Google issued a statement overnight addressing a wave of press coverage on Wednesday, highlighting declining search traffic on Apple devices. The response comes after Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue testified at the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust trial, revealing the first-ever decline in Google search on Apple devices. 

However, Google painted a much different picture about search trends...

We continue to see overall query growth in Search. That includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms. More generally, as we enhance Search with new features, people are seeing that Google Search is more useful for more of their queries — and they're accessing it for new things and in new ways, whether from browsers or the Google app, using their voice or Google Lens. We're excited to continue this innovation and look forward to sharing more at Google I/O.

Apple receives about $20 billion annually from Google in exchange for making its search engine the default on its devices. But according to Eddy Cue, the entire search landscape is undergoing a massive fundamental shift in the age of artificial intelligence.

Cue said Apple plans to integrate its Safari web browser with AI chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and/or Anthropic's Claude.

"Technology shifts create these opportunities," Cue said, adding that AI chatbots will become options in Safari as search engine alternatives. 

What's clear is that Apple doesn't want to lose the current Google arrangement, which is under fire if the DoJ wins the case. 

Google's statement also came after its shares were clubbed like a baby seal on Wednesday, down over 7%.

Shares are up more than 1% in Thursday's early US cash session.