Microsoft Appears to be Rebranding Bing

After months of hints that it was rebranding its search service, Microsoft seems to be moving forward with a new brand, Microsoft Bing.

There’s no announcement, at least so far, but it appears that Microsoft has either expanded what appears to be A/B testing—where some people see the old Bing brand and logo and some see Microsoft Bing—or has completely switched to the new style.

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Previously, I would see the Microsoft logo and “Microsoft Bing” on secondary Bing pages but Bing, with the old logo, on the Bing home page. But as others are seeing as well, the new brand and logo appear to have made their way to the Bing home page now too.

I think this is a smart move, and it has some precedent. Microsoft is a much better brand than Bing, and its one of the most respected and trusted brands in the world, more so than, say, Google. And Microsoft has deemphasized its subbrands in the past, making this part of a trend: The firm replaced Surface branding on its PCs with Microsoft branding, for example, and is renaming Office 365 to Microsoft 365.

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Conversation 40 comments

  • BigM72

    29 August, 2020 - 12:24 pm

    <p>I think this is smart because I see Bing's role also changing. It's not about general web search any more. On my work laptop, whilst logged in to my 365 account, searching with Bing not only gives me web results but actually prioritises Office Delve type results showing files across sharepoint etc. If that becomes a bigger focus for enterprise end-users, the Microsoft brand is more relevant than the existing Bing brand.</p>

  • mryves707

    29 August, 2020 - 1:19 pm

    <p>Another stupid branding decision of Microsoft without any (branding) benefit. </p>

  • PhilipVasta

    29 August, 2020 - 1:32 pm

    <p>I think it's a step in the right direction, but Bing shouldn't be a consumer facing brand at all imo. No regular person knowingly uses Bing search. It could certainly be the brand of the technology that powers other things.</p>

    • Chris Blair

      29 August, 2020 - 1:36 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'm a (somewhat) regular person who uses Bing 🙂 </p>

    • fishnet37222

      Premium Member
      29 August, 2020 - 3:41 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'm a regular person who uses Bing. One of the main reasons I use Bing is because it's not Google. Another reason is they clearly mark which results are ads.</p>

    • beatnixxx

      29 August, 2020 - 4:28 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>I may be irregular, but I use Bing as my search engine. </p>

    • kingv84

      29 August, 2020 - 4:50 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>I love Bing. The image search is far better than Google. I like the points I collect and redeem for Xbox cards. The only thing I prefer from Google search is Google Maps.</p>

    • PhilipVasta

      29 August, 2020 - 5:33 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>Oh I use Bing too, it works fine for most things and I like the reward points.</p>

    • cwfinn

      Premium Member
      31 August, 2020 - 3:24 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564885">In reply to PhilipVasta:</a></em></blockquote><p>Another regular user that has BING as my default search on all my devices. Don't be scroogled! Still have my hat and t-shirt!</p><p><br></p>

  • sherlockholmes

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 2:15 pm

    <p>Why is this a rebrand? It would be a rebrand when Microsoft would change the name Bing into something completely different. Its not doing that.</p>

    • SvenJ

      29 August, 2020 - 5:42 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#564887"><em>In reply to SherlockHolmes:</em></a><em> </em>But, but, this is MICROSOFT Bing. That's way more marketable, because now everyone will know it is from Microsoft and therefore better.</blockquote><p>Full disclosure, I use Edge and Bing. Works fine for me. MS just spends way to much time rearranging the deck chairs.</p>

      • ronh

        Premium Member
        29 August, 2020 - 7:01 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#564926">In reply to SvenJ:</a></em></blockquote><p>Or the bikes</p>

      • sherlockholmes

        Premium Member
        29 August, 2020 - 11:52 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#564926">In reply to SvenJ:</a></em></blockquote><p>Dude, it doesent matter if people knew Bing is from Microsoft or not. When people used Google in the past, they will continue to do so. People who are in the Google ecosystem doesnt care about a searchengine from Microsoft. </p>

  • the escalation

    29 August, 2020 - 3:05 pm

    <p>In before the "No OnE uSeS bInG" comments. Yes, I use it, and it works fine for me personally, YMMV. If nothing else I get a free Starbucks gift card from them every couple of months.</p>

    • ricegf

      31 August, 2020 - 6:43 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564901">In reply to the escalation:</a></em></blockquote><p>So they <em>literally</em> pay you to use it? (Sorry, couldn't resist. ?)</p>

  • kingv84

    29 August, 2020 - 3:41 pm

    <p>I also see the new brand in Germany. </p>

  • proftheory

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 4:02 pm

    <p>I still get the Bing logo. I'm weird in that my main browser is Firefox (former Netscape user) and my search is Google.</p>

  • jupast

    29 August, 2020 - 6:02 pm

    <p>Well that seems rather pointless. Attach the stated 'good' name to one that isn't known as anything but a bit of a joke. Not the search engine itself which is perfectly fine (especially image searches), but you say the Bing name to people and most just scoff. </p><p><br></p><p>Why not just call it Microsoft Search, because I doubt anyone in the history of time has ever said they were going to 'Bing' something.</p>

