Apparently not content with making Bing the default search experience within Windows and Edge, Microsoft has built an entire standalone app to encourage users to install Bing in other browsers. Called Search settings recommended by Microsoftthe Windows 11 utility can install Bing extensions and change search settings in browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
Yes, Microsoft actually made an app for this
The app is distributed as a standalone MicrosoftSettings.exe, not through Windows Update or the Microsoft Store. According to Windows latestthe roughly 22.2MB installer will open and suggest you set Bing as your search engine, with the option already set to “Yes”. After accepting the setting, the browser will prompt you to install the Microsoft Bing extension.
The extension has no small task either. Chrome warns that Microsoft Bing Homepage & Search can read and modify data on websites, display notifications, and change the browser’s homepage, search, and homepage settings. If a user accepts it, Bing will be the default and the new tab will receive Microsoft’s usual MSN news feed.
Things get especially funny when Chrome notices what’s going on. Windows Latest found that Chrome immediately offered to switch its search engine back to Google, while Microsoft responded with its own warning that it would disable the Bing extension and remove access to Bing Search and wallpapers. For a brief moment, the browser turns into a tiny corporate battlefield. The irony? At the same time, Microsoft is trying to dismantle Windows Search, removing MSN tiles, sponsored shopping cards, and the little things that have kept it busy.
But do we really need Bing everywhere?
To be honest, there’s nothing wrong with Microsoft promoting Bing. Users can still change their search provider, and Bing offers plenty of legitimate services. But creating a dedicated app to bring Bing into browsers that users have already configured seems like a lot of engineering to solve a problem that no one begged Microsoft to solve.
Microsoft clearly wants more people to use Bing, and that’s fair. But when Chrome, Firefox, and Brave users have already chosen their search engine, the question isn’t whether Microsoft wants Bing everywhere. The question is whether Bing can accept the targeting and stop knocking.
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