A federal ruling from Judge Mehta says Google can keep Android, Chrome, and its Apple search deal, but it must share search data with competitors.
Google pays Apple a lot of money to be the default search engine on iPhone, in the range of $20 billion. That is set to continue in spite of an antitrust case.
According to a report from CNBC, Google can continue paying Apple for placement as the default search engine. It does affect exclusivity agreements, which must end.
"Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial — in some cases, crippling — downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban," the judge said in the ruling. "Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products."
The ruling also says Google no longer has to sell off portions of its company like Google Chrome or Android. It also has to begin sharing search data with competitors to ensure an equal playing field.
It's an interesting time for Google as it has changed how the internet is monetized. The search engine no longer prioritizes driving ad views on websites — it instead relies on AI summaries that may contain inaccurate information, poorly remixed content from multiple venues, or unsourced information.
Google's search deal may not even be relevant
While Apple is banking an incredible amount of money from its deal with Google, it's difficult to say how much value that deal actually has. Users will generally choose Google anyway if provided a picker at launch, and if the search is suddenly DuckDuckGo, expect they'll find a way to toggle it back to Google.
Apple doesn't have an in-house search engine, though it does have features like Spotlight. Rumors have suggested Apple's interest in making its own search engine has always been blunted by the deal with Google.
Since the $20 billion annual payments buttressing Apple's services revenue can continue, the status quo will likely not change anytime soon.
However, if Apple can get more alternatives, like ChatGPT Search, in that Settings selection menu, users may start thinking twice. Google has proven to be less reliable since its pivot to AI, and users have taken notice.
While OpenAI's ChatGPT has similar accuracy issues, there's no doubt it's incredibly popular. Without billions forcing the default setting, it's anyone's guess what's next for search on iPhone.
Siri currently performs an anonymized Google search when it doesn't have the data on hand. So, this goes further than just Safari's or Spotlight's search results.
Apple is expected to make dramatic changes to its operating system via Apple Intelligence over the course of the next year. It'll begin with a more contextual Siri powered by app intents, then later, third-party AI engines becoming available via Private Cloud Compute.
However, that won't affect search via Safari, at least for now.
Updated September 2, 5:40 PM ET: The article reflected incorrect information about the judgement that was shared via the original source. It has been changed to reflect the accurate outcome.
