Google may have lost an antitrust lawsuit against it as a monopolist, but the search engine giant continues to dominate the market with Google Search. According to data from Impression Digital, Google has a market share of 83% in the global search market, while Microsoft Bing has a market share of 9.19%.
Yet the antitrust ruling, outlined in a 286-page document written by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, appears to convey that Apple shares the same view as ordinary users: Google search is the go-to tool for information discovery.
In addition to Mehta’s landmark conclusion that Google is a monopoly due to its sheer size, high capital costs, control of key distribution channels, etc., we also get some insight into why Apple rejected Microsoft’s move to Bing Install the Generated Search Experience by default proposal (GSE) on Safari.
5 reasons why Apple refuses to use Bing on Safari
The partnership between Apple and Google to use Google Search as Safari’s default search engine dates back to 2002. In other words, Apple can launch other search engines without violating its contract with Google. In 2007, Google signed a deal to solidify Safari’s default exclusivity.
As of this writing, Safari still uses Google. Google paid Apple a lot of funds to maintain its presence on Safari. (according to BurundiGoogle will pay Apple $20 billion in 2022.
Interestingly, some people would humorously say that Microsoft couldn’t do the same thing with Bing. The Redmond-based tech giant has repeatedly tried to make Bing a default setting in Safari, but due to the antitrust ruling, Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue said Microsoft was unable to offer any price. once Propose to Apple to preload Bing in Safari.
Here are five reasons why Apple refuses to use Bing on Safari:
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1. Bing’s search quality is “poor”
Cue said Bing was “inferior” compared to Google search. In 2021, Apple conducted a study that measured the relevance of search results on Google and Bing. While Bing outperformed Google Search in the desktop user interface, Apple’s survey found that Google outperformed Bing in all other benchmarks.
2. Monetizing Bing’s “bad” ads
Although Microsoft has offered to share 100% of Bing’s revenue with Apple to ensure a default spot on Safari, Cue remains concerned that Bing won’t be able to provide enough revenue because it’s “terrible” at ad monetization.
3. The Google deal is too good to be true
In order to establish a partnership with Microsoft, Apple would need to abandon its deal with Google. In an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Cook said that if Apple stopped working with Google, it would “jeopardize its revenue.”
Interestingly, Google analyzed how much Microsoft would need to offer Apple to “surpass” Google’s current products. It turns out that the Redmond-based tech giant would have to pay Apple “122% of Bing’s revenue share” to match Google’s 33.7% revenue share.
4. Google has better brand recognition
The antitrust ruling said that Google has excellent brand recognition, which gives Apple an incentive to allow Google to continue to be the default GSE for Safari.
“This is a great product for our customers, and we want our customers to know they’re using the Google search engine,” Cue said. It’s a symbiotic relationship, Cue said, because Google benefits from Apple telling the world “Google is the best search engine.” After all, Apple is arguably one of the most trustworthy brands, and users expect Apple to work with a company that provides quality services.
Having said that, partnering with Microsoft’s Bing, which has a lower market share, may not be popular with Apple users.
5. Google knows its stuff
Cue claims that Google knows how to advertise and can make money well. Apple’s senior vice president of services insists the Cupertino-based tech giant will exit its partnership with Google only if Apple views Google as an entity it no longer wants to do business with. “it [was a] Staying at Google was a no-brainer because it was so close to a sure thing,” Cue said.
