John Giannandrea
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple considered buying the Bing search engine or making a “multibillion-dollar investment” in a joint venture with Microsoft in 2018, according to a transcript of testimony from Apple’s head of machine learning and former Google exec John Giannandrea that was recently unsealed.
During that time, Apple was exploring the possibility of using Bing as an alternative to Google for certain Siri queries and to power other features on iPhone and Mac devices, revealed Giannandrea. It’s estimated that Google pays Apple up to $19 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Apple products.
The potential deal with Microsoft did not materialize, as Apple CEO Tim Cook informed Microsoft that they would not be moving forward, according to Giannandrea’s testimony. “If we entered into a joint venture with Bing, it would have implications for the Google relationship,” Giannandrea stated during his recent testimony, as seen by CNBC.
Giannandrea mentioned an internal presentation by Apple’s head of business development, Adrian Perica, which outlined four scenarios for collaboration with Microsoft: organic growth of Siri, building a technology called “Knowledge Graph,” co-owning Bing, or acquiring Bing.
This testimony from Giannandrea was part of the ongoing Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google. The government aims to prove that Google has employed licensing deals and contracts to create a monopoly in the search market, shutting out competitors.
In testimony unsealed on Wednesday, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg suggested that Apple was seriously considering using their search engine as the default option for certain settings and that Apple’s contract with Google posed a hurdle for DuckDuckGo.
Google denies any violation of antitrust law, but the trial, which is expected to continue for several weeks, has largely centered around Apple’s partnership with Google as the default search engine on Apple devices. Apple executives have defended their choice, stating that they selected Google because it offers the best search experience, not solely due to financial considerations.
Siri and Spotlight
John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president overseeing machine learning and AI strategy, has played a key role in enhancing features like Siri and Spotlight since joining the company in 2018. During his testimony, Giannandrea discussed internal discussions at Apple to improve Siri and Spotlight, which sometimes rely on Google for answers when they don’t have a ready response. The DOJ aimed to demonstrate that Apple might have invested more in its own search technology if it didn’t have a lucrative deal with Google.
Giannandrea clarified that Apple does not have a “general” search engine, as it lacks a search results page. However, Apple competes for queries through Siri, Spotlight, and auto-complete suggestions in the Safari browser, using its technology before resorting to Google for specific queries.
He stated that Apple has yet to make a decision on whether to develop its own general search engine, citing the significant expenses associated with such an undertaking.
Giannandrea also mentioned a meeting between Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in the summer of 2018, which sparked internal discussions about a potential increased partnership with Bing. He revealed that he and Adrian Perica, Apple’s head of business development, had a series of meetings with Microsoft that year. Microsoft had indicated a willingness to be flexible in sharing ad revenue in the event of a partnership, although the specific revenue-share proportion was redacted in the transcript.
During his testimony, Giannandrea expressed skepticism about Bing’s pitch and its potential to surpass Google. He sent an email to Cook in December 2018 outlining his reservations. In 2021, he compared Bing and Google search to assess Microsoft’s progress, finding that Google significantly outperformed Bing, especially in mobile queries.
Additionally, Giannandrea discussed his work at Google, where he mentioned Apple’s attempt to obtain search data from Google as part of their deal.
Giannandrea also mentioned that Apple is currently investing more in web crawling to support its efforts in language models, a popular form of artificial intelligence in the industry.
Representatives from Apple and Microsoft declined to comment on the matter.
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