You Could Win $1,000,000, but You Have to Use Bing

Microsoft is doing everything possible to get folks to use its Bing search engine. Its latest attempt involves a sweepstakes competition for folks who can switch from Google to Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. The jackpot prize is a whopping million dollars; ten additional winners each receive $10,000.

To gain entry to the competition, you need to log into your Microsoft account or sign up if you don’t have one. It’ll ask you for some additional information on the next page. Once you’ve redeemed your entries, you can work on maximizing them by checking in weekly to see new, additional chances to win. There’s a cap of 200 possible entries per person.

You can try to maximize your chances of winning by sharing the sweepstakes link with up to five friends and having them make the switch, too. Microsoft has gamified the process in a way where a certain number of entries are associated with an action. For example, adding the Microsoft Rewards extension gets you another five entries, and setting up Windows backup will give you another ten. Fulfilling its CSR quota, Microsoft also promises to donate up to $500,000 to UNICEF and WWF (World Wildlife Fund)—$5 for each member with 50+ entries.

You can also track your entries. Sign in to the Rewards page, select Redeem, then Order History, and look under Status. Bing explains that an entry would take 72 hours to post.

The catch is that the sweepstakes only applies to residents of the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany. It ends on December 31, 2024, so you don’t have much time left if you’re willing to pivot search engines for the hefty prize.

This is what the company’s calling its “Ultimate Giveaway,” and it may not happen on such a massive scale again in the near future. However, Microsoft has relatively smaller reward programs running throughout the year. Actions such as browsing on Bing or shopping on the Microsoft Store can earn you points that you can redeem for gift cards or sweepstakes entries.

Offering such huge rewards, knowing that users can simply revert back to the search engine of their choice once they’ve made their entries, shows how badly Microsoft wants to revive Bing. I highly doubt a stunt like this would help it back on its feet. Instead, the company should look into making its search results more accurate, refining its “bulky UI,” and providing “fast, meaningful responses.“