Microsoft will force Office 365 users to switch search engines. In Chrome, the Google engine will give way to that developed by the Redmond company: Bing.
Very soon, the Office 365 ProPlus installation tool will change. By default, the software will offer an extension intended to modify the default Chrome search engine. Once set up, the browser will no longer make the search on Google, but on Bing, Microsoft’s in-house solution. A modification that may seem trivial, but on which Microsoft is betting a lot. And which is not to everyone’s taste, we understand.
Office 365 installs Bing by default in Chrome browser
Starting next month, installing Office 365 ProPlus will install its own extension for Chrome. It will change the default search engine. The office suite intended primarily for businesses will offer users to search using Bing rather than Google. This installation will be in the following countries: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States and India.
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“By making Bing the default search engine, users in your organization who have Google Chrome will be able to take advantage of Microsoft Search. Including being able to access workspace information directly from the browser’s address bar”. explains Microsoft in a support document. “Microsoft Search is part of Microsoft 365 and is available by default for all Microsoft applications that support it”. Adds the Redmond company.
But, it will be understood, Microsoft wants to promote its own search engine, even forcing the hand to users of Chrome in business. Admittedly, it will nevertheless be possible to exclude the extension at the time of installation either using the Office Deployment tool or by configuring Group Policy. But the discontent rises on the side of the administrators, who sometimes express their dissatisfaction on Reddit, sometimes on GitHub. While some are fiercely opposed to this installation, others understand Microsoft’s position, but would have liked this installation to be offered on an optional basis.
