Microsoft To Force Bing As Default Chrome Search Engine With Office 365 ProPlus

It's no secret that Google has the most popular search engine on the planet and the most popular browser with Chrome. Microsoft also has its widely popular Office 365 suite of software. Microsoft now wants all the people that use Office 365 ProPlus to change to using its Bing search engine. The software giant announced this week that it would be forcing users to install the "Microsoft Search in Bing" extension if they are using the Chrome browser for all Office 365 ProPlus customers.

The extension will be forced on the users with the version 2002 rollout of Office 365 ProPlus. That rollout is set to start in February, and there will be a broader rollout in March. The first countries to be graced with the forced search change will be the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.

Installing the "Microsoft Search in Bing" Chrome extension makes Bing the default search engine in Chrome. Microsoft tries to justify its decision in a support document on the change stating that users in the organization will get to take advantage of Microsoft Search, including being able to access relevant workplace information from the browser address bar.

The only way that the browser extension won't be installed is if Bing is already the default search engine in Chrome. System admins aren't happy about Microsoft's plans with one saying on reddit that the change should be optional. That user says that Microsoft underestimates the amount of helpdesk calls the move will generate. To that end, Microsoft has provided instructions on how Office 365 ProPlus customers can exclude the extension from being installed using the Office Deployment Tool or Group Policy. Instructions for removal after it is installed are also offered.

Microsoft has angered some Windows 10 users recently with plans to force its new Chromium Edge browser on most users.