Apple drops Bing search in Siri and Spotlight in favour of Google

Bing is no longer the default search service used by Siri on iOS and Spotlight in macOS. Apple has moved to Google search as the go-to service.

"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,” Apple told TechCrunch in a statement.

This means that if Siri does not have the answer to a user's query, then the system with just pull up Google results. 

Investment firm Bernstein estimates Google currently pays Apple around $3bn for this deal, based on the fact Google paid around $1bn for the same deal in 2014 according to The Telegraph.

Source: TechCrunch

Yahoo and Google try out search partnership

After revising its 10-year partnership with Microsoft, Yahoo is testing the waters with Google search ads in some of its desktop and mobile queries. Google and Yahoo won’t talk about the specifics of its arrangement but according to Yahoo they work with other search providers from time to time to “create the absolute best experiences for Yahoo users.”

The revised deal of Yahoo and Microsoft allows them to get help from other providers for up to 49 percent of its search results. Google wanted to provide Yahoo with search ads back in 2008 but the plan was axed by U.S.’s Justice Department because it could deny “consumers the benefits of competition.” It hasn’t been made clear if the companies have cleared things with the agency yet.

Source: Engadget

Applebot is Apple's in-house web crawler for Siri and Spotlight

Apple confirmed its Applebot web crawler which is an in-house search engine crawler. Applebot is currently used to power services like Siri and Spotlight on iOS and OS X platforms but could very well evolve as a standalone search engine if Apple finds that necessary (i.e. as a default search in its Safari browser). Note that Apple did not renew an agreement with Google for search service and since Apple has been shedding Google services (Maps) for some time now, it may decide to re-enter search even for its own uses.

Apple has historically worked on search engine functionality for the web, Sherlock was a huge feature of OS 9.

Facebook gets rid of Bing Search results

Facebook and Microsoft have had a pretty amicable relationship for a while already. But that doesn’t mean Facebook plans to use all its services. The social network has quietly gotten rid of Bing Search results on its site. A spokesperson from Facebook told Reuters, "We're not currently showing web search results in Facebook Search because we're focused on helping people find what's been shared with them on Facebook."

Yes, the social network is working on showing you specific posts when you search within Facebook. Letting go of Bing Search doesn’t mean the end of their relationship though. They are said to be working together in other areas as well.

Source: Reuters | Via: Gizmodo