AdminAfter rumors that Samsung may change the default search engine of its internal browser app from Google to Bing – perhaps in time for the Galaxy S24 – a new report suggests the change is no longer happening, which is no doubt a relief for Google.
It comes from Wall Street Journal (By Edge) and like the original rumor, there isn’t much to go on. The WSJ says internal review on whether Samsung should move from Google to Bing has now been suspended, with Samsung apparently concerned about disruption to users and deteriorating relationship with Google.
These clearly negative aspects of any potential change made the idea of it unthinkable in the first place, though it sounds like Samsung was thinking about it – perhaps impressed by the rapid introduction of various Bing AI features.
It will remain number one
Another factor to consider in all of this is that we’re talking about Samsung’s own Internet Browser app: Google would of course still be the number one choice for Chrome for Android. Nevertheless, the move would make many headlines.
We know that Google actually pays Apple for the default search engine in Safari, which is probably easier for Apple to swallow since it doesn’t have its own search engine. Google then rake in billions of ad revenue from searches done on iOS (and indeed on Samsung phones).
All that said, the WSJ quotes “people familiar with the matter” as saying that Samsung is “not permanently closing the door” to a move to Bing in the future – so Google executives may still have some work to do.
Analysis: Search is changing
One of the ways OpenAI and ChatGPT have changed the tech landscape is by providing Microsoft with a smart chatbot that can return better search results in certain situations. Since then, Google has connected its own Bard chatbot to a variety of products, including its flagship web search engine.
This means that in future years, we may spend less time opening a web browser and typing search queries, and more time interacting with a bot to obtain the information we need. This, in turn, is likely to impact advertising revenues for both Google and online publishers.
It’s hard to predict how all of this will play out, but perhaps we’ll get to a point where Google won’t be as important as being the number one search engine for Samsung’s web browser or Apple’s Safari if it attracts users in other ways. In fact, it’s a bit surprising that it took so long for the web search engine to evolve beyond its original form.
There are all kinds of uncertainties about how these bots capture information and how the people who provide the content are compensated, but it will be interesting to see how the search landscape changes – and whether Bing (or anyone else) can really challenge Google.
