Considering the near ubiquity of Google search, some might be surprised to know that until now, Siri and Search inside iOS (previously known as Spotlight,) as well as Spotlight for Mac would return results from Microsoft’s Bing search engine by default. However, Apple has announced it has switched these results to Google to maintain parity with Safari’s default search results, which come from Google.
The deal Apple holds with Google is worth billions, so increasing its visibility will be huge for Google.
Apple said in a statement: “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. We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible.”
In terms of specifics, when you ask Siri on you iPhone, iPad or Mac, to search the web, or if Siri directs you to the web if it doesn’t know the answer, the web links will be returned from Google – minus ads. Interestingly, web image results will still come from Bing, reports TechCrunch, and video results will come direct from Google’s YouTube, which will still return ads if you watch the videos – driving revenue to Google.
The change comes after the release of iOS 11 and hasn’t required a software update – the change has begun rolling out and will be universal soon.