Microsoft Backtracks On Making Bing Default Search In Chrome For Office 365 ProPlus

Microsoft has announced that based on user feedback, it will no longer force the install of the Microsoft Search in Bing browser extension for users of Office 365 ProPlus. Microsoft had intended to force all users to receive the browser plug-in, whether they wanted it or not. As you might imagine, that angered a lot of people.

Microsoft maintains that it has heard from "many customers" who are excited about the "value" Microsoft Search provides through Bing and what it calls the "simplicity" of deploying that value via Office 365 ProPlus. Microsoft intended to integrate that search function so that Bing became a single search engine for users to find what they need inside and outside their organization. The problem for Microsoft was that a lot of people were concerned about the way it was planning to roll out the update.

Based on feedback, Microsoft says that it will not be automatically deploying the Microsoft Search in Bing browser extension with Office 365 ProPlus. The software giant also notes that a new toggle in Microsoft 365 admin center will allow administrators to opt in to deploy the browser extension to their organization via Office 365 ProPlus. Microsoft notes that for the near term, ProPlus will only deploy the browser extension to AD-joined devices even within organizations that have opted in to receive the browser extension.

Microsoft also plans in the future to add specific settings allowing administrators to govern the deployment of the extension to unmanaged devices. Microsoft intends to provide end-users who receive the extension control over their search engine preference. These changes mean that the search extension won't ship with Version 2002 of Office 365 ProPlus, as previously announced. An updated timeline for rollout will be announced over the next few weeks, according to Microsoft.