--- title: "Microsoft releases app that automatically sets Bing as the default search engine in all browsers" description: "Microsoft has released a utility in the Microsoft Store that automatically makes Bing the default search engine in all third-party browsers and offers Microsoft Rewards bonuses for changing the settings." date: 2026-08-23T17:27:33.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/microsoft-app-bing-default-search-all-browsers tags: [microsoft, bing, search-engine, windows-11, browsers, microsoft-rewards] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Microsoft releases app that automatically sets Bing as the default search engine in all browsers ![Microsoft Recommended Search Settings dialog prompting to set Microsoft Bing as default search engine](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/microsoft-prilozhenie-bing-poisk-po-umolchaniyu-vseh-brauzerakh/microsoft-prilozhenie-bing-poisk-po-umolchaniyu-vseh-brauzerakh-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Microsoft released the Microsoft Recommended Search Settings utility, which automatically sets Bing as the default search engine in third-party browsers. - The utility is built on WinUI + WebView2, the installer size is 22.2 MB, and upon completion it opens the Microsoft Rewards page. - Chrome and Brave flag the Bing Homepage & Search extension as suspicious due to broad permissions over data on all sites. - The extension has a 4-star rating based on 110 reviews and 5 million installations; Microsoft is giving away $1 million among Bing users. Microsoft's official download servers have been found to host an application called **Microsoft Recommended Search Settings**, whose sole practical function is to install extensions in the browsers available on the system that make Bing the default search engine and set it as the home page. Once the setup is complete, the utility opens a page offering a "reward" for switching search engines. In this way, the corporation continues its aggressive promotion of its own search service within the Windows ecosystem. ### What the utility is The application is built on the WinUI shell with the WebView2 component, and its installer size is 22.2 MB. The interface is reduced to a single, and only, content page where the user is offered to install Bing as the default search engine; the corresponding toggle is enabled by default. When the user gives consent and the configuration is complete, pressing the "Finish" button opens the Microsoft Rewards page in the Edge browser. In effect, the utility works as an automated script for synchronizing search settings without manually editing browser configurations. ### How the search-switching mechanism works The solution is based on the **Microsoft Bing Homepage & Search** extension, which is installed in third-party browsers and changes the search and start page parameters to bing.com. In practice, the Chrome and Brave browsers flag this extension as suspicious: Chrome warns that it may read and modify data on all visited sites, display notifications, and also change the search and start page settings. At the same time, the extension's rating is four stars based on 110 reviews, and the number of installations has already reached five million users. Notably, Chrome immediately offers to restore Google as the default search engine, and beneath this window a similar window from Microsoft is displayed, urging the user not to do so. ### Contradictory data Here there is a clear discrepancy in the assessment of the same action. From Microsoft's perspective, the utility is a convenient way to quickly synchronize search settings and earn points in the Microsoft Rewards loyalty program; the company is even running a $1 million prize pool among Bing users, emphasizing the value of switching to its service. On the other hand, third-party browsers and protective modules interpret such interference with system configurations as intrusive behavior (PUP/PUA categories), since the extension requests broad permissions to read and modify data on all sites. Thus, the "recommended settings" for the Microsoft developer become a "suspicious extension" for the browser, and both sides interpret the same actions in fundamentally different ways. ### Context: the battle for default search The release of a separate application for changing the default search engine once again shows how difficult it is to dislodge Google from the position of the most convenient default search. Microsoft's strategy is built on the combination of "automation + loyalty": the utility removes the manual configuration from the user, while the Microsoft Rewards program and the $1 million prize pool serve as a financial incentive to lock in Bing as the default service. For the IT community, this is yet another example of aggressive promotion of Microsoft's own services through Windows system mechanisms, which traditionally sparks debates about the boundaries of acceptable interference with third-party software configuration. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Microsoft launched an app that makes Bing the default search engine in all browsers window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1147284/microsoft-zapustila-prilogenie-kotoroe-delaet-bing-poiskom-po-umolchaniyu-vo-vseh-brauzerah) - Первичный источник: описание утилиты, WinUI/WebView2, 22,2 Мбайт, переключатель по умолчанию, страница Microsoft Rewards, предупреждения Chrome/Brave, 4 звезды/110 отзывов/5 млн установок, призовой фонд $1 млн. - [Microsoft introduced a utility for forcing browsers to switch to Bing](https://hi-tech.ua/microsoft-predstavila-utilitu-dlya-prinuditelnogo-perevoda-brauzerov-na-bing/) - Независимое подтверждение факта выпуска утилиты для переключения браузеров на Bing. - [Microsoft aims for widespread adoption of Bing — a new Windows 11 app targets ...](https://www.notebookcheck-ru.com/Microsoft-stremitsja-k-povsemestnomu-rasprostraneniju-Bing-novoe-prilozhenie-dlja-Windows-11-naceleno-na-Chrome-Firefox-i-Brave.1375589.0.html) - Подтверждает целевую направленность приложения на сторонние браузеры (Chrome, Firefox, Brave) в рамках Windows 11. - [Bing Chat added to Microsoft Edge for Android and iOS, the Bing and Skype mobile apps](https://www.playground.ru/misc/news/chat_bing_dobavlen_v_microsoft_edge_dlya_android_i_ios_mobilnoe_prilozhenie_bing_i_skype-1607136) - Подтверждено по источнику playground.ru ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What does the Microsoft Recommended Search Settings app do? **A:** It automatically installs extensions in available browsers that make Bing the default search engine and home page, and upon completion opens the Microsoft Rewards page with a reward offer. ### Q: Why do Chrome and Brave flag the extension as suspicious? **A:** Because the Microsoft Bing Homepage & Search extension requests permissions to read and modify data on all visited sites, display notifications, and change the search and start page settings to bing.com. ### Q: What is the scale of distribution and the incentives for users? **A:** The extension has a 4-star rating based on 110 reviews and around 5 million installations; Microsoft additionally offers a $1 million prize pool among Bing users and awards Microsoft Rewards points.