Tech Of The Past: What Was Microsoft's First Search Engine Before Bing?

Microsoft has been around in the tech world for a long time. Some of their projects, like Windows and Xbox, have been massive hits, while others, like Zune and Windows Phone, never really got their legs under them. Then there's Bing, which feels like it should fall into the latter category, but it's still around today, even getting regular updates in the form of a new GPT-4 powered deep search feature and a Bing chat AI. Needless to say, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for Bing. In fact, despite being one of the earliest companies to enter, Microsoft took a long time to find a solid foothold in the search engine market.

It all started back in 1998, when Microsoft introduced the world to MSN Search. Interestingly enough, the search engine debuted around the same time as Google, but we all know how that ended. Even today, it's hard to find any remnants of the original MSN Search, which likely goes hand-in-hand with the search engine's performance on the early internet. Then, in 2004, Microsoft gave its baby a facelift, revamping MSN Search with a new, minimalistic design, fewer ads, and an algorithm-based search engine. However, it still relied on Inktomi, a web-search technology company owned by Yahoo at the time, for the actual search-engine technology and results. It wouldn't be until Microsoft got out from under one of their biggest competitors that MSN Search would evolve.

With Yahoo and Google as the definitive top two search engines, Microsoft would eventually have to cut ties with using the former's search results, and that came not too long after the MSN Search revamp.

In 2005, Microsoft began using in-house technology for MSN Search, and about a year later, the company rebranded the search engine into Windows Live Search. Technically both search engines were available at the same time, but in September of 2006, Windows Live Search fully replaced MSN Search. Microsoft's latest attempt to catch up to Yahoo and Google brought another new design, new search tools, image search, better search results, and a Windows Live Toolbar. Essentially, Windows Live Search was not only supposed to be a competitor but also a product that complimented Microsoft's Windows operating system and Office software.

However, even then, Windows Live Search was not long for this world, and it was officially replaced by Bing in May 2009. Although Microsoft continued the Windows Live brand for a few more years, Bing officially became the company's go-to search engine, and one that finally stuck around long term. Funny enough, a few months after Bing's debut, Yahoo teamed up with Microsoft to go toe-to-toe with Google. Ultimately, they couldn't kill the search engine god, but the fact that it's a distant number two in the race is a small win.