Apple is still reportedly working on its search engine to compete with Google.
According to The Information, the Cupertino company is currently involved in a multi-year project to improve its Spotlight Search functionality. However, it could still be several years away from releasing its search engine like Google.
Their report suggests that Apple has faced a difficult period in its search technology department as talent leaves to join rival firms. Indeed, Apple first began work on its web search engine by acquiring the machine learning startup Laserlike back in 2018. Since then, the company has been haemorrhaging talent as they return to Google, Bing, and Amazon.
Apple has around 200 people working in its search department, with the team responsible for Siri Suggestions, Siri Answers, and Spotlight.
Sources close to The Information believe that Apple is “at least four years” away from releasing its own Google Search-like engine. Right now, Google pays Apple around $15 billion per year to be the default search option on Safari, but in the years ahead, Apple will cancel this deal and switch to its own search functionality by default.
Apple is already planning to use the technology behind its new search functionality to power the App Store and Apple Music. This could roll out within the next year as an early test of the search engine’s capabilities.
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