Full-size Microsoft Edge ads reported on Chrome website

[Daniel Sims]

Facepalm: Microsoft has been trying everything to convince Windows users to switch from its rival browser Chrome to Edge. It has tried various tactics, like adding multiple features and making default browser settings obtuse. However, its latest stunt might reach a new level of desperation.

Neowin reports that non-stable versions of Microsoft Edge temporarily displayed full-sized banner ads on the Chrome website. The move is the latest of many attempts to get Windows users to stick with Edge as their primary browser.

Microsoft knows that when many users first launch Edge after installing Windows, they go straight to the Chrome website to download Google's browser. A lawyer for Google's parent company, Alphabet, submitted evidence proving this in 2021. What better place to advertise Edge?

Two ads appeared when users tried to download Chrome. First, a small prompt emerged upon loading the Chrome page, then a full-length banner once the download started. Both informed users that Edge runs on the same engine as Chrome – Chromium – but with the "added trust of Microsoft," possibly a jab at Google's reputation for collecting and selling users' information.

According to Neowin, Microsoft removed the ads from the Canary, Dev, and stable versions of Edge, but it still appears in the beta build. When I loaded the Chrome download page on stable, the small pop-up still appeared with a button to switch the default browser to Edge.

Such efforts haven't pushed Microsoft's browser anywhere close to Google's market share. According to Statcounter's January 2023 report, 66 percent of desktop users still prefer Chrome, with Edge as a distant second at 11 percent. Those numbers have barely budged over the last year.

Redmond has added various features to its browser to make it more appealing, including Adobe's Acrobat PDF reader, disk cache compression, a free Cloudflare-based VPN, and more. However, Microsoft's best chance to change the paradigm might be in the emerging AI-powered search engine and chatbot market.

Since the recent explosion in ChatGPT's popularity, Microsoft, Google, and others have raced to release chatbots, search engines, and other tools using generative text AI. Microsoft has taken the opportunity to embed the technology in new versions of Edge and its Bing search engine. However, as the company prepares Bing Chat for public release, initial testing has uncovered embarrassing and concerning flaws.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97699-full-size-microsoft-edge-ads-reported-chrome-website.html

 

[sorten]

Seems reasonable to me. Every time I go to Google maps I see an ad asking me to switch to Chrome. But why would I switch back to Chome when they share the same Chromium engine, and Microsoft is quicker to innovate.

I have to say, though, that I'm pretty unhappy with Microsoft's handling of Edge settings. Several times now my preferences for a "new tab" have been reset. I configured it so I don't see recommendations/ads, news, greetings, backgrounds, etc. Every couple of months I launch Edge and see a full page of content and I think about rage quitting to a new browser, but I haven't switched yet.

 

[yannus]

The power of corporations is the real problem. They push ignorant people in the direction they want. In a world without corruption, firefox and chromium would lead the way.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

I only use Edge for rewards. Have so managed to get about $60 worth of gift cards. Otherwise FF all the way. Only Chromium based browser I would use is Brave.

 

[yRaz]

The power of corporations is the real problem. They push ignorant people in the direction they want. In a world without corruption, firefox and chromium would lead the way.

FireFox did lead the way but Chrome came around and was so much faster that people using FF were willing to give up a lot to make the switch. Once google had people by the balls with Chrome they started to lock it down.

 

[Nobina]

Chrome, before it became as popular as it is now, was pushed as bloatware along with shoddy anti-virus software.

 

[thewelshbrummie]

Considering how often Google pushes a Chrome popup whenever I use any Google based website I have no issue with Microsoft using the same tactics.

Especially since I've recently started seeing prompts to log into a Google account on pretty much every website I go to where creating an account is an option. Twitter & Reddit are pretty bad for it but even retail websites are coming up with that prompt. And that's when I'm using Firefox.

I'd rather neither company did this but at least call out Google as well if you're going to publish an article like this.

 

[yRaz]

Considering how often Google pushes a Chrome popup whenever I use any Google based website I have no issue with Microsoft using the same tactics.

Especially since I've recently started seeing prompts to log into a Google account on pretty much every website I go to where creating an account is an option. Twitter & Reddit are pretty bad for it but even retail websites are coming up with that prompt. And that's when I'm using Firefox.

I'd rather neither company did this but at least call out Google as well if you're going to publish an article like this.

one of the biggest reasons I switched from chrome back to Firefox was that their mobile browser has support for addons such as ad and popup blockers. I feel like I've reclaimed the mobile internet. It was also very easy to move all of my chrome account data to firefox to use firefox as a password manager on both my desktop and smartphone.

Goodbye chrome and I hope I never have to use Edge

 

[Puiu]

one of the biggest reasons I switched from chrome back to Firefox was that their mobile browser has support for addons such as ad and popup blockers. I feel like I've reclaimed the mobile internet. It was also very easy to move all of my chrome account data to firefox to use firefox as a password manager on both my desktop and smartphone.

Goodbye chrome and I hope I never have to use Edge

I use a special "VPN" app that runs on my phone and blocks ads.

