by To go after Apple and Google’s app store platforms, Microsoft wants to create a “superapp” that combines a messaging platform, shopping, web search and news into one app.
According to an article published today InformationMicrosoft is in the early stages of creating a “super app” at the behest of the company’s CEO, Satya Nadella. Nadella reportedly instructed Microsoft teams to better integrate the company’s search engine, Bing, into other services and apps like Microsoft Teams and Outlook as a groundwork for the “super app.”
While it’s unclear whether Microsoft will eventually launch such an app, those familiar with the discussions said CEO Satya Nadella laid the groundwork by forcing the Bing search engine to work better with other Microsoft mobile products. For example, he directed Bing to integrate with Microsoft’s Teams messaging and Outlook email apps, making it easier for customers to share search results in messages. A Microsoft spokesperson did not comment for this article.
Microsoft is not a purely consumer-focused company, and most of its business comes from software and enterprise sales. Microsoft has announced its goals of being more consumer-friendly by offering services directly to customers, such as a “super app.” Microsoft has failed to acquire major apps and social media platforms like TikTok and Pinterest, which could have been part of the company’s larger plans in the past.
Today’s report also sheds some interesting light on Microsoft’s unsuccessful attempts to become the default search engine in the past, surpassing Google.
on iPhone. Google pays Apple billions of dollars each year to stay the default setting on the iPhone, and although users can change this, the default setting puts Microsoft’s Bing at a disadvantage. By InformationMicrosoft has had high-level talks with Apple to try and bid higher on Google as the default search engine, but have been unsuccessful each time.
According to a former employee briefed on the situation, Microsoft periodically bid on Apple’s mobile search contract, but Google won the deal each time. That person said negotiations are often held directly between Nadella and senior Apple executives behind closed doors, leaving many senior Microsoft executives in the dark about the process.
The report states that Microsoft ran a public relations campaign in 2012 to show how Bing was more useful for visually impaired people than Google. The PR show wasn’t “enough to win Apple’s approval.”
