Apple is creating its own search engine for its devices which may end its reliance on Google, according to the latest US media reports.

The internal name of the search engine is reportedly “Pegasus” which will be powered by generative AI tools to enhance it further. The company has not made any statement on this development so far.

Although Apple executive Eddy Cue has recently clarified that the firm doesn’t need to make its own search engine, the company had reportedly turned down an offer to buy Microsoft’s Bing in 2020.

Yet, the tech world is abuzz with speculations that Apple Inc. may bring its own search engine that could replace Google which dominates the market with nearly 90% share.

Apple has recently launched upgrades to its Spotlight search feature in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, which allows users to search for web results as well, going beyond documents, and app search. This has added fuel to the ongoing speculations.

Last year Apple launched Business Connect, a tool that helped strengthen its information database with details about businesses’ hours and locations in a way that could help it compete with Google.

Google has been the iPhone's default search engine for more than a decade. But the deal has come under the scanner of the US government as the latter dragged Google to the court alleging that the web giant reportedly pays Apple and other phone makers between $10 billion each year to maintain Google’s monopoly in search and online ads.

An Indian firm has recently launched "Veera" , a search engine for android mobile phones.