Alphabet chose silence when investors expected clarity. On Wednesday, during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, an analyst asked about Google’s approach to AI partnerships.
The question referenced Google’s reported deal with Apple to power Siri’s AI features. Alphabet did not answer but skipped the question entirely.
That decision was deliberate, and it revealed more than a response might have. Alphabet is not ready to explain how this partnership affects its business.
This is especially notable as AI becomes central to Google’s future.
Google-Apple History
Google and Apple have worked together for years. Their partnership has delivered benefits to both sides.
For a long time, Google paid Apple to remain the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple devices.
Court filings from the U.S. Department of Justice later revealed the scale of those payments. Google paid about $20 billion per year.
In return, Google gained access to Apple’s vast audience of about 2.5 billion active devices worldwide (recently reported).
Because of this scale, the search partnership made financial sense. In contrast, the AI deal does not offer the same clarity.
The AI Deal
Reports suggest Apple will pay roughly $1 billion per year for Google’s AI technology. However, the payoff for Google is less obvious than it was with search.
Search ads are simple to understand. Advertisers pay for visibility; therefore, they appear at the top of the results for users to see.
AI search changes that model. Google’s AI Mode is still labeled as an experiment, and ads do exist, but they appear differently.
Some appear below responses, and others are integrated into the AI’s answers. As a result, ad performance remains uncertain.
Advertising In AI
Google first announced plans to bring ads to AI Mode last May. Since then, the company has continued testing placements. So far, nothing is final.
At the same time, Google is experimenting with agent-based shopping features. These include Shop with AI Mode.
The tool helps users explore products and move toward checkout directly from the AI interface. The goal is convenience, and its execution is still in progress.
For now, these features do not replace traditional search ads. They also do not yet show how AI will scale as a revenue engine.
Industry Rivals
Pressure is also coming from outside Google. Anthropic, a direct AI competitor, plans to run a Super Bowl advertisement.
The ad challenges ad-supported AI models and targets the approach used by Google and OpenAI.
It could be a sign of disagreement in the industry. Should AI rely on advertising? Or should it operate differently? The debate is far from having a clear answer.
What Alphabet Said
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made a brief comment. He said Google is Apple’s preferred cloud provider.
He also said Google would help develop the next generation of Apple foundation models using Gemini technology.
Later, Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler repeated the same statement. He used nearly identical language with no additional details added.
The financial context wasn’t shared either.
