Skip to main content

Microsoft Edge is losing to Safari, despite its push for AI

Many desktop browsers continue to compete for users, and in April 2023, Apple Safari overtook Microsoft Edge in global market share, according to data collected by StatCounter.

Though the browsers’ market share was still neck-and-neck, Safari’s April figures come in at 11.89%, while Edge closed the month at 10.95%. Even so, both browsers continue to lag behind Google Chrome, which maintains its number one spot with in excess of 60%, as pointed out by MSpoweruser.

According to StatCounter, Apple Safari has surpassed Microsoft Bing for desktop users for the month of April 2023.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The figures are especially interesting considering Microsoft’s massive investment in artificial intelligence in recent months. The brand’s multibillion dollar partnership with OpenAI has allowed it to inundate its Edge browser and Bing search with the ChatGPT chatbot, in an effort to attract more users. However, it appears there is still work to do on Microsoft’s front.

Recommended Videos

The AI-updated Edge browser and Bing search might have sparked interest in users upon release, however, the recent figures could come down to the number of devices in circulation.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Notably, in May 2022, Atlas VPNshared a study detailing that Apple’s Safari browser was serving over 1 billion people across all device forms, including iPhones and Mac computers. In comparison, Microsoft Edge served approximately 212,695,000 users. While Microsoft Edge is compatible with rival devices and systems, the brand might not have as big a reach given that it relies primarily on desktops.

Microsoft currently does not make its own smartphones en masse, outside of novelty devices such as the Surface Duo. Meanwhile, Apple also features its Safari browser on iPhones of all generations. Google partners with multiple smartphone brands globally that use its Chrome browser, in addition to using the app on its own Pixel devices.

Microsoft continues to add features to the browser to encourage users to favor Edge and Bing over other browsers and search engines. One Reddit user pointed out that if you search “Google,” Bing will give you reasons why Bing is preferable. Another Reddit user found a feature that pulls up a split-screen with Bing chat results when users attempt to use Google Bard on Microsoft Edge.

Apple has made similar moves, such as placing an age restriction of 17 and older on AI-inundated apps, such as Microsoft Edge and the email app BlueMail, which includes ChatGPT features, on the Apple App Store. Meanwhile, they have no age restriction on the Google Play Store.

Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh is a Computing Writer at Digital Trends. She covers a range of topics in the computing space, including…
Microsoft might be building its own Vision Pro rival
Microsoft HoloLens 2

Posts on X are popping up reporting that Microsoft has signed a development and supply contract with Samsung Display for micro-OLED displays.

The information originates from a Korean tech site, The Elec, which claims that Microsoft wants "hundreds of thousands" of these displays for an XR device designed for gaming and media consumption. In other words, a competitor for the Vision Pro -- or rather, another competitor for the Vision Pro.

Read more
I finally switched to Microsoft Edge for this one feature
The Microsoft Edge browser on a flat surface.

Microsoft Edge has gotten increasingly better over the years, but I've stuck with Google Chrome -- perhaps by habit, if nothing else. After all, a web browser is the kind of application I don't want to think about. That's why the flashier features of recent updates to Chrome, Edge, or even Arc haven't swayed me. I don't use Copilot, Collections, or even tab groups. That left me defaulted to Chrome.

I'm now using Microsoft Edge, though -- and it's not because of the most common complaints about Chrome, such as its well-documented memory usage. No, no. My reason for deciding to leave Chrome for Edge is based on a feature that was actually launched way back in 2022. For the longest time, I ignored the Edge sidebar -- after all, the less clutter in my web browser, the better.

Read more
Apple hasn’t answered the most important question about its AI features
Apple Intelligence features.

During the debut of Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024 yesterday, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi repeatedly touted the new feature's security and delicate handling of sensitive user data. To protect user privacy, Apple Intelligence performs many of its generative operations on-device. And for those that exceed its onboard capabilities, the system will transfer the work up to the company's newly developed Private Cloud Compute (PCC).

However, as Dr. Matthew Green, associate professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, asked in a thread Monday, Apple's AI cloud may be secure, but is it trustworthy?

Read more