Google is rushing to incorporate AI into its search engine after it was disclosed that Samsung Electronics may replace Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its products.
The potential switch was first reported by The New York Times, which cited internal messages at Alphabet's Google.
- Rivals Microsoft and Google have been locked in a race to incorporate AI features into their search and other products.
- In March, Google employees learned that Samsung was considering making the switch from Google Search to Bing as the default search for its devices.
- The reaction was "panic," according to The Times. Google now has more than 160 employees working on AI features under the so-called "Magi" project.
- Google and Samsung are still in negotiations and the top smartphone maker could choose not to switch to Bing, The Times noted.
- Google brings in an estimated $3B annually from the Samsung contract. The company has a similar Apple contract, worth a reported $20B a year, that's up for renewal later on in 2023.
