Alphabet is keeping conspicuously quiet about one of the most closely watched alliances in Big Tech: Google’s emerging role as the artificial intelligence engine behind Apple’s Siri.

On its latest earnings call, an analyst pressed executives on how Alphabet is thinking about AI partnerships, specifically the reported deal that would see Google’s Gemini models power new capabilities on Apple devices. The question went unanswered. Executives simply moved on, offering no clarification on strategy, economics, or long-term impact.

The silence is striking because the Google-Apple relationship has long been one of the most lucrative in the industry. For years, Google has reportedly paid Apple tens of billions of dollars to remain the default search engine on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. In return, Google gains privileged access to an installed base of billions of devices worldwide, a distribution channel that underpins its dominance in search and search advertising.

The AI tie-up is different. Reports suggest Apple may pay Google around $1 billion annually for access to Gemini, but the broader upside for Alphabet is far less straightforward than traditional search. Search ads are a proven money machine: sponsored links appear at the top of results, and the model is well understood by advertisers and investors alike.

By contrast, Google’s AI Mode for search, a conversational interface that synthesizes answers rather than just listing links, is still experimental. Ads in this mode are being tested in limited ways, sometimes blended into AI-generated responses or placed below them. Google is also piloting “agentic” shopping experiences, where AI guides users from product discovery to checkout without ever leaving the interface. How, or whether, this will scale into a business as large and predictable as classic search remains unclear.

That uncertainty is sharpened by rising competition. Anthropic, backed by major tech and financial players, is positioning itself as an alternative to ad-driven AI, openly challenging the notion that conversational systems must be funded by targeted advertising.

During the earnings call, the Apple relationship was mentioned only in passing. CEO Sundar Pichai said he was pleased that Google is Apple’s preferred cloud provider and would help build “the next generation of Apple foundation models based on Gemini technology.” Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler repeated the same carefully scripted line.

For now, investors are left to read between the lines. Alphabet’s refusal to elaborate suggests the company is still working out how this high-profile partnership fits into the future of its AI-first business  or how much of that future it is willing to share.