We already know that Microsoft has become more aggressive with marketing its Edge browser, going as far as to show banner ads on the Chrome download website, reminding you that Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome but has the "added trust of Microsoft". Now, it seems like the company is going one step further in its push to get Edge more customers.
As some of you might know, I have been using Bing Chat recently for random conversations on pop culture topics. For this purpose, I use either the Edge app on mobile or the desktop version. Right now, I launched Edge to discuss Mike Shinoda"s music video for Fine with Bing Chat (yes, I am weird like that) but was suddenly greeted with a page telling me that I apparently have new things in Edge to explore. You can see this image below, and as you may notice, it takes up the browser"s title bar so you can"t close this window via traditional means (pressing the "x" button in the title bar):
While I didn"t find this page itself particularly surprising, I noticed that there is a second page that you can get to after you click on the "Get Started" button below the text "Let"s get you setup for the best browsing experience". And lo and behold, it"s yet another full-screen ad to set Microsoft Edge as your default browser:
The good news this time around is that you can actually uncheck the "Use Microsoft recommended browser settings" rather than being forced to go through with Microsoft"s recommendation. However, the move may still be an indication that Microsoft will be showing these full-page ads for Edge after browser updates instead of just fresh installs or first launches (OOBE).
Indeed, I didn"t even know that this was caused by a browser update but once I unchecked the toggle and pressed the solitary button, I was told that my browser has been updated:
All in all, there"s a possibility that this is not intended behavior and is actually meant to be shown just to people who are launching Edge for the first time. However, given the flow of the post-update process as well as Microsoft"s history in this area, it seems like we"ll be seeing even more aggressive ads convincing us to set Microsoft Edge as our default browser.
Have you come across this ad before? What is your opinion on this marketing technique? Let us know in the comments section below!