Apple Search Engine

Job Postings

Apple is advertising for jobs requiring experience with search algorithms and engine development

Current Search Product

Spotlight (built into all Apple devices)

Spotlight Introduction

2004

Spotlight Functionality

Searches device files, videos, photos, text messages, apps, and the web; provides personalized results; performs calculations and conversions

Spotlight Privacy Features

Searches sent to Apple servers with contextual info, associated with a random identifier (new one every 15 minutes), not connected to Apple Account

Potential Integration Points

Siri, Safari, other Apple products

Future Search Options in Safari

Plans to add AI-powered search options, including OpenAI and Perplexity AI

Motivation for New Search Engine

US Department of Justice's Google Antitrust Ruling, reduce dependency on Google's Traffic Acquisition Cost (TAC), manage regulatory risk for Apple, reduce China dependency

Potential New Search Engine Type

AI 'answer engine' (reportedly by a team called 'Answers, Knowledge, and Information')

Current Default Search Engine on Safari

Google

Google's Payment to Apple for Default Status

Approximately $20 billion per year (estimated 36% of Google's search advertising revenue through Safari)

2004

Unknown

Apple Spotlight is the search engine built into all Apple devices, including Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Spotlight is far from new. It was first introduced as a concept in 2004 and has been used on Apple products since then. If you're an Apple user, you've probably searched with Spotlight many times without realizing it. [...] Regarding organic search, Apple's search engine casts a wider net than Google. Google crawls the web, using a set of more than 200 ranking factors to rank each page it comes across. Apple Spotlight crawls the web and goes several steps further. It will also search your device's files, videos, photos, text messages, and apps to find relevant results. As a result, you get more personalized results when you search with Spotlight versus Google. [...] Rumors about Apple developing its own search engine that would truly rival Google have been circulating for years. While Spotlight Search has some advantages over Google, it will not bring down the search giant just yet. For one thing, Spotlight only works on Apple devices. There are plenty of users with Android or Windows phones or who use Chromebooks or PCs. And Spotlight doesn't yet work on all Apple devices.

This team — reportedly called Answers, Knowledge, and Information — is working to build an “answer engine” that can respond to questions using information from across the web. This could be a standalone app or provide search capabilities in Siri, Safari, and other Apple products. Gurman also notes that Apple is advertising for jobs with this team, specifically looking for applicants who have experience with search algorithms and engine development.

Google is the default search engine on Apple's browser, a coveted position for which it pays the iPhone maker roughly $20 billion a year, or about 36% of its search advertising revenue generated through the Safari browser, analysts have estimated. Banning Google from paying companies to be the default search engine is among the remedies that the U.S. Justice Department has proposed to break up its dominance in online search. [...] May 7 (Reuters) - Apple's plans to add AI-powered search options to its Safari browser are a big blow to Google, whose lucrative advertising business relies significantly on iPhone customers using its search engine. The news slammed shares of Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, which closed down 7.3%, wiping off roughly $150 billion from its market value. Get a daily digest of breaking business news straight to your inbox with the Reuters Business newsletter. Sign up here. [...] Apple's Cue on Wednesday also said the company would add AI search providers, including OpenAI and Perplexity AI, as search options in the future, Bloomberg reported. "(Apple's plan) also shows how far generative search sites, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity have come," said Yory Wurmser, principal analyst for advertising, media & technology at eMarketer.

Spotlight lists top matches first; click a top match to preview or open it. Spotlight also suggests variations of your search; those results appear in Spotlight or on the web. The Spotlight window showing search text in the search field at the top of the window and results below. In the results, do any of the following: See results of a suggested search in Spotlight: Click an item following the Spotlight icon. the Spotlight icon [...] ## Mac User Guide # Search for anything with Spotlight on Mac Spotlight can help you quickly find apps, documents, emails, and other items on your Mac. With Siri Suggestions, you can also get news, sports scores, weather conditions, stock prices, and more. Spotlight can even perform calculations and conversions for you. Siri: Say something like: “How many centimeters in an inch?” or “What does parboil mean?” Learn how to use Siri. ## Search for something [...] On your Mac, do one of the following: Click Spotlight (if shown) in the menu bar. Spotlight Tip: If the Spotlight icon isn’t in the menu bar, add it using Control Center settings. Press Command-Space bar. Press the Search button (if available) in the row of function keys on the keyboard. the Search button You can drag the Spotlight window anywhere on the desktop. In the search field, type what you’re looking for—results appear as you type.