Microsoft is so desperate for people to ditch Google for Bing that it’s offering a $1 million reward
As if Microsoft’s Rewards loyalty program couldn’t get any better; it’s offering a chance to win $1,000,000 (USD) if you switch from your current search engine to Bing starting October 8.
It may sound too good to be true, but so be it Windows Central reportseveryone in the United States, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Canada, France and Germany has the chance to become a millionaire, just by surfing Bing and playing the lottery for free.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has done this, with the ability to earn points by previously just searching Bing – but now the stakes are much higher and it takes hardly any effort. You’ll receive five entries instantly if you share your link with friends as soon as they enter, increasing your chances of winning.
If you’re not lucky enough to win the jackpot (there can only be one winner), ten more winners will receive $10,000, which isn’t surprising!
Is this a sign of greater rewards in the future?
While we’ve seen a plethora of gifts you can win through Microsoft Rewards before, none have been of this magnitude – it’s essentially a free ticket that just requires you to use your internet browser normally. The advantage of course is that you use Bing via Google (which is still behind Google in terms of usage) and wait and see if you are lucky.
This is a clear attempt by Microsoft to convince users to switch to Bing, even if only for a while. Despite the heavy pressure on Bing to dethrone Google (especially with ads on Windows 11), the likelihood of this having a significant impact on the popular search engine is minimal – especially considering Google’s search functionality compared to Bing’s.
Will this work in the long run? Probably not, but it’s certainly a great opportunity to showcase the search engine’s benefits, such as AI search capabilities (uses Open AI GPT-4 with conversational capabilities), which could potentially retain users.
If the jump from rewards like Xbox Game Pass subscriptions to a $1 million prize is any indication, we could see Microsoft Rewards become much more generous than before in the near future. Sure, this might be a sign of desperation from Microsoft, but we’re not complaining.