Samsung is reportedly considering replacing Google with Microsoft’s Bing as the default search engine on its popular line of Android smartphones. The move has huge financial implications, as Google reportedly paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to be the default search engine on the iPhone, which has since grown to an estimated $15 billion.
Experts predict that Samsung’s deal with Google is worth a similar amount, making it a potentially lucrative opportunity for Microsoft to seize the moment and gain a significant share of the Android ecosystem.
Microsoft should seize the opportunity
RBC analyst Rishi Jaluria believes that Microsoft should pay whatever it takes to make the partnership happen, even if it costs billions. Samsung is a dominant player in the Android market, with a massive global market share, and using Bing as the default search engine could bring incremental business and increase mindshare.
Every small gain in the search advertising market is worth real money to Microsoft, with a $2 billion revenue opportunity for every 1 point of share gain, according to Microsoft’s corporate VP of finance, Philippe Ockenden.
Bing is a serious threat to Google
Bing’s market share compared to Google made it an industry punchline a few months ago. However, Microsoft’s investment of $10 billion into OpenAI has made Bing a more interesting alternative to Google, thanks to the injection of AI into the search engine.
Users can now talk to a custom version of the ChatGPT chatbot using Bing, making it a serious competitor to Google. If Microsoft has the opportunity to partner with Samsung, it should take it, according to Jaluria.
Samsung’s move presents a rare moment of weakness for Google
Google dominates the smartphone market, with a vast majority of smartphones using Google as their default search engine. Android, the world’s most popular operating system, and the market-leading Chrome browser are both developed by Google.
However, the fact that Samsung is even considering changing its default search engine presents a rare opportunity for Microsoft to break through Google’s dominance. Microsoft’s efforts to integrate AI into everything from Bing to Microsoft Office to the GitHub code repository have given it a chance to catch up to Google.
Microsoft needs to invest in entrenching Samsung as a partner now
Microsoft does not have a viable phone operating system of its own, making it essential to invest big in entrenching Samsung as a partner now. Winning larger shares of the mobile market is crucial for Microsoft, according to Futurum Research’s Dan Newman.
Although experts say not to count Google out entirely, Microsoft has a rare chance to get Bing out to new audiences, and investing now could pay dividends later.
