Apple has decided to use Google instead of Bing as the web search engine in Siri for iOS and macOS as well as for Spotlight in macOS Sierra or High Sierra.
Apple confirmed the move in a recent statement, saying the change was to ensure consistency between supported Mac and iOS devices. Of course, let's not forget that Google paid Apple $3 billion to remain the default search engine for iOS and macOS.
"By choosing Google as the web search provider for Siri on iOS and Spotlight on Mac, we achieve a consistent web search experience with Safari. We have strong relationships with both Google and Microsoft and remain committed to providing the best possible user experience," an Apple spokesperson said.
But Apple is giving its users alternatives. If for some reason you don't want to use Google search, you can re-enable Microsoft's Bing on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac, but only for the Safari browser. Yahoo and DuckDuckGo are also available as alternative search engines in the latest iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra 10.13 operating systems.
Unfortunately, there's no way to re-enable Bing for Siri and Spotlight. Apple started the change at 4 p.m., but it seems that while web links are coming from Google Search, video results are coming from YouTube, and image results are still coming from Bing.
