Microsoft has published a year in review for its Edge browser and talked up AI-powered chats while lightly skipping over the software’s stagnating market share.
The company had some big numbers to share. There had been over 10 billion AI-powered chats with Copilot from inside the Edge browser window (although it did not disclose how many chats were customers asking how to install Chrome). Some 38 trillion characters had been auto-translated. Seven trillion megabytes of PC memory had been saved through the use of sleeping tabs.
However, are those numbers actually as big as they seem? What Microsoft did not say is how little Edge has moved the needle on market share in 2024.
Strangely, the company did not share raw usage information. Yet, a look at Statcounter’s figures for browser desktop market share showed Edge with 11.9 percent of the market in December 2023 and reaching 12.87 percent by November 2024 – an increase of less than 1 percent.
The market leader, Google’s Chrome browser, went from 65.23 percent to 66.33 percent in the same period. That’s only slightly more than 1 percent, but it still maintains its dominance.
When Chrome rose in popularity, it did so in part due to dissatisfaction with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) browser as well as updates, including a mandated browser choice screen. Where IE was clunky and suffered compatibility problems, Chrome was slick, lightweight, and fast. How times have changed.
Microsoft’s attempt to replace IE with Edge, built on its proprietary browser engine, EdgeHTML, was swiftly ditched in favor of the Chromium-based Edge in use today.
Chrome and many other browsers are also based on Chromium. Some notable exceptions exist, such as Mozilla’s Firefox, but Chromium is the dominant browser engine. This can make differentiation difficult, particularly when users have been accustomed to one particular browser. The old joke that many users regard Edge as the thing they use to download Chrome still holds, judging by the market share figures.
It’s not for want of trying. Microsoft’s rivals have cried foul over the company’s tactics to nudge customers toward Edge, but ultimately, users need a reason to move to an alternative browser.
Lawmakers could force Google to divest itself of Chrome, but with so many browsers using the same browser engine, differentiation is tricky. Microsoft’s method appears to be to show off just how much telemetry it slurps. 7.3 billion passwords are protected each month and “in 2024, you also stayed informed and inspired every day with over 800 million articles, stories and updates viewed on MSN.”
Microsoft is keen for users to try “Edge’s AI-powered tools to help you achieve more than you thought possible.”
But grow market share in 2025? It’ll take more than today’s AI-powered tools to do that. ®
