As reported by Kuaitech on October 21st， Microsoft is implementing a marketing strategy within its Edge browser: when users visit competing AI chatbot websites， Edge proactively recommends Microsoft’s own Copilot.
According to WindowsLatest， when users access sites like ChatGPT， Perplexity， or DeepSeek using Edge， a prompt， “Try Copilot，” appears in the browser’s address bar.
Clicking this prompt opens Copilot in the sidebar， leveraging the user’s engagement with a competitor’s page to redirect traffic and attention to Copilot.
Given that Copilot is built on OpenAI’s technology， Microsoft aims to remind users actively seeking AI services that a powerful and convenient alternative is readily available within their browser. This move can be seen as an effort to consolidate its user base and leverage its strong partnership with OpenAI to its advantage in a competitive AI market.
However， this “interception” behavior is not universally applied. For instance， when visiting Google’s AI service， Gemini， the Copilot recommendation prompt does not appear. This selective targeting suggests Microsoft is strategically focusing on areas where it sees direct competition and opportunities to divert users.
In fact， this proactive promotion of its own services within its products is not a new tactic for Microsoft. It bears a strong resemblance to another familiar “ploy” within the Edge browser: when users attempt to download the Chrome browser using Edge， Edge also presents similar reminders in an effort to retain users. This pattern indicates a consistent strategy for Microsoft to nurture its ecosystem and retain user engagement by highlighting its integrated services as superior or more convenient alternatives.
