Title: Google Alerts Microsoft over Alleged Windows Deception
Microsoft has had a change of heart after being caught using underhanded tactics to favor its own products over Google's. The company was found to have designed its homepage to mimic Google's when Windows users searched for Google itself on Bing. This move drew sharp criticism from the head of Chrome, who accused Microsoft of reaching a new low in its history of deceptive practices aimed at confusing users and limiting their choices.
Windows Latest was the first to notice this latest ruse, reporting a controversial change that mimicked Google's homepage UI when searching for Google through Bing. The Verge later reported that Microsoft had "quietly killed" this deceptive design, returning Bing's look and feel back to its usual self.
Microsoft has been under fire for a series of questionable tactics to steer users towards Edge and Bing, and away from Google Chrome and Google Search. This isn't the first time Microsoft has resorted to such tactics; they've used aggressive methods like pop-ups, interface changes, and modifying Chrome download pages in the past.
While Microsoft's strategies have failed to make a significant dent in Chrome's dominance, Google's search market share has dipped slightly below 90% for the first time since 2015. Search Engine Land reports that Google's U.S. search market share dropped from 90.37% in November to 87.39% in December. This slight decrease has led to a slight increase in market share for Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo.
The ongoing antitrust investigations into Google's business practices could lead to major changes in how the company operates with its search partners and routes to market. In the U.K., the Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed a new investigation, with its CEO expressing concern over Google's dominance in the search market. Google, in turn, has responded by assuring that it will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure that new regulations benefit all types of websites and online services.
In light of these events, experts advise users to stay informed about how search engines operate, customize their browsers to set preferred search engines and browsers as defaults, look for visible branding or URLs to ensure they are on the intended platform, and explore other search engines to find the best fit for their needs.
Microsoft's rival, Google, issued a 'google warning' to its users about the deceptive practices, highlighting the 'bing trick' Microsoft used to mimic its search interface on Bing. The 'edge vs chrome' battle saw a significant shift when Microsoft's underhand tactics were exposed. Despite Microsoft's attempts to favor Edge and Bing, the 'google search' market share remains dominant, with Chrome holding around 87.4% share. In response to antitrust investigations, Google assured the Competition and Markets Authority in the U.K. that it will continue to cooperate, aiming to ensure a fair 'google cma' environment for all online services.
