Microsoft tempts users with rewards to stay on Edge instead of switching to Google Chrome

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft is taking a new approach to stop users from abandoning its Edge browser in favour of Google Chrome — by offering them reward points. A report from Windows Latest reveals that users searching for “Chrome” on Bing are now seeing a promotional banner promising 1,300 Microsoft Rewards points if they continue using Edge instead of downloading Google’s browser.

The offer reads, “Earn 1,300 Microsoft Rewards points by trying Edge,” and adds that users can redeem these points for gift cards or donate them to one of over two million non-profit organisations. Essentially, Microsoft is using its loyalty programme to incentivise people to stay with its browser rather than defect to its biggest rival.

Interestingly, this promotion appears to trigger only when users search for “Chrome.” Searches for competing browsers such as Opera, Brave, or newer entrants like Perplexity’s Comet and OpenAI’s Atlas do not show any such incentive. The move highlights how seriously Microsoft takes the long-standing behaviour of users downloading Chrome the moment they boot up a new Windows PC.

When tested independently, the “Chrome” search on Bing did not always display the rewards offer, suggesting that Microsoft may be running it as a limited A/B experiment. In some cases, users instead saw a promotional message highlighting Edge’s advantages, such as its built-in VPN, AI personalisation, and rewards system. The banner read, “All you need is right here. Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.”

Microsoft’s message is clear: Edge is built on the same Chromium framework as Google Chrome, but with additional security and AI-based enhancements. Chromium, the open-source project maintained by Google, also powers browsers like Opera, Vivaldi, Arc, and Samsung Internet. Despite these similarities, Chrome continues to dominate the desktop browser market with a 69.3% share, compared to Edge’s 15.48%, according to Similarweb data.

The rewards strategy underlines Microsoft’s growing reliance on behavioural incentives to retain users amid tough competition. While Edge has made steady improvements, including better privacy tools, integrated AI via Copilot, and performance gains, convincing users to switch away from Chrome remains an uphill battle. With this latest rewards experiment, Microsoft appears to be betting that a little incentive might finally make users think twice before clicking “Download Chrome.”