chief Eddy Cue testified at the trial and said Apple chose and continues to opt for Google as the default search engine on its devices because the company has “always thought it was the best.” While Cue claimed there is no valid alternative, it should be noted that Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to retain its position as the default Apple search engine.
Back in 2020, Microsoft held exploratory discussions with Apple about a possible sale of Bing to the Cupertino firm. If the deal had gone through, Bing would have replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple’s devices.
Microsoft executives met with Apple services chief Eddy Cue to discuss a potential acquisition, but the talks were merely exploratory and went no further. The report says Apple did not pull the trigger on the deal due to the money that it earns from Google, as well as concerns that Bing did not match up with Google in “quality and capabilities.”
On Sunday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman discussed the rumors that Apple has considered creating its own search engine, which could provide better privacy and deeper integration with Spotlight and Siri. Gurman says a team headed by AI chief John Giannandrea created the new search engine, codenamed “Pegasus,” that is already used in some Apple apps and will expand to other apps.
What Apple has now does not match the Google search engine, but Gurman believes that Apple could use it as the backbone for a full search engine in the future.