Even AI Hasn’t Helped Microsoft’s Bing Chip Away at Google’s Search Dominance

When Microsoft unveiled an AI-powered version of Bing in February 2023, the company said it could add $2 billion of revenue if the revamped search engine could pry away even a single point of market share from Google. Six months later, it looks as if even 1 percentage point could be a tough target, with some new data showing Bing’s place in search has barely budged—partly because of how Microsoft handled its high-profile rollout. In July 2023, Bing had three percent market share worldwide, according to analytics firm StatCounter. That is the same share it had in January 2023, the month before the launch of the new Bing. Another report, from analytics firm Similarweb, shows Bing had around one percent of Google’s monthly visitors in July 2023, around the same it had in January 2023. Microsoft is calling the new Bing a success. It disputed outside data, saying third-party data companies aren’t measuring all the people who are going directly to Bing’s chat page. A chat interface is an unusual way for people to try to find information online, said Daniel Tunkelang, a search consultant who has worked with Google and LinkedIn, now owned by Microsoft. The new Bing is “cute, but not a game changer,” he said.