Apple Considered Buying Bing Search Engine or Investing in Joint Venture with Microsoft
According to recently unsealed testimony from Apple’s head of machine learning and former Google executive John Giannandrea, Apple considered purchasing the Bing search engine or making a “multibillion dollar investment” in a joint venture with Microsoft in 2018. At the time, Apple was exploring alternatives to Google for certain Siri queries and other iPhone and Mac features. Apple currently receives up to $19 billion annually from Google to be the default search engine on its products.
The potential deal with Microsoft did not come to fruition, as Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly informed Microsoft that it would not move forward. Giannandrea stated that such a partnership with Bing would have affected Apple’s relationship with Google. His testimony was part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust case against Google.
Siri and Spotlight
John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president responsible for machine learning and AI strategy, discussed his efforts to enhance Siri and Spotlight since joining Apple in 2018. These features rely on Google as a backup search engine when they cannot provide immediate answers. The Department of Justice aimed to demonstrate that Apple might have invested more in its own search technology without the lucrative deal with Google.
Giannandrea clarified that Apple does not have a “general” search engine since it lacks a search results page. Instead, Apple competes for queries through Siri, Spotlight, and auto-complete suggestions in the Safari browser. These features utilize Apple’s technology before forwarding the query to Google. Although Apple has not decided whether to develop its own search engine, Giannandrea acknowledged that it would require significant investment.
Giannandrea also revealed that Cook met with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2018, initiating discussions about deepening the partnership with Bing. Apple and Microsoft subsequently held meetings to explore potential collaborations, including the option of acquiring Bing from Microsoft. Microsoft expressed willingness to share ad revenue and enhance the search engine, but Giannandrea remained skeptical about Bing’s potential to surpass Google. He compared the two search engines in 2021 and found Google to be significantly better for mobile queries.
During his testimony, Giannandrea mentioned Apple’s current focus on search technologies, particularly crawling the web to power language models. This aligns with Apple’s increased investment in artificial intelligence and its ongoing efforts in the search field.
