Microsoft’s Bing Reaches 1 Billion Monthly Active Users
▼ Summary
– Bing reached 1 billion monthly active users for the first time, as announced during Microsoft’s Q3 FY2026 earnings call.
– Search ad revenue grew 12% year over year, and Edge has maintained its browser market share for 20 consecutive quarters.
– Microsoft reported total revenue of $82.9 billion for the quarter, an 18% increase.
– Bing’s global search share is about 5% per StatCounter, suggesting many of its 1 billion monthly users are low-frequency or default users.
– Microsoft previewed Citation Share at SEO Week, a tool for tracking AI visibility on Bing, though it has not yet shipped.
Microsoft has announced that Bing has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users for the first time. CEO Satya Nadella disclosed the milestone during the company’s Q3 FY2026 earnings call, marking a significant achievement for the search engine.
In the same quarter, search advertising revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, climbed 12% year over year. Meanwhile, Microsoft Edge has held its browser market share steady for 20 consecutive quarters, reinforcing its role in driving Bing’s growth.
Overall, Microsoft posted total revenue of $82.9 billion for the quarter, a 18% increase from the prior year.
Search & Advertising Performance
The segment encompassing Bing saw a 1% decline overall, landing at $13.2 billion. However, search advertising was a standout performer. CFO Amy Hood attributed the gains to higher search volume and increased revenue per search.
Nadella offered a candid assessment of the consumer business:
“When it comes to our consumer business, we are doing the foundational work required to win back fans and strengthen engagement across Windows, Xbox, Bing, and Edge. In the near term, we are focused on fundamentals, prioritizing quality and serving our core users better.”
Search ad growth has now remained in double digits for three straight quarters. It rose 16% in Q1, 10% in Q2, and 12% in Q3. For Q4, Microsoft guided growth to the high single digits, indicating a slight deceleration.
Back in 2023, Microsoft reported 100 million daily active users when it first integrated AI into Bing. The leap from 100 million daily to 1 billion monthly is substantial, though it remains unclear whether Copilot interactions are counted in that figure.
Edge’s Role in Bing’s Growth
Edge plays a pivotal part in this story. The browser typically defaults to Bing, so five consecutive years of Edge growth means more users land on Bing without actively choosing it. This default-driven traffic likely accounts for a significant portion of the monthly user count.
Why This Matters
Edge has gained market share for five straight years, and search ad revenue has grown in double digits for three consecutive quarters. Microsoft has also invested in measurement tools to support this growth. Bing Webmaster Tools now maps grounding queries to cited pages, and the company previewed Citation Share at SEO Week earlier this month.
However, Bing’s global search share remains around 5% worldwide, according to StatCounter’s March 2026 data. The gap between 1 billion MAU and 5% share suggests many users are low-frequency visitors or arrive through default settings rather than active choice.
What’s Next
Microsoft’s next earnings call will reveal whether search ad growth accelerates again or settles into single digits. The Citation Share feature, previewed at SEO Week, has not yet shipped. When it does, it could become the first tool for tracking how your site’s AI visibility on Bing compares to competitors, offering a new metric for SEO professionals.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
