Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system. Its openness to third-party apps and services brings insane profits to Google and AI providers.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella complains in the BG2 Pod podcast that the search and advertising giant actually makes more money on the operating system than all of Microsoft, and that’s no exaggeration. The CEO acknowledged the obvious fact that despite his company’s dominance in distributing Windows, Google continues to dominate the search landscape.
“Google makes more money on Windows than all of Microsoft. Literally. Wow, this is the best news for Microsoft shareholders that we lost so badly, that we can now go contest it and win back some share.”
Nadella also took a swing at AI service providers. Competitive AI tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude from Anthropic, and others have a fair shot at appealing to Windows users, despite Microsoft having its own AI Copilot.
According to Nadella, in the past, Microsoft tried to strike a deal with Apple to make Bing the default search engine. He admitted that such a deal would have been a game changer for Microsoft—the company was ready to pay up to $15 billion a year for it.
It was previously reported that Google pays Apple big money to be the default search engine in Safari. The company has been accused of violating antitrust laws because it pays comparable amounts for dominance on Apple products. In 2021, the company paid $26.5 billion for default search status on some platforms.
From 2018-2021, Apple nearly acquired Bing from Microsoft, but the iPhone maker suddenly backed out of the plans, citing critical search quality issues. At the antitrust hearings regarding Google this year, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue made Microsoft sweat with his statement:
“I don’t believe there’s a price in the world that Microsoft could offer us. They offered to give us Bing for free. They could give us the whole company.”
The judge noted at the time: “The market reality is that Google is the only real choice for a default search engine.” At the trial, Nadella claimed that the exclusive deal between Google and Apple negatively impacted Bing’s growth and reach, and he mentioned a willingness to pay $15 billion.
Having its own most popular software platform is a huge advantage that Microsoft has failed to capitalize on effectively. Google’s products are more popular, and the company can afford larger expenditures. Microsoft Edge browser and Bing search have recently been gaining market share, but they are still far from reaching Google’s products.
Source: Windows Central
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