Apple Replaces Bing with Google for Siri Web Search on iOS, Spotlight on Mac

As reported by TechCrunch, Apple has switched from Microsoft’s Bing to Google as the default results provider for web searches from Siri on iOS and Spotlight on the Mac. This will change on iOS for the ‘I don’t know what you’re asking but here are web results’ Siri behavior as well as intentional ‘hey, Siri, search the web for…’ queries, giving you Google results instead of Bing.

Google bing

“Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari,” reads an Apple statement. “We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible.”

The source notes that the search results include regular web links as well as video results, whereas web image results from Siri will still come from Bing for now. Interestingly, video results will come directly from YouTube.

When asked about the altered shape of Bing on iOS, a Microsoft spokesperson provided the following comment:

“We value our relationship with Apple and look forward to continuing to partner with them in many ways, including on Bing Image Search in Siri, to provide the best experience possible for our customers. Bing has grown every year since its launch, now powering over a third of all the PC search volume in the U.S., and continues to grow worldwide. It also powers the search experiences of many other partners, including Yahoo (Verizon), AOL and Amazon, as well as the multi-lingual abilities of Twitter. As we move forward, given our work to advance the field of AI, we’re confident that Bing will be at the forefront of providing a more intelligent search experience for our customers and partners.”

The changes started rolling out at 9am PT and should be rolled out globally by this afternoon.

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