The Google-Apple AI Deal: What We Don’t Know (and Why Alphabet Won’t Discuss It)
So, I’m still reeling from Alphabet’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Amidst all the usual financial jargon and product updates, I caught a telling moment when an investor asked about the partnership with Apple on AI tech. The response? A polite but firm “no comment” from the usually chatty search giant. I’m not the only one who noticed, and it got me wondering – what’s really going on behind the scenes?
The Google-Apple relationship has always been a match made in heaven. Remember that massive $20 billion search partnership deal? Yeah, that was big news when it dropped. Google paid Apple a cool $20 billion to be the default search engine on Apple devices, and in return, Google got access to Apple’s 2.5 billion active devices worldwide. Not a bad deal at all.
Fast forward to the latest Apple AI deal, rumored to be worth a staggering $1 billion per year, and things get a bit more complicated. With ads in AI mode, which could be the future of Google’s search business, users see links to advertisers’ websites below or integrated into the chatbot’s response. It’s like Google is experimenting with this AI thing, just like with agentive shopping, including Store with AI Mode, to make shopping a seamless experience.
But here’s the thing – Google’s not the only one playing the AI game. Its competitor Anthropic is gearing up for a Super Bowl ad to challenge the ad-supported AI business model adopted by OpenAI and Google. So, how will all this shake out in the long run? Still a giant question mark.
So, why did Alphabet decline to answer the investor’s question? Maybe they just don’t want to talk about the potential impact of this partnership on their core business. But one thing’s for sure – for now, the Google-Apple AI deal remains a closely guarded secret. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.
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