Apple Inc. made an unusual pitch in its bid to save a lucrative search partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, saying that the deal might not be necessary in the long run and that even the iPhone may fall out of use.

Apple stands to lose the $20 billion it earns annually from making Google the default search engine in Safari. According to Apple's services chief Eddy Cue, the company is already exploring AI-powered alternatives.

Apple (APPL) has vowed to spend $500 billion in the next four years in the U.S., with a large portion of that investment going into AI. Related: Nvidia CEO sounds the alarm on China Now a key Apple executive has spoken out about the future of AI search engines,