If you try to search for Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude on Bing.com, Microsoft will sneak in a banner that tells you to use Copilot instead.
Microsoft going after rivals isn’t exactly a new incident because you might remember that Bing recommends against using Chrome when you search for Google’s browser on the search engine. It also tricks you into avoiding Google.com when you look for the rival search engine.
It looks like Microsoft recently started targeting AI rivals as well. If Bing is your default search engine, or you just open Bing.com in any browser, and then search for ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, you’ll see a banner that says “Your Copilot is here,” which seems to suggest that you’re already in the right direction and you don’t have to look elsewhere.
“Effortlessly ask questions, generate images, and handle tasks with Copilot, your reliable companion,” the banner on Bing.com reads.
There’s also a search bar (not the one used by Bing). This search bar with the “Ask me anything” label opens copilot.microsoft.com. If you’re not a tech-savvy user, you may not even want to try and find ChatGPT. That’s the whole point of these sneaky banners.
While someone who understands tech would not fall for it and would scroll below to find the actual ChatGPT.com or Gemini, non-tech-savvy or casual users typically fall for these tricks.
Copilot isn’t a bad AI assistant by any margin, and it’s more than enough for most users, so those who actually fall for it may not want to look for ChatGPT all over again.
In our tests, Windows Latest found that these banners are injected by Bing.com, not Microsoft Edge, so you’ll run across them in any browser. We’ve also seen a banner that almost covers half of the screen and pushes you towards Microsoft Copilot, but I wasn’t able to reproduce that again.
There’s a small “promoted by Microsoft” label above the Copilot promotion, which confirms that this is an advertisement, but it’s subtle, and most of the casual users would not notice it. Also, it’s not anything like the typical ads on Bing. Can OpenAI or Google promote their AI the same way as Microsoft does on Bing? No.
Google also has ads for Gemini
But to be clear, Microsoft isn’t the only company resorting to aggressive advertising tactics. Google also frequently promotes AI search and Gemini via Google.com. It also shows a pop-up when you browse the search engine in Microsoft Edge.
There’s a banner on YouTube promoting Chrome when you watch videos in Edge.
Unfortunately, these ads have become an industry standard. The only difference is that Microsoft is straightforward with its approach and makes it obvious that it’s going after the rivals.
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