Updated October 2026
People have expected an Apple search engine since 2015. In September 2026 Apple shipped something close to one, built in collaboration with Google. Here is where things stand, what’s rumor, and what it means for your search visibility.
The short answerApple still has no standalone search engine like Google or Bing, and has announced no date for one. Safari’s default search engine is still Google. But since iOS 27 (released September 14, 2026), the rebuilt Siri answers questions from across the web itself, using Apple Foundation Models built in collaboration with Google’s Gemini. For most iPhone users, that is now the closest thing to “Apple search.”
Not a public one you can visit. There is no Apple equivalent of google.com. What Apple does have is most of the parts:
- Its own web crawlerApplebot has crawled the web since 2015. It feeds Siri suggestions, Spotlight and Safari suggestions, and now Siri’s web answers.
- Its own search surfacesSpotlight, Safari suggestions, Maps and the App Store all run Apple-built search. In iOS 27, swiping down on the iPhone home screen opens a “Search or Ask” view that hands questions to Siri.
- An answer engine inside SiriBloomberg reported in 2025 that Apple was building an AI answer engine for Siri, code-named World Knowledge Answers, with Safari and Spotlight to follow. Siri AI in iOS 27 is the first version people can use. Apple says it uses “information from across the web” to answer questions.
So the honest answer to “when will the Apple search engine come out” is that it’s arriving piece by piece, inside Siri and Spotlight, rather than as a new website. Behind the scenes, Siri and ChatGPT split one spoken question into several searches, a process known as query fan-out.
Today’s setup
What search engine does Apple use?
Safari uses Google by default. Google pays Apple to be the default search engine in Safari, about $20 billion in 2022 according to court records. In September 2025, a federal judge ruled in the US search antitrust case that Google can keep paying for default placement, but the deals can’t be exclusive and must be renegotiated every year. Both Google and the Justice Department have appealed.
Siri now uses Apple’s own models, built with Google. Apple and Google announced a multi-year partnership in January 2026. Apple’s announcement of Siri AI says it is “custom-built in collaboration with Google and its Gemini models.” Reports put the cost at about $1 billion a year and say the models run on Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers. It’s accurate to say Gemini helps power Siri. It isn’t accurate to say Google runs Siri.
You can change Safari’s search engine. On iPhone, open Settings, go to Apps, then Safari, then Search Engine (on older iOS versions, Settings, then Safari). The options include Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. Since iOS 14 you can also make another browser, such as Chrome, your default browser, but that’s your choice, not part of any Apple deal.
Timeline
How Apple got here (2015–2026)
- 2015
Applebot goes public
Apple documents its web crawler, used for Siri and Spotlight suggestions.
- 2022
The default-search deal hits $20 billion
Court records later show Google paid Apple about $20 billion that year to stay Safari’s default.
- Dec 2024
ChatGPT arrives in Siri
iOS 18.2 lets Siri hand some questions to ChatGPT. By May 2026, reports said the partnership had soured and OpenAI was weighing legal action over it. Apple’s Siri AI announcement doesn’t mention ChatGPT.
- May 2025
Safari searches dip
Apple’s Eddy Cue testified that Safari searches fell in April 2025 for the first time in 22 years, and blamed AI tools. Google disputed that its searches from Apple devices were falling.
- Jun 2025
Perplexity rumors
Bloomberg reported that Apple executives had discussed a possible bid for Perplexity. Perplexity said it knew of no talks, and no deal has been announced.
- Sep 2025
Antitrust remedies
The judge allows Google’s payments to continue, with no exclusive deals and one-year terms.
- Jan 2026
Apple picks Gemini
Apple and Google announce that Gemini models will help power the next generation of Apple’s AI and Siri.
- May 2026
Gemini Spark demoed on an iPhone
Google shows its Gemini Spark agent at I/O on an iPhone 17 Pro. It runs in the Gemini app on iPhone for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. It isn’t built into iOS.
