Will Apple replace Google Search on iPhone?

Probably not as a full replacement. Apple is more likely to reduce reliance on Google for some searches than to launch a complete Google-style web search engine that fully takes over on iPhone.

A few things could shift that balance:

• Google has historically paid Apple billions of dollars a year to remain the default search option on Safari, though that arrangement can be affected by legal and regulatory changes.
• In the US, antitrust litigation over Google’s search distribution could change how default search deals work.
• In the EU, the Digital Markets Act requires more user choice around defaults, including search-related choices on Apple devices and software.
• Apple is also pushing Apple Intelligence and Siri integrations, including access to ChatGPT for some queries, which may reduce how often people use traditional web search for simple questions.

But Apple building and maintaining a global, Google-scale web search engine would still be a very large and expensive effort, so a complete swap seems unlikely in the near term.

Bottom line: expect Apple to mix in more AI and on-device answers, and possibly give users more search choice, but not to completely replace Google Search on iPhone anytime soon.