Samsung is reportedly considering making Microsoft’s Bing its default search engine app for Galaxy devices, posing a major threat to Google Search, which currently holds that position. The potential switch has sent Google into “panic” mode as it scrambles to improve its service and fend off competition from Bing.
Google has long dominated the search business, which was worth $162 billion last year, enjoying almost no competition. The company is the default search engine on Samsung Galaxy devices and Apple iPhones, and its app comes pre-installed on most Android devices sold globally. As a result, rival search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo have had little opportunity to grow and challenge Google’s dominance.
Bing’s Surprising Growth
However, Bing’s integration of the AI chatbot ChatGPT in February 2023 sparked a surge in visitors to the search engine, with visits to the page growing by 16% in just over a month. In contrast, Google’s visits dropped by 1% during the same period. Bing’s growing popularity is seen as the reason behind Samsung’s potential switch from Google.
Google’s Response to the Threat
News of Samsung’s consideration of switching to Bing has reportedly shocked Google employees, with some calling it a “wild” move by the world’s biggest smartphone company. The move would result in Google potentially losing around $3 billion in annual revenue, and the company is now racing to improve its search engine.
Google has initiated a new project titled Magi, where designers, engineers, and executives are working to build a new, more personalized search engine to counter competition from Bing and other rivals. The company plans to anticipate users’ needs and provide a better search experience than ever before.
Instead of just typing a query and getting a list of results, with Magi Google is working towards making search more like a conversation. The goal is to provide relevant and personalized answers in a more natural and human-like way.
But the big change with this new approach isn’t just about the conversational aspect – it’s about how Google plans to facilitate transactions. By making search more conversational, Google hopes to allow users to complete transactions directly through the search engine.
For example, if a user searches for a restaurant, they could potentially make a reservation or order food directly from the search results page. This would eliminate the need to click through to the restaurant’s website or call them directly.
Google is also preparing a new proposal for Samsung, offering its “new” search engine. However, it remains to be seen whether Samsung will side with Google or Microsoft.
Renewing Contracts with Apple
Additionally, Google’s search engine contract with Apple, valued at about $20 billion in annual revenue, is set to be renewed this year. The company is hopeful that it can thwart the Bing threat and renew its contract with Apple.
Google spokeswoman Lara Levin stated that “not every brainstorm or product idea leads to a launch, but as we’ve said before, we’re excited to bring new AI-powered capabilities to search and will share more details soon.” With Samsung’s potential switch to Bing, and Apple’s contract renewal decision looming, Google is undoubtedly feeling the pressure to up its game and improve its search engine to maintain its dominance in the market.
