Windows chief Pavan Davuluri responds to a long-running complaint about Bing

Sarah Chaney
·2 min read
Pavan Davuluri, head of Microsoft Windows, speaks at the Microsoft Build event in Seattle, Washington, US, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The event allows attendees to grow their skills in topics such as building copilots, generative AI, securing applications, cloud platforms, and low-code. Photographer: Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Pavan Davuluri, head of Microsoft Windows, speaks at the Microsoft Build event in Seattle, Washington, US, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The event allows attendees to grow their skills in topics such as building copilots, generative AI, securing applications, cloud platforms, and low-code. Photographer: Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Are you tired of seeing ads and prompts to switch to Bing? Microsoft's new Windows and Surface chief, Pavan Davuluri, has said in a new interview that he "[hears] you on it."

If you're unfamiliar with the intrusive nature of Microsoft's Bing pop-ups and prompts, here's a brief refresher:

Microsoft has an unfortunately pushy history when it comes to Bing. Pop-ups to switch to Microsoft's proprietary search engine previously showed up in 2021 after a Windows 10 update, a year ago with a BGAUpsell.exe prompt, and in March of this year with an annoying Chrome notification. And that's only a few examples over the past couple of years.

bgaupsell bing prompt
bgaupsell bing prompt

Four months ago, Redditor @Boomayeee on r/Windows 11 said that with every update, they're "prompted to set [Bing] as default search engine," despite clicking 'No' every time. One user (@Chedyus) chimed in: "It happens to me as well after every new version they push."

In another Reddit thread on the Bing pop-up in Google Chrome two months ago, Redditor @b_86 aptly said, "Microsoft, stop using literal malware tactics to position your products and services."

bing pop up in chrome
bing pop up in chrome

Will Microsoft actually pull back on intrusive Bing ads?

The quote is tucked away in an interview published on Thursday in The Verge with Tom Warren.

Davuluri, a 23-year Microsoft veteran, tells Warren that the issue of Bing prompts and ads is "front and center" for him and that he wants to "[make] sure we are winning Windows customers through great experiences at the end of the day."

Davuluri continues, "We want them to enjoy Windows. We want them to want it. So I hear you on it."

bing home page
bing home page

Given Microsoft's history with pushing Bing, this may feel to you like one of those I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it moments. After all, it's not just Bing that Microsoft continues to go on Windows users.

Last month, Laptop Mag reported on a Windows 11 upgrade pop-up on an incompatible Windows 10 PC, suggesting the user buy a new laptop to get Windows 11.

Then, just last week ago, we wrote about Microsoft's PC Manager flagging non-Bing search engines as an issue that needed fixing.

That said, new leadership can be a pivotal point for companies. With Davuluri at the helm, a pop-up-free experience (or, at the very least, a limited pop-up experience) in all Microsoft products and services could be possible.