In an atypical move, Google publicly addressed media reports suggesting that the rise of AI-driven search engines and chatbots is contributing to a measurable decline in the usage of traditional search platforms. This response directly challenges statements made by Apple in the ongoing antitrust litigation initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Apple Executive’s Testimony Correlates with Market Impact
Google’s stock experienced a significant decline of 7.51% on Wednesday, following testimony from Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services. Cue asserted that, for the first time, usage of conventional search engines via Apple’s Safari browser had decreased in the preceding month. He attributed this decline to a broader technological paradigm shift favoring AI-based information retrieval methods, suggesting a fundamental disruption to traditional search engine engagement.
Early AI Adoption Signaling a Shift Away from Google?
There is an emerging perspective in Silicon Valley that positions Google Search as a legacy platform. In a recent episode of the Y Combinator podcast, the host reported a 15% decline in Google Search traffic, attributing the drop to increased adoption of AI-driven tools, including both Google’s own AI features and third-party chatbots. He emphasized that early adopters often indicative of broader technological trends are now relying on AI assistants like ChatGPT for information retrieval, effectively rendering traditional search engines obsolete within this cohort.
Reflecting on this shift, the host noted that while early adopters embraced Google Search 25 years ago, it now feels outdated by comparison.
He said:
People are now switching their behavior to where your default action if you’re looking for information is, you know ChatGPT or perplexity, or one of these things, and even just, you know, observing my own behavior. I’ll use Google mostly for kind of navigational. Like, if I’m just looking for a specific website and I know it’s going to give the same thing, but it’s starting to have that weird kind of, like legacy website, like I’m using eBay or something.
Google’s Statement
Google issued a brief, unembellished statement, devoid of imagery or blog-style formatting that could be characterized as notably terse.
Here is Google’s statement:
Here’s our statement on this morning’s press reports about Search traffic.
We continue to see overall query growth in Search. That includes an increase in total queries coming 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. We’re excited to continue this innovation and look forward to sharing more at Google I/O.
AI Disruption: An Inside Look at Shifting Search Behavior
This episode of the Y Combinator podcast provides insight into how Silicon Valley insiders are rethinking their use of Google Search. The relevant segment begins around the 24-minute mark.
