Since its launch, Microsoft Edge has enjoyed consistent growth as Microsoft has thrown a long list of features at the web browser. However, Edge still barely makes a dent against market leader, Google Chrome. We have seen how Microsoft is willing to advertise its own services on Windows and it now seems the company is aggressively pushing Edge.
More to the point, there is now a Microsoft Edge banner ad on the download page for the Chrome browser. In a bold move, Microsoft is directly advertising on its main competitors' page.
Microsoft is going to war with Google and its main services. The company has folded ChatGPT technology into its new Bing Chat AI search engine. This is seen as a major threat to Google Search. So much so, Google had a code red and announced its own Bard chatbot in response.
During the launch of the new Bing, Microsoft was clear about how it is in synergy with Edge. In fact, the company describes Bing and Edge as co-pilot services. Bing Chat is coming to Edge as a direct integration.
This is a big overstep by Microsoft imo
They are injecting ads *into the Google Chrome download page* pushing their own browser 🫠
This should not be ok pic.twitter.com/QNc3i2sKnz
— Chris Frantz (@frantzfries) February 21, 2023
Banner Ad
However, convincing users to choose Edge over Chrome is a challenge. It seems Microsoft has decided to take an aggressive approach. Users have reported that a banner ad for Edge is showing when they download Chrome Canary.
Importantly, the ad is designed to look as if it is a part of Google's page (google.com/chrome), almost like Google put it there. It shows the message, “Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.”
I tried to replicate it and couldn't, so maybe Microsoft has removed the ad. Even so, it again highlights that Microsoft has decided search and web browsers are two areas where it wants to grow this year.
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