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Apple cozies up to Google with Siri and Spotlight search results

Jayce Wagner
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siri and spotlight search
Alex Knight/Unsplash
As of Monday, September 25, Google will be the default search provider for Siri and Spotlight on iOS and MacOS. Previously, your Siri search results were served up by Bing, which will continue to be the default search engine for images. But any time you stump Siri with a question and she presents a list of search results instead of an actual answer, those results will be sourced from Google going forward.

It’s not a huge change, but Apple’s reason for jumping ship is pretty simple: Consistency. In MacOS, Safari already used Google as the default search engine, so ensuring Google’s results were served across all iOS and MacOS devices — when you use Siri or Spotlight for search — makes sense. Plus, your search results will be a bit more helpful, now that Bing is — partially — out of the picture.

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“Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari. We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible,” Apple told TechCrunch.

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So where are you going to see all these new Google search results? Pretty much anytime you stump Siri with a weird question or hit up your Spotlight search in MacOS for the name of that pizza place you can’t quite remember. It’s certainly not the biggest change you are apt to see in the new iOS 11 and MacOS High Sierra ecosystem, but it marks an interesting development as Apple works to consolidate its user experience across all of its devices.

According to TechCrunch, the deal with Google means better search results for iOS and MacOS users, along with a sizable chunk of change for Google.While Bing will continue to serve up image results, Google will serve standard web search results, alongside video results — so you will probably see a lot more YouTube videos in your search results.

You won’t be served ads in your iOS or MacOS search results but links you click — to watch YouTube videos for instance — will potentially generate ad revenue for Google, further adding to the substantial amount of revenue Google gains from its $3 billion deal with Apple to remain the default search engine on iOS and MacOS devices.

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Jayce Wagner
Jayce Wagner
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A staff writer for the Computing section, Jayce covers a little bit of everything -- hardware, gaming, and occasionally VR.
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