Microsoft’s much-maligned search engine Bing has undergone a small but significant rebrand - from now on, it will be known as Microsoft Bing.
It is not entirely clear why the technology giant has decided to formally re-name the search engine, with the company simply stating in a blog post that it “reflects the continued integration of our search experiences across the Microsoft family.”
As part of the rebrand, Microsoft Bing now boasts an updated logo and a more Microsoft-centric homepage. Whether these efforts will stop users from referring to the search engine as simply “Bing” remains to be seen.
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Giving back with Bing
Alongside the name change, Microsoft also announced an expansion to its Give with Bing programme, which allows users to earn points simply by using the search engine, before converting these into donations for local and international non-profits of their choosing. As well as confirming that Give with Bing will now be available in seven new markets, Microsoft announced charitable partnerships with singer Janelle Monáe and Seattle Seahawks footballer Jamal Adams.
“Beyond these partnerships, we’ve expanded the number of non-profits on Give with Bing to include over 1.4 million organizations across the globe,” explained Jordi Ribas, CVP of Microsoft Bing Engineering.
“And, through December 31, 2020, we will match the points you donate to organizations through Give with Bing to increase the impact of their work on urgent areas such as public health, social justice, and education. To date, our Give with Bing users have donated Microsoft Rewards points valued at over $1 million for these non-profit organizations, and we are excited to see how much more money we can donate.”
Even with a name change and an expanded charity initiative, however, Microsoft is well aware that much more work needs to be done to improve Bing’s standing in the world of search. In terms of market share it remains a long way behind the industry leader, Google.
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