- Microsoft claims 10 billion generative AI chats happened within Edge borwser during 2024
- Edge leader also praises its performance enhancements
- Security features protected Edge users against trillions of trackers
Microsoft has boldly suggested its Edge browser has been central to the AI experience for users across the world over the last 12 months.
In a blog post, the company’s General Manager for Product Management and Growth at Microsoft Edge, Search and Mobile, Roger Capriotti, revealed users accessed Copilot within the Edge browser window to engage in over 10 billion generative AI chats in 2024.
Edge has also, apparently, proven instrumental in other areas, like improving accessibility with built-in translation and supporting the world of ecommerce.
Microsoft gives us Edge unwrapped: 2024
An estimated 38 trillion characters were translated using Edge’s auto-translate function in 2024, with built-in shopping features saving shoppers $400 per year on average. Furthermore, 800 million articles and stories were consumed on MSN, with 46 million messages and files shared with Drop.
Capriotti also drew attention to the browser’s performance enhancements, quantifying their usefulness by stating seven trillion megabytes of PC memory were saved by using sleeping tabs.
Security features also got a major mention for the role in preventing over 1.4 billion phishing, malware, and scam attacks on Edge and over 1.8 trillion trackers on the Edge mobile app.
However despite all this success, Edge still lags behind in the global browser market. Google Chrome accounts for two in three (67%) desktop browser sessions (via the December 2024 Statcounter figures), with Edge in a very distant second place (13%). Across all platforms, including smartphones and tablets, Edge resides in third place with a tiny 5% market share, second to Safari (17%).
The update also notes Bing reached over 140 million daily active users, however it, too, lags behind competition. Google, with a 90% market share, leads the way, with Bing taking just a 4% slice.
Looking ahead, Microsoft is hoping injecting artificial intelligence into its browser to improve its usefulness could be one way to help it boost takeup.
