Firefox will use Yahoo as its default search engine in the United States on mobile and desktop. Yahoo is also planning to launch a new search experience for Firefox users in the U.S, as a part of the five year deal.
Mozilla says this will provide a more "local" experience to users, as until now, the company defaulted to Google search regardless of the user's country. The company is planning to assign default search engines by region: Yahoo for the United States, Baidu for China and Yandex search for Russia. Users in each region will also get the ability to switch to other local options as well.
According to reports, the new search experience will feature “a clean, modern and immersive design that reflects input from the Mozilla team.”
Google was the search partner for Mozilla as part of a 10 year deal that ended this year. According to reports, the partnership accounted for 85 percent of Mozilla's revenue.
“Google has been the Firefox global search default since 2004. Our agreement came up for renewal this year, and we took this as an opportunity to review our competitive strategy and explore our options,” said Chris Beard, Mozilla’s CEO in a statement today. “We are excited to partner with Yahoo to bring a new, re-imagined Yahoo search experience to Firefox users in the U.S. featuring the best of the Web, and to explore new innovative search and content experiences together.”
Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer stated she believes that “search is an area of investment, opportunity and growth for us. This partnership helps to expand our reach in search and also gives us an opportunity to work closely with Mozilla to find ways to innovate more broadly in search, communications, and digital content.”
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