Apple is reportedly exploring a major revamp of its Safari web browser to integrate artificial intelligence-driven search tools, Bloomberg News revealed on Wednesday—a move that could challenge Google’s stronghold over the search engine market.

During his testimony in the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust trial against Alphabet, Apple’s senior executive Eddy Cue noted that Safari searches had declined for the first time last month, a shift he attributed to the growing appeal of AI-powered alternatives, according to the report.

Currently, Google holds the prized position as Safari’s default search engine, a status that comes at a steep cost—analysts estimate Google pays Apple around $20 billion a year, roughly 36% of its search ad revenue earned via Safari.

If Apple proceeds with its AI-focused pivot, it could intensify the pressure on Google at a time when the search giant is already fending off rising competition from AI innovators like OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Apple has already forged a partnership with OpenAI, offering ChatGPT as an option within Siri.

In response to the news, Alphabet’s shares dropped 6%, while Apple’s fell about 2%. Neither company has issued a statement to Reuters.

Cue expressed his belief that AI search providers such as OpenAI and Perplexity are poised to eventually overtake traditional search engines like Google. He added that Apple plans to include these AI players as options in Safari’s search menu in the near future.

“We will add them to the list—they likely won’t be set as the default,” Bloomberg quoted Cue as saying.