If you search “Chrome” on Bing, Microsoft now dangles 1,300 Rewards points to keep you on Edge for Windows 11. Microsoft Bing also says you can use the 1,300 Rewards points to get a free gift card, which will buy you real products. But if you don’t want to get a gift card, you can still keep using Edge and use Rewards points to support an NGO.

Not just Windows, but several products have turned into a sales channel for Microsoft to promote its apps or services. Bing, which is the default search engine on Windows 11 and Edge, has experienced quite a barrage of ads recently. For example, if you search Chrome on Bing, you might have seen an ad that wants you to use Edge because it’s more secure.

More recently, Windows Latest spotted a new ad on Bing that tells you to stop trying to download Chrome because using Microsoft Edge actually pays you. Microsoft is not saying it’ll deposit money into your bank account, but it says you can earn up to 1,300 Microsoft Rewards points.

You can’t cash in Rewards points, but you can use the points to buy an Amazon Gift Card, which is another form of money. Based on my location, Bing pitched me several gift cards, including a gift card to buy items in Roblox and even access to Spotify Premium.

You will get all of these if you keep using Edge over Chrome.

“Redeem your points for gift cards or donate to one of over 2 million nonprofits, Microsoft noted in an ad that shows up only when you search Chrome on Bing.” “Earn 1,300 Microsoft Rewards points by trying Edge,” the ad, which cannot be dismissed, has a small note at the top that says ‘Promoted by Microsoft.’

Can Google, OpenAI or other companies use similar media-rich ads on Bing for their products? Apparently not, as these so-called ads are only designed to promote Microsoft products.

Microsoft has another ad that compares Chrome against Edge with features like VPN.

There’s another variation of these ads on Bing. Unlike the above ad that tries to ‘buy’ a user, the second ad tries to ‘sell’ you Edge as a better option.

In the above case, Bing ad shows up when you search for “Chrome” and says, “All you need is right here.” It tells you Edge uses the same tech as Chrome, so you won’t lose sites or features, and then it shows a simple checklist to make Edge look better.

For example, you can earn Microsoft Rewards points. Then, you will also get access to Cloudflare-based VPN, but let’s be clear. It’s not exactly a VPN, as you cannot choose the location, and it also doesn’t work outside the United States.

Microsoft also says you will get “AI personalization” with Edge.

At this point, Microsoft wants you to believe that the Edge browser is all you need, and is on par with Chrome, but what do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.