Google pays Apple billions of dollars every year so that Google remains the default search engine on Safari and iPhones.

 The deal is extremely valuable because:

iPhones have hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Most people never change the default search engine.

More searches = more advertising revenue for Google.

The payment amount has been reported much higher than $5 billion in recent years — estimates during U.S. antitrust trials suggested Google may pay Apple around $18–20 billion annually.

Why Google is willing to pay so much:

1. Search advertising is massively profitable

Every search can show ads, generating huge revenue.

2. Protecting market dominance

If Apple switched to another search engine like Bing or DuckDuckGo, Google could lose billions in ad revenue and market share.

3. iPhone users are especially valuable

Advertisers often pay more to reach Apple users because they tend to spend more online.

Why Apple accepts:

It’s essentially high-margin passive income.

Apple earns billions without building its own search engine.

This arrangement has become a major issue in U.S. antitrust cases against Google because regulators argue the deal helps maintain Google’s monopoly in search.