Google Chrome on Windows is once again stuffed with pop-up ads from Microsoft

Microsoft is trying to convince users to switch to Bing by putting pop-ups into Google Chrome once more. Last year, the software titan debuted pop-up advertisements that resembled malware and showed as a prompt over windows and other apps. The pop-ups have resurfaced on Windows 10 and 11 after being paused to fix “unintended behavior.”

The new pop-up, which promotes Microsoft’s Bing search engine inside Google Chrome and Bing AI, has reportedly been seen by Windows users in recent days. Microsoft will set Bing as the default search engine for Chrome if you choose “yes” to this window. Windows users are once again questioning if these latest prompts, which appear to be spyware, are genuine or malicious. The Verge has received confirmation from Microsoft that the pop-ups are real and should only show up once.

Director of communications Caitlin Roulston told The Verge, “This is a one-time notification giving people the choice to set Bing as their default search engine on Chrome.” Roulston presented the pop-up as a benefit for Windows users, saying that accepting the notification would increase their talk turns in Copilot. “We value giving our customers options, which is why the notification can be ignored.”

Microsoft should provide a simple method for permanently disabling these pop-ups if it truly valued giving Windows users options. Microsoft uses a number of strategies to try and force Windows users to move to Bing and Edge, making it challenging to disable them by adjusting settings.

Microsoft’s constant attempts in the past few years to force pop-up advertisements on Chrome users have been irritating me more and more. Microsoft has been promoting its services through pop-ups on the Windows taskbar, within Chrome, and elsewhere. After a Windows update, Microsoft even forced customers into using Edge, and it frequently displays a full-screen notice urging users to switch from Windows to Bing and Edge.

Microsoft even had to address a problem earlier in the year when their Edge browser was taking tabs and browsing history from Chrome automatically and without permission. The bug affected me directly; Microsoft Edge opened with the Chrome tabs I was working on before to the Windows update when I restarted my computer for the update.

It’s been little more than six months since I wrote in August that I was “counting the days until the next annoying pop-up appears.” I’m still holding out hope that Microsoft will finally stop displaying these intrusive pop-ups and respect Windows users’ freedom to choose any browser and search engine they like.