Google CEO Sundar Pichai once expressed concerns about the optics of Google being the exclusive search engine on Apple’s browser, according to emails revealed during the Justice Department’s antitrust trial. Pichai, in 2007 emails to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as other company leaders, suggested that Apple should offer customers the option to choose their preferred search engine.
Pichai stated, “I know we are insisting on default, but at the same time I think we should encourage them to have Yahoo as a choice in the pull down or some other easy option.” He believed that it wasn’t a good user experience for Google to be the sole provider in the browser.
This revelation strengthens the Justice Department’s argument that Google pays billions of dollars to secure default status on devices, preventing competitors from gaining market share. The importance of default status has been downplayed by Google, stating that customers choose their search engine based on quality and can easily switch with a few clicks.
During the trial, Google executive Joan Braddi, who was involved in negotiating search deals with Apple, testified that Apple repeatedly sought “more flexibility” on search engine defaults. She also confirmed that Google currently pays a significant amount of money to Apple through their revenue-sharing deal.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, a competitor with Bing, claimed that consumer choice in the online search market is “completely bogus” due to Google’s dominant position. Google holds approximately 90% market share in online search, outpacing rivals such as Bing and DuckDuckGo.
Google’s partnership with Apple has been a focal point in the antitrust trial. Google has been the default search engine for Apple’s Safari browser since 2002, and the deal was most recently renegotiated in 2021.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, defended the deal, stating that Google was chosen due to the lack of valid alternatives at the time and the quality of Google’s product.
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