Search Engine Land
  • SEO
    • > All SEO
    • > What Is SEO?
    • > SEO Periodic Table
    • > Google: SEO
    • > Bing SEO
    • > Google Algorithm Updates
  • PPC
    • > All PPC
    • > What is PPC?
    • > Google Ads
    • > Microsoft Ads
    • > The Periodic Tables of PPC
  • Focuses
    • > Local
    • > Commerce
    • > Shopify SEO Guide
    • > Content
    • > Email Marketing Periodic Table
    • > Social Media Marketing
    • > Analytics
    • > Search Engine Land Awards
    • > All Focuses
  • SMX
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • About
    • > About Search Engine Land
    • > Newsletter
    • > Third Door Media
    • > Advertise

Processing...Please wait.

Search Engine Land » Apple » Apple Siri » Apple brings Siri to Mac, new exposure for non-Google search engines

Apple brings Siri to Mac, new exposure for non-Google search engines

Soon, you will finally be able to search the web from your Mac desktop -- and Google won't be a default provider.

Danny Sullivan on June 13, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Hadrian / Shutterstock.com

Hadrian / Shutterstock.com

As expected, Apple has announced that its Siri digital assistant is coming to the Mac. The change means for the first time, people will have easy access to search from the macOS operating system — and search that isn’t Google.

Today, during its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple demonstrated how Siri will come to the next version of macOS — formerly OS X — the operating system that runs on Mac computers.

People running macOS “Sierra,” which comes out later this year, will be able to speak their queries to Siri and get information that goes beyond what the current built-in Spotlight search can do.

For instant, here’s a search Apple demonstrated today, speaking “search the web for pictures of falconry” to Siri, as shown below in a screen shot from the excellent live blog The Verge did of the WWDC keynote:

siri on mac

Notice how pictures from “web image search” results are shown. You can’t see in the screen shot, but these images come from Bing — something you can tell if you do the same search on an iPhone.

Now, compare that to what happens doing the same exact search on the Mac now:

Spotlight Search

No results at all. That’s because Spotlight search doesn’t search beyond the Mac. Occasionally, “Spotlight Suggestions” will appear that may route you to other sources like Wikipedia. But if they don’t for a particular search, there’s no way to continue on to the web or other sources off your computer.

It’s unclear if Spotlight search — which looks to remain an option alongside Siri — will allow you to also search beyond your Mac. On iOS, it does, and it would make sense for that to finally follow on the Mac.

The change means more potential exposure for Bing, Yelp and other partners that Siri taps into. It also further locks Google out of the Apple search ecosystem, as it isn’t a default Siri partner (though telling Siri explicitly to search Google on iOS does work and likely will for the Mac).

Google still remains the default for Safari. Last year, many expected that Apple might not renew with Google, as its deal was expected to be up. While no announcement ever came, clearly the deal is continuing.

Google might also have a new in. Apple has announced that Siri will open to developer integration, and Google might find ways to tap into that.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


New on Search Engine Land

    More FAQ rich results being displayed in Google Search

    Webinar: Benchmark your social media performance for a competitive edge

    Google releases May 2022 broad core update

    Spotify, Meta update political ad offerings for 2022 election cycle

    Take web hosting to the (NVMe) extreme

About The Author

Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Topics

AmazonAppleApple SiriGoogle: SEOImage SearchSEOYelp

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Learn actionable search marketing tactics that can help you drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 15-16, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover time-saving technologies and actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges.

Start Discovering Now: Spring (virtual)

September 28-29, 2022: Fall (virtual)

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

Webinars

Take a Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Multi-Channel ABM

Content Comes First: Transform Your Operations With DAM

Dominate Your Competition with Google Auction Insights and Search Intelligence

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily search news and analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • SEO
  • PPC

Our Events

  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX
  • MarTech

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.