Microsoft Edge: Low market share despite AI functions
Microsoft published big figures for its Edge browser at the end of the year. However, these are not reflected in the market shares.
(Image: DANIEL CONSTANTE/Shutterstock.com)
In its annual review, Microsoft has published selected usage statistics for its Edge browser. They mainly relate to AI and security functions. The company claimed that more than 10 billion AI-supported chats were conducted in Edge, 7.3 billion passwords were protected and 38 trillion characters were translated with Copilot. However, Microsoft did not provide specific market shares for its browser. According to figures from Statcounter, usage figures rose slightly, but Edge remains behind Chrome and Firefox.
Microsoft Edge in 3rd place in Germany
Among desktop browsers, Microsoft Edge is in third place in Germany with a market share of around 17% and has caught up with Mozilla Firefox. The open source browser has just under 18 percent. Around half of Germans use the market leader Google Chrome, while one in ten use Apple's Safari browser. Compared to the previous year, Edge's market share increased by half a percentage point. At 13%, it ranks second among desktop browsers worldwide and recorded an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. Google Chrome is the global market leader with two thirds.
Due to Google's dominance, the US federal government and the state of Colorado had applied to the courts for the internet company to sell its browser. They also demanded that Google should not re-enter the browser market within the next five years. This is intended to prevent the company from gaining a monopoly position. With Chrome, Google collects usage data that is not only used in the development of the browser, but also in other business areas, such as targeted online advertising.
Videos by heise
Microsoft began adding AI functions to its browser almost two years ago. Most recently, the developers added AI-supported spam protection to Edge, which is designed to warn users of fraudulent websites. The Bing search engine has also received AI applications in the past, such as Copilot based on ChatGPT or Image Creator. In Germany, Bing's market share fell below 5 percent for the first time in a year. Google leads the German market with over 91 percent. A US court ruled in the summer that the search engine group had abused its market power.
(sfe)