    • t-b.c

      01 September, 2020 - 1:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#564930"><em>In reply to jupast:</em></a><em> I'm not embarrassed to say that I use the phrase "bing it' on a regular basis. Or at least I wasn't embarrassed until your comment.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • rmlounsbury

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 7:36 pm

    <p>It makes sense especially with deeper Microsoft 365 integration for work related searches if you are logged into a corporate account. </p><p><br></p><p>It makes it less jarring for Microsoft Bing to serve up corporate data than just Bing. It's a small thing but still impactful.</p>

  • Mike Cramer

    29 August, 2020 - 7:48 pm

    <p>I think 'Google Bing' would be a smarter name. Not only hilarious, but the lawsuits would provide valuable media attention.</p>

    • curtisspendlove

      29 August, 2020 - 11:48 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#564938">In reply to Donkey_Gas:</a></em></blockquote><p>I googled bing and all I got was this damn search engine!</p>

  • red.radar

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 9:16 pm

    <p>I think Microsoft’s search engine is a decent product. Wouldn’t mind seeing them take a little market share from google </p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 9:55 pm

    <p>In Edge I see <em>Microsoft </em>Bing. In Firefox I see Bing.</p><p><br></p><p>In Chrome I see the horrible staring eyes of Google boring into my soul to steal my deepest secrets and lay them bare before the world. And sell me shoes apparently.</p>

  • lewk

    Premium Member
    29 August, 2020 - 10:09 pm

    <p>It's still the old bing logo for me on all of my devices.</p>

  • RonV42

    Premium Member
    30 August, 2020 - 10:46 am

    <p>I just waiting for the comment, "Nobody uses Bing." I think this is a smart move because everything is staring with "Microsoft" in the product name now. I started seeing this over a week ago in EDGE browser.</p>

  • compuser

    30 August, 2020 - 12:00 pm

    <p>Hasn't it always been Microsoft Bing? Just like Windows has always been Microsoft Windows? Seems more like Microsoft is changing the logo (to include the word Microsoft), not the brand.</p>

  • compuser

    30 August, 2020 - 12:14 pm

    <p>To PhilipVasta on the other side of the tracks: "No regular person knowingly uses Bing search." I'm a pretty regular person who not only uses Bing, but who has done side-by-side comparisons of searches with Bing and Google. The results are almost always exactly the same, but the hits are generally arranged differently, and the presentation of the information is cleaner, more logical with Bing. I often think that people who make comments like yours are people who have never really used Bing, much less actually compared it to whatever search engine they use.</p>

    • William Clark

      02 September, 2020 - 2:48 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#565008">In reply to CompUser:</a></em></blockquote><p>I have the exact opposite experience. Searches with Bing may produce some of the same results but often times doesn't present the obvious result I was looking for. Google is usually spot on in that regard. That might be because Google has more history on my searches than Bing but I find after searching with Bing I sometimes need to go to Google to find the result I was looking for.</p>

  • rusty chameleon

    30 August, 2020 - 2:00 pm

    <p>Microsoft Windows Bing, Searcher's Edition, with Inking and Pro-pak, Fast Ring Edition.</p>

  • melinau

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2020 - 7:18 am

    <p>I'm still seeing the old Bing logo.</p><p>Switching to "Microsoft Bing", along with the MS Corporate coloured squares logo makes excellent sense for all the reasons Paul identifies.</p>

  • glenn8878

    31 August, 2020 - 1:01 pm

    <p>Bing is a useless name for branding. Making it Microsoft Bing doesn't help it in any sense. They should just call it Edge. I can download Bing and Edge as separate apps when it should be one and the same. This is also true of Google and Chrome. Both are available as separate apps.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Just bring back Internet Explorer. Retiring perfectly functional names for the next great branding doesn't work with Microsoft. Remember Cortana?</span></p>

    • diggingtoofar

      31 August, 2020 - 2:38 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#565544">In reply to glenn8878:</a></em></blockquote><p>I think it'd be bad to use the name, Internet Explorer. It has a lot of baggage. It's a joke to a lot of people, even if it's a lot better now.</p>

      • glenn8878

        31 August, 2020 - 3:46 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#565619">In reply to diggingtoofar:</a></em></blockquote><p>It was bad because it wasn't updated for 4 years since IE 6. The name is well known. I still have it on my work computer.</p><p><br></p><p>I don't see how replacing the name with Edge made any difference to it's reputation as a browser. Edge was replaced with the Chrome version without any change to it's name remarkably.</p>

  • peten1020

    31 August, 2020 - 7:55 pm

    <p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Bing is an awkward name. </span>It should be simply "Microsoft Search", but because they destroyed the consumer side of their brand it does not matter anymore. I've used their search service for many years until 2019 when I've switched to DuckDuckGo. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • derekaw

    01 September, 2020 - 4:38 am

    <p>Bing is a terrible brand name, I think that when the Bing brand was conceived Microsoft expected that it may become as popular as Google. It should be called Microsoft Search. </p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      01 September, 2020 - 8:10 am

      I agree.

  • ezzy

    Premium Member
    01 September, 2020 - 2:55 pm

    <blockquote><em><a href="#565001">In reply to lezmaka:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>No, some of us use Bing to avoid Google. It's not ideal, but it's not Google.</p>

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