Google in shock as Samsung considers ditching Chrome for Microsoft Bing

Samsung is considering ditching Google’s Chrome browser for Microsoft’s Bing. The news left Alphabet in shock, whose shares slumped 2.5 per cent Monday. On the flip side, Microsoft’s shares surged by 1 per cent. Many think it’s Bing’s successful AI chatbot experiment which has led Samsung to rethink its partnership with Google.

Why is Samsung ditching Google?

The South Korean mobile phone company has long been cosying up to Microsoft. Microsoft’s Office apps are pre-installed in Samsung phones. Also, Samsung allows users to easily connect with MS Windows. 
It’s true that Microsoft’s Bing has languished behind Google for most of the time, but the launch of its AI chatbot has triggered an uptick in its usage.

When it comes to AI-powered web browser regime, OpenAI-backed Bing’s chatbot seems to have taken the lead. Meanwhile, Google is still recovering from the gaffe that Google’s own AI chatbot Bard committed on the very first day of its demonstration.

How will this affect Google?

Google pays billions annually to mobile phone manufacturers to serve as their default search engine. For instance, it pays a whopping $20 billion annually to Apple. Thanks to such efforts, Google has today acquired a 90 per cent share of the search market. This gives Google the ability to monetise its massive user base and earn billions in revenue through targeted advertising.

As per the Times, the deal between Google and Samsung might not be renewed, which will see the latter shifting to Microsoft’s Bing. However, it’s not clear if Microsoft will pay Samsung more than Google for serving as the default browser. According to Apple Insider, Google currently pays $3 billion annually to Samsung.

Is AI a threat to Google’s search business?

ChatGPT and other AI-powered services pose a danger to Google's search engine business. Although ChatGPT can produce factually wrong results, it can offer direct results to users rather than forcing them to go through hundreds of search results scattered with advertisements as Google does.

As a result, Google is pushing for additional AI features to be made accessible to the general public, such as a search engine driven by AI that competes with Microsoft Bing. This project is known as "Project Magi." The current search engine's plans are still in the early stages, and there is no specific release date for the new search technology.