Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla Face Industry Shift Amid Safari Search Decline and Rise of AI Chatbots Including ChatGPT

Silicon Valley's leading technology companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook (Meta), and Tesla, are confronting a pivotal shift driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Apple has acknowledged the potential to replace Google Search with AI-powered chatbots on iPhones, signaling a transformative change in how users access information. This development coincides with a noted decline in Google searches via the Safari browser, marking the first such drop in over two decades, attributed to the growing adoption of generative AI services like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Despite AI chatbots accounting for only 2.96% of search traffic in 2024, Google is expanding its AI Overviews feature to retain web traffic within its search ecosystem and gradually transition users toward its Gemini AI platform. The industry faces additional challenges from antitrust scrutiny and ongoing trade tensions, suggesting a period of reckoning that could reshape the technology landscape and internet usage for years to come.