Apple's plans to add AI-powered search options to its Safari browser are a big blow to Google, whose lucrative advertising business relies significantly on iPhone customers using its search engine.

Apple Inc. made an unusual pitch in its bid to save a lucrative search partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, saying that the deal might not be necessary in the long run and that even the iPhone may fall out of use.

Apple is “actively looking at” reshaping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, a move that could chip away at Google’s dominance in the lucrative search market.