At Alphabet's fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, despite the company's strong performance, executives remained tight-lipped about key details of the "fruit-flavored" artificial intelligence collaboration. When investors asked about the partnership with Apple to develop the next generation of Siri, Alphabet chose to avoid the question, reflecting not only the sensitivity of the cooperation but also the collective confusion among tech giants on the path to monetizing AI.

Google (2)

Skirting the Issue: Same Words, Silent Answers

During the earnings call, when analysts asked how Alphabet viewed the deep AI integration with Apple, especially the empowerment of Siri through Gemini, CEO Sundar Pichai and Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler seemed to share the same "script." Both only stated that they were "happy that Apple is the preferred cloud service provider" and were committed to developing a "next-generation Apple foundational architecture model based on Gemini technology." Beyond that, Alphabet consistently refused to provide a direct response regarding specific collaboration models or financial impacts.

Shift in Roles: From 20 Billion "Guarantee Fees" to 1 Billion "Technology Output"

Google's partnership with Apple used to be one of the most solid alliances in Silicon Valley. Court documents show that Google paid about 20 billion dollars annually to secure Apple devices' default search engine status, covering over 2.5 billion active devices.

In contrast, it is reported that Apple's latest AI deal costs about 1 billion dollars per year. Although Google has shifted from being the "payer" to the "receiver," the revenue outlook is far less clear than that of the search business:

  • Lack of Advertising Logic: In the search field, advertising links can be directly integrated.

  • Business Model Experimentation: The current AI ad model (such as links below chatbot responses) is still in the "experimental phase."

  • Conversion Challenges: Even though Google is trying to use AI interfaces for "seamless checkout," whether this interaction model can support a large revenue system remains unknown.

Strong Rivals: Anthropic's "Precise Strike"

While Alphabet remained silent, its competitors were closing in. As a rival of OpenAI and Google, Anthropic is set to run an advertisement during the Super Bowl LX (the 60th Super Bowl) next Sunday. Its focus is on the "ad-supported AI" model that Google and OpenAI are trying to implement, aiming to establish a more attractive brand image in the minds of enterprise users by emphasizing the purity and depth of logic of its model.

Conclusion: The Book of Answers in the AI Era Has Not Been Written Yet

Alphabet's silence essentially stems from the fact that there is currently no standard answer to how AI collaborations affect core businesses. With Gemini3 officially integrated into the search experience, and a capital expenditure guidance of 175 billion to 185 billion dollars