Alphabet declined to answer an investor’s question about its AI partnership with Apple during its fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. An analyst asked how the company views AI partnerships, including the deal to power AI features for Siri. The question went completely unanswered.
This silence occurred as Alphabet’s core business increasingly emphasizes AI. The Google-Apple relationship has long been mutually beneficial. Google pays Apple $20 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Apple devices, according to filings from the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Google. Apple reported 2.5 billion active devices worldwide last quarter, providing Google access to a vast customer base.
The new AI deal reportedly costs Apple roughly $1 billion per year. Unlike traditional Google Search, where advertiser links appear at the top of results, ads in AI Mode remain experimental. Google announced in May plans to introduce ads into AI Mode, the chatbot-style interface for Google Search. These ads appear below or integrated into chatbot responses during tests.
Google also tests agentic shopping features, including Shop with AI Mode. This guides users with product-related queries to checkout directly from the AI interface.
The Apple-Siri deal received minimal attention during the earnings call. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated he was pleased that Google is Apple’s “preferred cloud provider” and will help develop “the next generation of Apple foundation models based on Gemini technology.” Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler used identical wording when referencing Apple.
Separately, Anthropic plans a Super Bowl advertisement challenging the ad-supported AI model pursued by OpenAI and Google.
