For years now, Google has enjoyed the lion's share of the browser market with Chrome. Many other browsers have risen to try to take it down, but it hasn't fallen from its top spot yet. However, that hasn't prevented Microsoft from trying, and it's seemingly doing a good job of keeping up with everyone else. At the time of writing, Microsoft Edge has 5% of the market share, behind Safari at 18% and Chrome at 65%.

Microsoft has done a ton with Edge to make it better than Chrome, but recently we've seen the Redmond giant get cold feet about trying to stand out by itself. Now, the company seems to be more focused on making Edge as Chrome-like as possible and stripping it of any identity. Unfortunately, if Microsoft continues copying Chrome's homework, Edge may never properly take off.

Microsoft Edge is trying its best to stand on its own two feet...

The browser is not bereft of unique features

Microsoft Edge is by no means just a Chrome clone. The browser has a ton of features packed within it that other browsers, even Chrome, don't have. As we covered in our reasons why Microsoft Edge is better than Chrome, the Redmond giant's browser has vertical tabs, collections, and its own screenshotting tool, to name a few.

In fact, Microsoft is still pouring a lot of attention into Edge to make it the perfect rival to Chrome. A little while ago, we saw hints that Microsoft was adding a full-blown Designer image editor to Edge, which would be a great way to edit images before saving them to the desktop. Plus, it has some AI tools for those who want some extra editing.

...but Microsoft wants it to be yet another Chrome-like

Maybe a little bit too familiar of home

So, what's holding Edge back? Well, Microsoft seems to really, really want Edge to look and feel just like Chrome. The problem is that doing so removes any sort of identity from Edge - it just feels like yet another Chromium browser.

While there were plans to make Edge look and feel like its own thing, Microsoft has been rolling those back recently. For instance, the big UI revamp for Edge has been scrapped, so anyone wanting to see a sleek, unique AI with Edge is instead stuck with something that looks just like Chrome. Also, as spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft is working on Edge's settings page to be more Chrome-like, albeit the current Edge settings page does need some tidying.

Microsoft really wants Chrome users to make the jump...

The company is after Chrome users specifically

So, why is Microsoft putting a ton of effort into making its browser act like a clone of its rival? Simple; it really wants Chrome users to make the jump over to Edge. The more familiar Edge is to Chrome users, the more likely they are to get comfy, or so Microsoft hopes.

We've seen Microsoft's attempts to convert Chrome users in the past. If you've ever used Edge to download Chrome, you've already seen all the begging pop-ups that Microsoft deploys to convince you to stick with Edge. We also saw Microsoft add variables to Edge that detect Chrome usage specifically. And there was that one time when Edge just flat-out stole people's Chrome tabs and hoped they didn't notice.

...but the world doesn't want 'just another Chromium browser'

Don't try to out-Chrome Chrome

Perhaps if Microsoft Edge was the only non-Google browser out there that used Chromium, it would stand out a lot more. The problem is that there are a ton of them, from Brave to Vivaldi, and they all do their own thing and support users in unique ways.

If Microsoft wants Edge to stand out and attract Chrome users, it needs to build an identity for it. By making it as Chrome-like as possible, it will only make people long to use Chrome instead of Edge. After all, we've got all our passwords, extensions, bookmarks, and history all set up on Chrome - why would we go through the hassle of migrating all of that for a browser that's essentially Chrome with a few extra features?

Let Edge become its own thing

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Edge itself - it works well, has some nice new features, and is a good default browser for new Windows users. But if Microsoft really wants the Chrome user base to make the jump, it should stop trying to copy Google's homework. As long as Microsoft continues to remove Edge's identity to turn it into a facsimile of Chrome, people will always prefer the real deal over the cheap copy.