Alphabet shares fall on report Samsung could drop Google
STORY: Samsung devices currently have Google Search as their default search engine.
But a New York Times report said the South Korean firm could switch to Microsoft's Bing.
That sent Alphabet shares down as much as 4% on Monday (April 17).
After years of Google dominance, analysts say such a move could show that Bing is finally rising in prominence against its big rival.
That's due to Bing's integration of the artificial intelligence tech behind ChatGPT.
The Times report said Google's reaction to the threat was one of 'panic'.
The U.S. tech giant earns an estimated $3 billion in yearly revenue from its Samsung contract.
Google has dominated the search market for decades with a market share of more than 80%.
But Wall Street fears the firm could be falling behind Microsoft in the fast-moving AI race.
Parent firm Alphabet lost $100 billion in value on one day in February after its new chatbot Bard shared inaccurate information in a promotional video.
In contrast, Microsoft-backed OpenAI has caught the tech world's attention with ChatGPT.
Google told Reuters it was working to bring new AI-powered features to Search, without mentioning Samsung.
The South Korean company didn't respond to a Reuters request for comment.
