How one sentence from top Apple executive cost Google $160 billion

Google-parent company Alphabet’s shares tanked about 8% on Wednesday (May 7), wiping out $160 from the company’s market capitalisation following Apple executive Eddy Cue’s testimony in the ongoing antitrust case against the search giant. Cue revealed that the iPhone maker is “actively looking at” overhauling Safari’s search capabilities and that Google searches on Safari experienced their first-ever decline last month.

According to a report by The Verge, Apple’s senior vice president attributed the dip to the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by users, a technology Apple is now considering incorporating directly into Safari.