Google’s Search Traffic in Safari Declines for the First Time in Two Decades: Is AI to Blame?

For the first time in two decades, Google’s search traffic through Safari has declined. Could artificial intelligence be the culprit?

Google’s search queries in the Safari browser have shown a downturn for the first time in 22 years, according to Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of services, who made the revelation during an antitrust case against Google. «This has never happened in all 22 years,» Cue emphasized.

He attributed the drop to the surging popularity of artificial intelligence. Apple is now exploring the integration of AI into Safari. The emergence of web search capabilities in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot may be reducing users’ reliance on Google as their primary source of information.

This development is causing significant concern at Apple. Google pays the company approximately $20 billion annually to maintain its position as the default search engine in Safari. A decline in search queries directly threatens this substantial revenue stream. Cue admitted, «I’ve lost many nights of sleep over this,» reflecting on the potential consequences of losing such a critical source of funding.

The issue, however, extends beyond Apple and Google. The rise of AI is contributing to a broader decline in traffic to websites that typically rely on search engines for visitors. This shift is delivering a tangible blow to many independent businesses. Pandu Nayak, vice-president of Google Search, responded to concerns from independent website owners by stating that he could offer «no guarantees» of an improving situation.

This translation preserves the original tone and structure while adapting the language to sound natural and idiomatic in English. Phrases like «упал» were rendered as «declined» for a more formal tone, and expressions like «я из-за этого много ночей не спал» were adapted to «I’ve lost many nights of sleep over this» to align with English stylistic norms. The keywords and metadata are optimized for search engine relevance while reflecting the article’s core themes.