Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Siri represents a "significant development" that could threaten Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) web search business, said Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.

This acknowledgement was made before a Senate subcommittee investigating the company's dominance in web search. As reported on CNET News, Schmidt backpedaled on earlier remarks when he said Apple and Facebook were not web search competitors. Saying he was "clearly wrong," Schmidt observed that "consumers are looking for answers when they conduct searches online, and social search has become a serious competitor in helping people find those answers online."

Eric Jackson appeared to think along the same lines when he wrote in Forbes that Siri is a "Google killer." Citing how it "just works" and how Siri as a service is hard to replicate, Jackson concluded that "we might be watching the beginning of the end of Google, thanks to innocuous introduction of Siri in the 4S." Fellow contributor David Coursey chose to disagree however, and wrote a counter titled "Five Reasons Siri is not a Google Killer."

I've been trying Siri out since the iPhone 4S became available in Singapore two weeks ago, and will pen my own thoughts on it later in the week. In the meantime, I would love to hear what you think about Siri and if it poses a threat to Google.

For more on this story:
- check out Jackson's article at Forbes
- check out Coursey's article at Forbes
- check out this article at CNET News

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