Cortana Search Box Will Now Only Use Bing and Edge

In recent years, Microsoft has been less than subtle with the ways they push their products onto people. From the auto installation of windows 10 components to the annoying little popup reminding you to constantly update to the new OS. The next step would seem to affect those who actually use Windows 10, with Microsoft forcing the Cortana Search Box to use its search engine and browser.

From today onwards, when you use the search box in the taskbar of Windows 10 it will only display results from Microsofts search engine, Bing. When you select a result you’ll find the link open in Edge, the new browser for Windows 10. These effects are happening server side, meaning that regardless of your default search engine and browser choices if you want to find something via the search box it will use Microsoft choices, not your own.

The reason behind these changes appears to be “the Cortana Experience”, saying that because Cortana is powered by Bing and all of her features work within Edge so for you to get the best out of Cortana, it needs to run and use their technologies.

While this isn’t the first time a company, or even Microsoft, have forced you to use their search engine by default, the update didn’t even go through testing with Windows Insiders, meaning that they wanted this update to be quick and possibly avoid the negative press that comes with people being forced to use certain pieces of software or tools.