Google now wants Windows 11 users to ditch Edge for Chrome, and gets away with what Microsoft is slammed for

Google now wants Windows 11 users to ditch Edge for Chrome, and gets away with what Microsoft is slammed for

By Mayank Parmar
Publication Date: 2026-10-18 18:03:00

“Choose Chrome, the browser built by Google” is a new message that pops up when you browse Google.com in Microsoft Edge. It’s not the first time we’ve come across anti-Edge pop-ups on Google, but this one is particularly interesting because it actually has a “Download Chrome” button that begins downloading Chrome immediately after you click it.

Google Chrome download pop-up in Edge

Microsoft is often shamed for pushing Edge, Bing, or Copilot, but for some reason, Google’s similar practices are often overlooked. While the above “Choose Chrome” pop-up is not necessarily illegal in the United States or Europe, it still raises legitimate concerns about anti-competitive self-preferencing.

I ran into the above Chrome download pop-up when I casually opened Google.com in my Edge browser. When I clicked “Download Chrome,” it opened Chrome’s download page and immediately started downloading the browser installer (ChromeSetup.exe) without requiring another click.

ChromeSetup in Microsoft Edge

It doesn’t…