- Most consumers use the Google browser and search engine.
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks out amid ongoing investigations
- Multimillion-dollar deal to keep Google Apple’s default option under fire
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has claimed that Google makes more money from its Windows operating system than Microsoft itself.
In a recent video interview with BG2Pod, Nadella hinted at the openness of Windows and support for interoperability, noting that competing AI tools, such as Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude, are available to use. in the operating system.
In other words, Windows users are not required to use Microsoft’s Copilot suite.
Google can thank Windows for some revenue
However, Google does not make money selling the Micorosft operating system. Instead, its penetration into the platform and into many computers in general has helped the company secure multiple streams of revenue.
The company’s control over the search market and related advertising streams means that most Windows users give back to Google in more ways than one.
Your Chrome browser accounts for two in three (66%) desktop browser sessions across all platforms (via Statcounter). If we take away Safari’s 9% market share and eliminate a portion of Mac devices, Chrome’s dominance becomes even more evident.
Even when users choose to use a different browser, Google remains a firm favorite when it comes to searches, accounting for 85% of all cases. Microsoft’s Bing only has a 3% market share. Separate research from Cloudflare’s Year in Review report suggested Google’s market share is closer to 88%.
The timing of Nadella’s comments cannot be ignored, as his company faces continued regulatory scrutiny for anti-competitive business practices. Even Google has tried to attack the company, trying to dissolve its agreement with OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, a company that has received billions of dollars in support from Redmond.
However, Google is not immune to similar accusations, and its own agreement with Apple to be Safari’s default search engine has not gone unnoticed by regulators. In 2021 alone, it reportedly paid $26 billion to Apple to maintain that position (via Windows Center).
