After updating Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft began showing a pop-up window in Chrome asking you to change the search engine to Bing.
Clicking Yes not only changes the default search engine, but also installs the Bing Chrome extension.
Microsoft confirmed such innovations and stated that it respects user choice.
Microsoft and Google have been locked in a decades-long battle over their search engines. The software giant has Bing, and now, apparently, Microsoft has begun actively promoting its search engine among Chrome users. Moreover, it does this not in the most honest way - through pop-up windows in Windows 10 and 11.
In the latest update, Windows 10 and 11 added a pop-up window urging Google Chrome users to switch the default search engine to Bing. It appears in the bottom right corner of the screen and is very similar to the one commonly used by malware. It contains the following text:
“Chat with GPT-4 for free in Chrome! Receive hundreds of daily chat messages with Bing AI. Try Bing as your default search - it's easy to switch back. Install Bing for a better chat experience."
When you click "Yes", the default search engine in Chrome will be Bing, and the Bing extension will also be installed. After this, an additional pop-up window will open in the browser (this time from Chrome) asking you to confirm changing the default search. And even here, Microsoft contacts the user and shows him a window that says: “Wait, don’t change back!”
Microsoft confirmed to Windows Latest that it did indeed add a pop-up window in the latest update to Windows 10 and 11. But, according to the company, it only appears once, and because Microsoft respects the choice of its customers, it gives them the opportunity to decline the offer.
This isn't the first time a pop-up has appeared in Chrome for Windows. Something similar happened a few months ago, when users were also asked to switch to the Bing search engine.