Apple Considered Buying Bing Search Engine or Making Multibillion Dollar Investment with Microsoft, Testimony Reveals

Introduction

In 2018, Apple explored the possibility of purchasing the Bing search engine or entering into a “multibillion dollar investment” joint venture with Microsoft, according to recently unsealed testimony from Apple’s head of machine learning, John Giannandrea. The transcript reveals that Apple was considering Bing as an alternative to Google for certain Siri queries and other iPhone and Mac features. Currently, Google pays Apple up to $19 billion annually to be the default search engine on Apple products.

The potential deal with Microsoft did not come to fruition, with Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly informing Microsoft of the decision not to proceed. Giannandrea’s testimony highlighted an internal presentation made by Apple’s head of business development, Adrian Perica, which outlined four scenarios for collaboration between Apple and Microsoft: organic growth of Siri, collaboration on the “Knowledge Graph” technology, co-ownership of Bing, or acquisition of Bing.

Giannandrea’s testimony forms part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust case against Google, in which the government alleges that Google has engaged in anticompetitive practices to monopolize the search market. Testimony from DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg, also unsealed recently, suggested that Apple’s contract with Google posed an obstruction for rival search engine DuckDuckGo.

Siri and Spotlight

As Apple’s senior vice president in charge of machine learning and AI strategy, Giannandrea has been responsible for enhancing Siri and Spotlight since joining Apple in 2018. His testimony revolved around Apple’s efforts to improve these features, both of which can direct queries to Google when they lack immediate answers. The DOJ aimed to demonstrate that Apple may have invested more heavily in its own search technology if not for the lucrative deal with Google.

While Giannandrea clarified that Apple does not have a “general” search engine as it lacks a dedicated search results page, he noted that Apple competes for queries through Siri, Spotlight, and autocomplete suggestions in the Safari browser. These features utilize Apple’s technology to provide answers before redirecting queries to Google. Giannandrea stated that Apple had yet to decide whether to develop its own general search engine, as such a venture would entail significant expenses.

Giannandrea confirmed that Cook had met with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in the summer of 2018, initiating internal discussions regarding the possibility of deepening the partnership with Bing. He revealed that he and Apple’s head of business development, Adrian Perica, engaged in several meetings with Microsoft that year, exploring various options for collaboration. Microsoft indicated a willingness to be flexible in sharing ad revenue for the partnership, although the specific revenue-sharing proportion remains redacted in the transcript.

Giannandrea expressed some skepticism about Bing’s capabilities, comparing it to Google’s search engine in 2021 and discovering that Google was significantly superior in terms of mobile queries. He communicated his reservations to Cook in December 2018 and doubted the potential for a better search engine for Apple’s users at that time. Giannandrea’s testimony also touched upon his work at Google, including discussions about Apple’s attempt to obtain confidential search data from Google as part of their deal.

Regarding Apple’s current search-related endeavors, Giannandrea mentioned the company’s increased investment in web crawling to support the development of language models, a prominent form of artificial intelligence in the tech industry.

Representatives from Apple and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.

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