- Sep 14, 2026
Siri AI ships in iOS 27
The rebuilt Siri answers web questions, holds a conversation, and works as its own app. It launched in English in beta, with more languages to follow, and not yet in the EU or China.
Sources: Apple Newsroom, CNN, 9to5Mac, Fortune, Engadget, SiliconANGLE, TechRadar.
Already big
Apple Maps is already a search engine
Every “coffee near me” or “plumber open now” asked on an iPhone through Siri, Spotlight or Maps is a local search Apple answers itself. Showing up in those answers is now part of local SEO services, alongside Google Maps and the local pack. Apple doesn’t publish Apple Maps usage, so independent estimates range widely, from a few hundred million users to close to a billion. Whatever the true number, it’s the default map on every iPhone, and Siri AI makes those local answers more conversational.
If your business serves local customers, claim and complete your listing in Apple Business Connect the same way you manage your Google Business Profile.
What to do
What Apple search means for SEO
We’d welcome a real Apple search engine. More competition for the answer box is good for brands that do the work. You don’t need to wait for one to prepare.
Crawl
Let Applebot in
Check that robots.txt and your firewall don’t block Applebot. If you don’t want your content used to train Apple’s models, block Applebot-Extended, not Applebot. Blocking Applebot hides you from Siri and Spotlight answers.
Answers
Write answer-first pages
Siri AI summarizes the web, like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT. Pages that answer the question in the first sentence under each heading are easier to summarize and cite.
Local
Own your Apple Maps listing
Apple Business Connect controls your hours, photos, categories and actions in Maps, Siri and Spotlight. It’s the Apple version of your Google Business Profile.
Entities
Make your brand easy to identify
Consistent names, addresses and Organization schema help any AI system connect your pages to your brand, whether it’s Siri, Gemini, ChatGPT or Perplexity.
Google
Keep winning on Google
Google is still Safari’s default and helps power Siri’s models. Strong Google visibility still carries over to iPhone users.
Measure
Track AI-assistant traffic
Watch for visits from AI assistants in your analytics, and look for conversational prompts in Search Console. Our guide to finding AI conversations in Search Console shows how.
Why would an Apple search platform help? Search isn’t a fixed pie. Each new AI search surface, from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Siri, gets more people asking more questions in more places, so a real Apple search engine would add searches rather than just move them. That’s the idea behind search everywhere optimization, which we explain in our guide to how AI search works: be the answer on every platform where your buyers ask.
FAQs
Straight answers
When will the Apple search engine come out?
Apple hasn’t announced a standalone search engine. Its answer engine shipped inside Siri AI with iOS 27 on September 14, 2026, and reports say Apple plans to extend it to Safari and Spotlight.
Does Apple have its own search engine?
Not a public website like Google. Apple runs its own crawler, Applebot, and its own search in Spotlight, Maps and the App Store, and since iOS 27 Siri answers web questions directly.
What search engine does Apple use?
Safari uses Google as its default search engine. Siri AI uses Apple Foundation Models built in collaboration with Google’s Gemini models.
What search engine does Siri use?
Siri AI in iOS 27 answers from across the web using Apple’s own models, built with Google’s Gemini. When it opens web results in Safari, it uses whatever search engine you’ve set there, which is Google by default.
What is the default search engine on iPhone?
Google. You can switch to Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia in Settings, under Apps, then Safari, then Search Engine.
Is Apple buying Perplexity?
No deal has been announced. Bloomberg reported in 2025 that Apple executives discussed a possible bid, and Perplexity said it knew of no talks.
Is ChatGPT still part of Siri?
The ChatGPT integration arrived in iOS 18.2 in December 2024. In 2026, reports said the partnership had soured, and Apple’s Siri AI announcement names Google’s Gemini as its model partner, not OpenAI.
Get found in AI answers
Be the answer, wherever they ask
We help brands show up in Google, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and now Siri. We’ll show you where you stand today.
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