 

[trgz]

What's Chrome? What are ads? Never seen anything for any of the members of U2 pop up in my browser

 

[dangh]

Seems reasonable to me. Every time I go to Google maps I see an ad asking me to switch to Chrome. But why would I switch back to Chome when they share the same Chromium engine, and Microsoft is quicker to innovate.

Considering how often Google pushes a Chrome popup whenever I use any Google based website I have no issue with Microsoft using the same tactics..

There is quite a bit of difference on where the check is made and what generated the advertisement.
It is not like you open the MS Office page in Chrome, and Chrome recommends you to switch to google doc. If you open MS Office page in Chrome, the page can give recommendation to switch to edge. No issues with that.
same, if you open Google page in Edge, no issue with recommending Chrome as a browser.
The point of check is important. Lets say you're selling the donuts. You got the website to sell your donuts. If potential customer goes to your page you want to be sure he will buy your donuts. You will not put on your page any information saying - get a donuts from my competitors. And on your page you can surely say - my donuts are the best, please try it and eat only them!

What microsoft is doing, it is like making potential customer going to buy a donuts on your page, but before user will see that your donuts are the best, he will see information: those donuts are crap. Go somewhere else to get better donuts.
This check is made on the infrastructure side, not on website side. Meaning, someone uses OS as middleman to put their agenda. Imagine you go to Amazon and google for PlayStation. You click on the button 'add to card' and you'll get a system notification saying: take a second guess, wouldn't you prefer an xbox?
That how it works now with edge, and that's why this is disgraceful.

 

[OortCloud]

MS or Google - that's a tough call. I go with MS because they don't pretend their your best mate like Google does. You invite Google to your party and they sneak upstairs and steal all your stuff then take a dump in your pillow case.
Also since the Chromium rewrite, Edge is slightly quicker and uses less CPU than Chrome and is installed whether you want it or not. As Sorten said there is some really annoying stuff around new tabs/home page where it keeps trying to shoehorn Bing back in, but other than that, it just works.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

This is concerning because the browser is watching to see if you visit a competitor’s page and then injecting an ad onto their website. It’s a free product at least, but how bad would it be if it wasn’t? For instance if Safari inserted an ad on a webpage when browsing the web to look for an Android phone replacement, that’s practically the same thing except with significantly more monetary incentive to Apple.

 

[Guillermo Belli]

"With the added trust of Microsoft"

Well, I don't trust M$ at all just as I don't trust Google. Either way I don't use Chrome nor Edge.

 

[BeeeRick]

“added trust of Microsoft”
But does anyone really trust Microsoft at all? Seriously....

 

[mbk34]

What really annoys me with edge is that it quietly tries to make itself my default browser every time there's any form of system update. That and the fact you can't uninstall it. I like to make my own choices.

 

[tellmewhy]

Why don't they put in Edge this cute agent powered by some advanced artificial intelligence that will run locally? So it'll be like the old joke if you install Chrome I'll "kill" the kitty

 

[hwertz]

Popping up banner ads on sites you don't own is greasy, period.
Glad I don't use Windows!

 

[takemaru]

Any Vivaldi users here?

 

[rsmith222]

FireFox did lead the way but Chrome came around and was so much faster that people using FF were willing to give up a lot to make the switch. Once google had people by the balls with Chrome they started to lock it down.

The primary reason people switched to Chrome is because of the ads for Chrome in Google searches.

People don't like to be nagged/hounded plus the bandwagon is powerful. 'Oh, I see everyone is switching to Chrome. It really must be faster and better. Plus, I will stop being nagged every time I look up something.'

I don't think speed was the real issue, although the claim of greater speed certainly was a huge part of the marketing.

Google is Firefox's primary money supplier and the program is infested by "goog" tech, so Google certainly won that war.

I do also think Chrome is a catchier name than Firefox, even though I don't like it.

 

[yRaz]

The primary reason people switched to Chrome is because of the ads for Chrome in Google searches.

People don't like to be nagged/hounded plus the bandwagon is powerful. 'Oh, I see everyone is switching to Chrome. It really must be faster and better. Plus, I will stop being nagged every time I look up something.'

I don't think speed was the real issue, although the claim of greater speed certainly was a huge part of the marketing.

Google is Firefox's primary money supplier and the program is infested by "goog" tech, so Google certainly won that war.

I do also think Chrome is a catchier name than Firefox, even though I don't like it.

I think people forget just how much faster than FireFox it was when it first came out.

 

[rsmith222]

I think people forget just how much faster than FireFox it was when it first came out.

There's no way to prove it, unfortunately. However, I believe that, had Google not added its nagware ad to its search (no advertising for Chrome via Google search and Google products) the browser wouldn't have caught on — at least not without it being adopted via some kind of major agreements, as Microsoft made with Apple to make IE the default Mac browser.

Google and other huge powerful companies are fueled by ad revenue precisely because of its power over people.

Had a company without that massive ad platform created and released the same browser...