Bing wants to be Firefox’s next default search engine, and ChatGPT could help you get there

Microsoft is trying to reinvigorate interest in Bing and has done so to some extent by integrating ChatGPT – based features into it. However, those from Redmond would not settle for the benefits of OpenAI technology to gain market share from Google so they would go one step further. As reported by The Information, the Redmond people would be willing to make it the default search engine for Mozilla Firefox.

According to the media, Microsoft is considering offering to win the contract for Mozilla Firefox, which expires this year, and make Bing its new default search engine. The report cites two people who know the situation, although details about the proposal are scant.

Today, Google pays Mozilla a percentage of the revenue it generates from its online ads. This is where the Redmonds would hit their first hurdle, as the money they make from Bing ads doesn’t even come close to Mountain Views. Therefore, it is estimated that the agreement with the Firefox developers should be negotiated under a different structure than the current one. And the adoption of generative AI in the hands of GPT-4 and other OpenAI technologies could be a beautiful selling point.

The big question is: is it beneficial for Bing to be the default search engine for Mozilla Firefox? And it all depends on how you look at it. No one doubts that Google is the number 1 search engine in the world, and that is not going to change. At Microsoft, they know this and are aware that not even the improvements that came to Bing with ChatGPT are enough to unseat Californians from their dominance in the sector.

Indeed, “stealing” Mozilla Firefox’s browser shouldn’t take too big of a toll on Google’s market share. However, any market share improvements are potentially very lucrative for Redmonders. And therein lies the crux of the matter.

Last February, Microsoft’s chief financial officer Phil Ockenden made it clear that Bing doesn’t need to catch up with Google to make brutal amounts of money. “The total potential digital advertising market is over half a trillion dollars; within that, approximately 40% is in search ads. For every share point we gain in that market, there are a 2,000 revenue opportunity million dollars for our business,” he said in a presentation to investors.

Bringing Bing to Mozilla Firefox could be very lucrative for Microsoft.

If Microsoft makes Bing the default browser for Mozilla Firefox, it could open the door to a significant new revenue stream. Of course, users would still have the option to change the search engine to Google, DuckDuckGo, or others. But it is also a reality that many use the software as it is installed and does not modify the default options. Either because they don’t know how to do it or they don’t care.

This does not mean Bing’s only growth strategy is capturing new “bounce” users. But if each unique share point in the search ad market can represent multi-billion dollar revenue, the days of trying to keep up with Google are long gone. This also doesn’t mean that Microsoft is giving up trying to let you know that it thinks its products are better than Mountain View’s. It’s in their DNA, after all.

Bringing the new Bing to Mozilla Firefox would not be the only strategy of this type that the Redmonds are considering. A short time ago, it became known that Samsung would consider incorporating the Microsoft search engine as the default option on Android phones and tablets. A change that, if materialized, could be a blow to Google. According to The New York Times, Californians earn about 3,000 million dollars a year from searches carried out on mobile devices of the Korean brand.

The Information also indicates that Safari is another potential platform Bing could target as its default browser. While Apple’s browser also defaults to Google, the current link expires next year. Will those of Satya Nadella dare to try to impose their search engine on the products of their former archrival?