Microsoft has seen a huge surge in demand just one day after releasing its new Edge browser and updated Bing search engine, both of which integrate a ChatGPT experience via OpenAI. The Bing app and Edge browser for iOS have quickly risen to the top of the App Store rankings.
The Bing app has risen to the No. 12 spot among all free iPhone apps in the United States App Store, while Microsoft's Edge browser has risen to the No. 3 Utility app. The Bing app has seen a 10x increase in new downloads worldwide.
The movement indicates that there is significant consumer demand for these new AI experiences, and users may be willing to try new search engines and other browsers to gain access.
Microsoft debuted the new Bing.com on Tuesday, which included the highly anticipated integration of a new, next-generation OpenAI large language model. The update includes a ChatGPT-like experience within the search engine, allowing users to converse with an AI chatbot for assistance with more complex queries and to aid in select content creation tasks, such as writing a LinkedIn post. Microsoft also showed off a new version of its Edge web browser, which incorporates the same AI features into the sidebar for easy access.
However, while the new version of Bing is now technically live, it is still in limited preview for the time being.
Users who want to test out the new AI features must first sign up for a waitlist. Microsoft stated that "millions" of users on the waitlist will be invited in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the company cleverly introduced a method for moving up the waitlist. Microsoft suggests on a landing page that users can gain faster access to the new Bing if they take a few extra steps. Setting Microsoft's search as the default on their PC and scanning a QR code to install the Microsoft Bing App on their smartphone are two examples.
The latter has clearly influenced the app's rapid ascension up the App Store charts — and it's been a dramatic ascension.
Bing was not a popular app prior to Microsoft's AI announcement. For example, as of last week, the app was ranked No. 160 on the U.S. App Store's Productivity apps chart — in other words, virtually invisible. It was nowhere to be found on the App Store's Top Overall Charts in the United States. It's nearing the top 10 in the United States in less than a week, and it's the No. 2 Productivity app at the time of writing.
Despite Microsoft's push to download it, Bing's app would not have moved as quickly if consumer demand wasn't there.
Of course, it's worth noting that the App Store's charts can be manipulated by a surge of new downloads in a short period of time — which is why TikTok marketing that makes apps "go viral" has become so effective. Nonetheless, the movement of the Bing app is an intriguing signal that demonstrates the demand for AI as well as the potential threat to Google.
Google already pays Apple billions of dollars each year to be the default search engine in Safari. However, if a large number of consumers switch to another web search app, such as Bing or Edge, to test out the new AI capabilities, Google may lose market share on one of the most popular platforms for web browsing.
It's also possible that some of the Bing app's new users believe they'll have access to AI features via the mobile app. To be clear, this is not yet the case. In Bing's App Store description, Microsoft makes no promises about using AI from this native iOS experience, despite the fact that the app was recently updated.
In addition to downloading Bing as directed by Microsoft's website, some iPhone users may have also downloaded Microsoft's Edge browser. While the Edge app hasn't risen as quickly as Bing, it is now No. 3 on the U.S. App Store's Top Charts for Utilities, a slight improvement from No. 7 on Monday.
More specific figures for total new installs may become available in the coming weeks. If that's the case, we'll provide an update with those figures.
Empower your team with our App Marketing Intelligence
Free forever. Cancel anytime.