Microsoft claims Edge has had a great year, with browser user numbers rising
- Microsoft Claims 10 Billion Generative AI Chats Happened Within Edge Lender by 2024
- Edge Leader also touts the performance improvements
- Security features protected Edge users from trillions of trackers
Microsoft has boldly suggested that its Edge browser has been central to the AI experience for users around the world over the past twelve months.
In a blog afterRoger Capriotti, General Manager of Product Management and Growth at Microsoft Edge, Search and Mobile, revealed that users visited Copilot within the Edge browser window to participate in more than 10 billion generative AI chats by 2024.
Edge has apparently also played an important role in other areas, such as improving accessibility with built-in translation and supporting the world of e-commerce.
Microsoft gives us Edge unpackaged: 2024
In 2024, an estimated 38 trillion characters were translated using Edge’s automatic translation feature, with built-in shopping features saving shoppers an average of $400 per year. Additionally, 800 million articles and stories were consumed on MSN, while 46 million messages and files were shared with Drop.
Capriotti also drew attention to the browser’s performance improvements, quantifying its usefulness by stating that seven trillion megabytes of PC memory were saved by using sleep tabs.
Security features also received a major mention for its role in preventing more than 1.4 billion phishing, malware, and scam attacks on Edge and more than 1.8 trillion trackers on the Edge mobile app.
However, despite all this success, Edge still lags behind the global browser market. Google Chrome is responsible for two in three (67%) desktop browsing sessions (through the December 2024 Statcounter figures), with Edge in a very distant second place (13%). Across all platforms, including smartphones and tablets, Edge ranks third with a small market share of 5%, second only to Safari (17%).
The update also notes that Bing reached more than 140 million daily active users, but this company is also lagging behind the competition. Google, with a 90% market share, leads the way, while Bing only accounts for a 4% share.
Looking ahead, Microsoft hopes that injecting artificial intelligence into its browser to improve its usability could be a way to increase adoption.