- Microsoft has been accused of using an underhand trick to drive Bing traffic
- In certain situations, searching for ‘Google’ in Bing will produce a results page that looks a lot like Google’s home page
- Critics argue this might lead to people searching via Bing rather than Google without knowing
Microsoft’s been accused of using underhand tricks that push the use of the Bing search engine at the expense of Google – and the outcry has prompted a senior Google employee to speak out.
According to Windows Latest, people who searched for Google using either Edge or Chrome web browsers with Bing set as their default search engine would get a results page that looked a lot like Google’s home page, rather than the usual Bing results page.
When Bing returns the search results, Microsoft has apparently made a change so that the Bing search bar – normally found at the top of the list of results – has had an image added to it, rather like a Google doodle.
This has led to some on the internet accusing Microsoft of making it look like the Google home page has loaded, and even suggesting that the web page is loaded in such a way that the ‘Microsoft Bing’ logo and bar at the very top are hidden away.
This could make users go ahead and run a search, using the Bing bar, while thinking they are using Google.
The backlash has been swift and vocal, with even a senior employee at Google weighing in.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Microsoft spoofing the Google homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks to confuse users & limit choice. New year; new low @Microsoft https://t.co/LKSNNKB7HyJanuary 6, 2025
This is a major intervention – and a surprising one at that. Parisa Tabriz is VP of Chrome at Google, and she’s making some bold accusations, even going as far as to tag Microsoft. We don’t often see such senior employees getting involved in accusations that (as far as we can tell) are far from substantiated.
The fact that Tabriz has commented on this, likely with senior Google staff knowing about it, suggests that Google is not happy about this. However, we shouldn’t rush to judgment, and Google should be careful about amplifying accusations against a major rival (and one that Google frequently collaborates with).
Analysis: An unedifying spat
Neither Google nor Microsoft come out of this particularly well. There’s no denying that the results page for ‘Google’ using Bing does look a lot like Google’s home page (we’ve tried it here ourselves), and the usual Bing branding is indeed obscured as the page loads slightly scrolled down. Perhaps the most damning aspect is that this only happens when you search for ‘Google’. Other searches (we tried ‘hats’) gives you the default Bing page.
Microsoft’s past attempts to get people to use its services means many people are reluctant to give it the benefit of the doubt – but regardless of your opinion of the company, we have to bear in mind that there’s no evidence that this is a deliberate ploy to trick users into using Bing over Google.
This makes Tabriz’s comment all the more risky, especially as due to her position in the company, many people might assume her comments reflect the views of Google – and that opens it up to accusations of hypocrisy.
Google’s rise to the top of the search engine and browser markets has led to accusations of limiting choice for users with tactics that some describe as unfair.
So, while Microsoft’s motivations should definitely be interrogated, Google should also be careful about throwing too many stones from its own glass house. We’ve reached out to both Microsoft and Google for their responses to these accusations and we’ll update this story when we hear back.
As for users who just want to search the internet in peace – this is a reminder that like most things you do on the internet, you should always make sure you’re using the website or service that you trust by double-checking before you enter in any information.
Via 9 to 5 Google