For the first time ever, searches through Google on Apple’s Safari browser declined this month and if you’re in marketing, this is more than just a blip. It’s the signal of the start of a behavioral shift we knew was coming. Don’t take it for granted.
Today Apple’s Eddy Cue recently testified that Safari searches fell in April. The reason? Users are increasingly turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Anthropic to get their questions answered faster and more personally. Cue even hinted that Apple plans to integrate these AI options into Safari directly. It was bound to happen eventually.
As a fractional CMO and growth marketer focusing on all things digital, this isn’t just interesting news, it’s the equivalent of bat signal going out over Gotham. It’s the signal you have to take seriously.
A Brief History: Search Has Always Followed Convenience
In the early 2000s, Google overtook Yahoo not because of a marketing campaign, but because of convenience. People shifted to Google because it offered faster, more relevant results, paired with a cleaner interface. Google kept innovating introducing algorithm updates like Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, RankBrain, and BERT making the search engine smarter with every step.
Competitors like Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ask Jeeves came and went, but Google stayed dominant because it gave people what they wanted: fast, relevant answers with minimal friction and consistently delivered the best results until AI.
AI Agents: The Next Convenience Frontier
The next phase is one predicted decades ago by thinkers like Nicholas Negroponte in Being Digital.
It obvious right? Just like Tony Stark had JARVIS, we will using AI agents that know our preferences, needs, habits, and contexts and do the digital legwork for us. Instead of typing keywords into a search bar, we’ll be saying: “Hey, find me the best option for X, considering Y, and book it.” or it will already know….
And our AI will deliver faster and more personally than any search engine could. This is where we’re headed.
What Keeps Me Up at Night as a CMO
- How do I train AI models on my clients’ content? I want AI to understand and represent the businesses I serve, but how do we ensure our data is being included and interpreted correctly?
- How do I know if and when my content is being scraped by AI? Transparency from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Bard (Gemini) is limited. As a strategist, I want accountability.
- How does AI disrupt demand generation? Will my funnel strategies still work when users bypass websites and go straight to answers? What happens to top-of-funnel awareness?
- What’s the future of social media? Will platforms become more AI-integrated? How will brands stay relevant if discovery is driven by AI agents rather than social feeds?
My Advice for Brands Right Now
If you haven’t audited your website content in a while, do it now.
You want high-quality, well-structured, human-centered content that explains:
- What you do
- Who you serve
- Why it matters
- What makes you different
Think beyond keywords. Think clarity, helpfulness, and structure the same principles that powered Google’s algorithm success.
The coming generation of AI models will likely absorb and reference your public content. So make sure you’re putting your best foot forward now. Because once AI starts making decisions for users, it’ll favor clear, trustworthy, content-rich sources.
Final Thoughts
Apple and Google’s shifting relationship is more than a court case. It’s a cultural signal that user behavior is changing again in favor of whatever is faster, smarter, and more convenient.
As marketers, we need to adapt. We need to prepare for a world where AI agents might be the ones doing the “searching.” And that starts by making sure we’re creating content worth finding by humans or by machines.
Stay tuned for more on this evolving space. The future isn’t coming. It’s already here.
