Bing is a pretty good search engine, but the old joke still rings true for many people: Bing is just a way to access Google.

In a sneaky new move, Microsoft is trying to hide the fact that people are using Bing when they try to search with Google.

The page then added a new search bar right below the group of images that could easily be confused with Google Doodle.

The Bing interface is sophisticatedly designed, making it easy for users to confuse Bing and Google.

This happens when you search for keywords withgoogle.google.comon Bing or Microsoft Edge browser address bar without signing in to a Microsoft account.9tot5googleconfirmed that the issue occurs on both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome regardless of normal or private browsing mode.

It is clear that Microsoft’s target here is anyone who has set Bing as the default search engine in their browser, such as people who have just bought a new computer with Windows.

This is a very sophisticated move by Bing, but is just one in a long line of recent moves by both Microsoft and Google in the search engine war.

Despite many improvements from Microsoft, including artificial intelligence (AI) from partner OpenAI, Bing still has a relatively small market share compared to Google.StatCounter.

But in August 2024, Amit Mehta (US federal judge) ruled that Google violated antitrust laws, spent billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and became the default search engine worldwide.

The ruling paves the way for a second hearing to determine possible solutions, which could include a split from Alphabet (Google’s parent company), which would change the landscape of the online advertising world that Google has dominated for many years.

The above ruling is also a green light for US antitrust enforcement agencies to prosecute big tech companies.

“The court comes to the following conclusion: Google is a monopoly and acts like a monopoly to maintain its monopoly,” said judge Amit Mehta.

The remedy phase can be lengthy, followed by potential appeals to the District of Columbia Court and the US Supreme Court.

Alphabet said it plans to appeal Amit Mehta’s ruling.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling “a historic victory for the American people,” adding that “no company, no matter how large or influential, can be exalted.”

Judge Amit Mehta noted that Google paid $26.3 billion in 2021 alone to ensure that its search engine is the default on most smartphones and browsers, while maintaining its dominant market share.

“Default placement on devices or browsers is an extremely valuable asset… While a good product may be competitive enough to become the default choice when the current contract expires, a new company can only do so if it is willing to

He added: “Of course, Google recognizes that the loss of the default position will significantly affect its net profit. For example, Google has predicted that the loss of the default position on Safari will lead to a significant drop in queries and billions of dollars in lost revenue.

This ruling is the first major decision in a series of lawsuits related to allegations of monopoly with large technology companies.

“If Alphabet is forced to sell its search business, it will be cut off from its biggest source of revenue. Even the loss of the ability to strike exclusive default search engine deals could be detrimental to Google,” said senior analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf of

Over the past four years, US federal antitrust regulators have also sued Meta Platforms (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company), Amazon and Apple, accusing those companies of maintaining illegal monopolies.

All of these lawsuits began during former President Donald Trump’s administration.

Amy Klobuchar, Democratic Senator – Chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, said the fact that the lawsuit lasted through many administrations shows strong bipartisan support for the US Senate’s enforcement of antitrust laws.

“This is a huge win for the American people as antitrust enforcement is still alive and well when it comes to competition. Google is a huge monopoly,” Ms.

When it was filed in 2020, the Google lawsuit was the first time in a generation that the US government accused a large corporation of an illegal monopoly.

In late December 2024, Apple officially requested to participate in Google’s upcoming antitrust trial in the US.

In documents filed in court in Washington DC (US capital), Eddy Cue (Senior Vice President in charge of Apple services) outlined the reasons why the iPhone manufacturer did not want to create a private search engine.

The filing is about the US Department of Justice’s antitrust suit against Google, which alleges that Google has an illegal monopoly on the search engine market.

One of the US Department of Justice’s key pieces of evidence in the trial is the revenue sharing agreement between Google and Apple.

Reutersreported that Apple requested to participate in the trial to protect its partnership with Google.

Eddy Cue gives three main reasons:

1. Developing a search engine would “cost billions of dollars and take years”.

2. Search is “rapidly evolving” with artificial intelligence (AI) and investing in it now will be “economically risky.”

3. Search engines need a platform to sell targeted ads, and that’s not a core part of Apple’s business.

Eddy Cue said the US Department of Justice was wrong to assume that Apple would create its own search engine without an agreement with Google.

In addition, Eddy Cue also emphasized Apple’s revenue sharing agreement with other search engines.

In 2018, Apple considered buying or investing in Microsoft’s Bing in a multibillion-dollar deal that would allow Bing to somewhat reduce Google’s dominance on Apple devices.CNBCreported.