Microsoft plans to create a "super app" that combines a messaging platform, shopping, web search and news.
According to The Information, the company is in the early stages of creating the superapp. The proposal came from the company's CEO Satya Nadella. He has instructed Microsoft teams to integrate the Bing search engine into other services and applications, such as Microsoft Teams and Outlook, as the basis for the "super app".
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft will eventually launch such an application. A company spokesperson did not comment on this information.
Microsoft is not a fully consumer-oriented company, but it has already indicated a desire to get closer to ordinary customers by offering services directly to them. Microsoft has had bad experiences in the past with the purchase of social networking sites such as TikTok and Pinterest.
The current announcement also underscores the failure of Microsoft's attempts to surpass Google to become the default search engine on devices. Google is known to pay Apple billions every year to keep its search engine installed as the default on iPhones. Microsoft has reportedly had similar talks with Apple, but has failed each time. Negotiations usually took place directly between Nadella and senior Apple executives behind closed doors, a former company official said.
Earlier in 2020
Back in 2020, the Financial Times reported that Apple had stepped up efforts to create its own search engine to compete with Google. At that time, the company began posting job openings for specialists who could "define and implement Apple's breakthrough search technology architecture". However, in November this year, the media reported that the bulk of Apple's search engine team had moved back to Google.
It is not yet clear whether Apple plans to launch a replacement for Google search, but the process will take "at least four years", the report says. It would require a significant increase in the team's budget. Apple could also strike a deal with Microsoft's Bing, similar to the one with Google, as Bing has a relatively small share of the search market.
