Samsung May Default to Bing, Sending Google Into a Panic

The cracks in Google's search dominance are beginning to show, with Samsung considering making Bing the default on its devices....
Samsung May Default to Bing, Sending Google Into a Panic
Written by Staff
  • The cracks in Google’s search dominance are beginning to show, with Samsung considering making Bing the default on its devices.

    Google has been the dominant search engine for more than two decades. A significant factor in that dominance is the deals Google makes with hardware manufacturers to be the default search engine on their devices.

    According to a report by The New York Times, Samsung is considering a switch that would see Bing as its default search engine moving forward. According to internal messages seen by NYT, the revelation has sent Google into a “panic.” The contract is worth some $3 billion to Google. If Apple should follow suit, that represents another $20 billion.

    Read More: Google Won the Search Wars, but Can It Win the AI Search Wars?

    Obviously, the most likely factor driving Samsung’s consideration is Microsoft’s Bing AI, which is based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The integration of AI has helped transform Bing from a distant second-place option to a major contender. In all fairness, Google still has a commanding lead, but for the first time in a long time, Bing has positive momentum as users have started using it more and more, taking market share away from Google.

    It’s still too early to know if Microsoft will be able to poach Samsung as a partner, and Google could certainly sweeten the deal in order to keep Samsung. Nonetheless, the fact that Samsung is even considering a switch is a shocking development that would have been unheard of just a year ago.

    For its part, Google is scrambling to respond to Bing, with NYT saying the company has a multi-phase strategy. Google’s long-term strategy is to create an entirely new search engine powered by AI. In the meantime, the company’s Project Magi aims to incorporate AI features into its existing search engine.

    Lara Levin, a Google spokeswoman, told the outlet that “not every brainstorm deck or product idea leads to a launch, but as we’ve said before, we’re excited about bringing new A.I.-powered features to search, and will share more details soon.”

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