Microsoft is known to annoy Windows users with various popups from time to time, urging them to use some of its other products, like Bing, for instance. However, while Windows and Office are the leaders in their respective segments, Bing trails category search leader Google by a significant margin, and even the addition of AI smarts hasn't been able to help Microsoft's search engine close the gap with the runaway leader.

In its persistent attempt to make more people check out its AI-infused Bing, Microsoft is aggressively marketing it to Windows users, and it's starting to get on people's nerves. As reported by Stardock developer Brad Sams, the company is now showing a pop-up to Edge users who have set Google as their default search option. The pop-up is urging the Google users to switch to Bing, even though most of them have no intention of ditching the world's most popular search engine in favor of Microsoft's fledgling alternative.

It is worth noting that this is not Microsoft's first rodeo when it comes to annoying users with ill-advised marketing campaigns. The company is known to pester Windows users in various ways to get them to use its browser and search engine, both of which have miniscule market shares. The company has also been accused of changing default settings in Windows and automatically adding the Microsoft Edge icon to the desktop even when it's removed manually.

Microsoft has worked hard on improving Bing's capabilities by adding various AI features over the past year. Just last month, the company introduced a new 'AI captions' feature that makes it easier for users to read and process search results with reliable summaries. A few days prior to the rollout of AI captions, Microsoft rebranded Bing Chat and its other AI products as Copilot.