Report: Samsung Could Replace Google With Microsoft Bing on its Galaxy Phones

Samsung is reportedly considering making Microsoft Bing the default search engine on its Galaxy phones instead of Google. According to The New York Times, Google possibly losing its search contract with Samsung caused “panic” within the company, which is currently racing to launch an all-new AI-powered search engine.

Since its launch back in 2009, Microsoft Bing always struggled to be taken seriously as an alternative to Google. However, things are starting to change now that the Redmond giant has teamed up with OpenAI. The new Bing chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology helped Bing cross 100 million daily active users, and Microsoft moved quickly to integrate its chatbot within its Edge browser, Swiftkey keyboard, and other apps.

“Although it was not clear whether Microsoft’s work with A.I. was the main reason Samsung was considering a change after the last 12 years, that was the assumption inside Google,” the report reads. According to The New York Times, the renewal of Google’s search contract with Samsung this year, which is estimated to bring $3 billion in annual revenue to the company, is still being discussed and Samsung may eventually decide to keep using Google.

Still, the report claims that “the idea that Samsung, which makes hundreds of millions of smartphones with Google’s Android software every year, would even consider switching search engines shocked Google’s employees.” However, the idea of Samsung adopting Bing on its Galaxy devices may seem so far-fetched.

As you may know, Samsung already teamed up with Microsoft to create exclusive integrations of Microsoft services on high-end Galaxy phones: As an example, the Samsung Gallery app lets users seamlessly sync their photos to OneDrive. Moreover, Microsoft’s Link to Windows feature currently works best with select Galaxy phones.

Ultimately, Google is ready to do what’s necessary to protect its search business, and The New York Times reports that Google currently has over 160 people working on adding new AI features to the leading search engine. The effort codenamed Project Magi is expected to introduce new conversational features to Google while keeping ads in the list of search results.