The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Apple is "actively looking" at adding artificial-intelligence-powered search options to its Safari browser, potentially dealing a big blow to Google's dominance of the search market. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says Apple executive Eddy Cue made the comments while testifying as a witness for Google in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case over Google's dominance in online search. Alphabet shares fell 6 per cent on Wednesday, while Apple slid 2 per cent. Google is the default search engine on Apple's browser, a coveted position for which it pays Apple roughly $20-billion (U.S.) annually, or about 36 per cent of its search advertising revenue generated through the Safari browser. Any shift in Apple's approach could reshape the search landscape, given its vast installed base of around 2.5 billion devices, which makes the company one of the world's most influential gatekeepers for on-line search. Google is already facing fierce competition from AI start-ups such as OpenAI and Perplexity. "The loss of exclusivity at Apple should have very severe consequences for Google even if there are no further measures," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said.