Siri is a Big Threat to Google - Eric Schmidt

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Siri is a big threat to search engines, and the dominance of Google in this business. That, we already know, based on statements made by industry analysts. But with Google’s own chairman admitting that Siri is a threat to the company, is Siri really the “Google killer” that could challenge Google’s core business in a showdown?

Google has risen from its humble roots as a search technology provider to today’s billion-dollar search company that also offers other services like mail, document management, advertising and the like. But search has always been at the core of its business, and anything that threatens its search dominance is seen as something to take seriously.

But as Apple has released its “intelligent” Siri search assistant, can this speech-recognition engine really challenge Google’s search dominance? Analysts have earlier pointed out that Siri could be a big threat to Google. But now Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and former CEO, has admitted to a U.S. Senate antitrust subcommittee that Siri is indeed a “significant development” in search technologies, and could be a major threat to Google’s core search business.

Even in the few weeks since the hearing, Apple has launched an entirely new approach to search technology with Siri, its voice-activated search and task-completion service built into the iPhone 4S … Apple’s Siri is a significant development—a voice-activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search.

Of course, these statements should be taken in context. By saying Google is not the only major search provider in the industry, Google wants to downplay its own dominance in the search market, to help mitigate or avoid antitrust claims. Apple’s iPhone 4S is already the top-selling smartphone among the three biggest carriers in the U.S., and Apple is also reportedly planning to have Siri run on other Apple devices, too, which might add credence to Schmidt’s claim.

But Google’s statements might actually be contradictory. Recall that Android head Andy Rubin earlier downplayed the importance of Siri, saying people should talk to other people, and not their smartphones.

The Senate antitrust subcommittee thinks that Google’s 65% market share in the U.S., 94% in the European market and 97% of all smartphone searches give it substantial influence and market power to be a monopoly. Is Google downplaying its own dominance, and has it found a good scapegoat in Siri?