Microsoft accused of making Bing look just like Google search — and Google fires back

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This feels a little shady, but 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'

Bing vs Google
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Microsoft really wants you to use Bing to find stuff on the web, but users seem to really want to use Google to find websites and other content. So, it appears Microsoft has landed on a new trick to get people to use its tool: when you search for Google on Bing, the results page changes to look more like Google's famous white website. Which could be read as trying to spoof some users into thinking they're on Google.

If you look at your address bar, you can see that you're still on Bing, but it would be easy to fall for this trick if you're not paying attention. Thankfully, searching on Bing instead of Google won't make anything bad happen to your computer, except for getting different results than you might be used to.

Bing looking like Google search

(Image credit: Future)

The correct results appear under the Google-like search bar, so you can still get to Google through Bing if you want. Or you could just type Google.com into your address bar to avoid unnecessary steps.

For its part, Google seems to be taking Microsoft's new tactic in stride. Google's Parisa Tabriz said in an X post, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Microsoft spoofing the Google homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks to confuse users & limit choice,” says Tabriz. “New year; new low Microsoft."

This is far from the first time Microsoft has tried to trick users away from Google. In fact, The Verge is cataloging every tactic the company has used over the years, and it's a long list. Some highlights include modifying Chrome download sites, injecting polls into Chrome download pages and more.

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Dave LeClair
Dave LeClair
Senior News Editor

Dave LeClair is the Senior News Editor for Tom's Guide, keeping his finger on the pulse of all things technology. He loves taking the complicated happenings in the tech world and explaining why they matter. Whether Apple is announcing the next big thing in the mobile space or a small startup advancing generative AI, Dave will apply his experience to help you figure out what's happening and why it's relevant to your life.