Microsoft has abandoned its plan to make Bing the default search engine in Chrome for Office 365 ProPlus users. The decision was widely criticized. Microsoft is going to make the Bing browser extension, but it will now be an opt-in.
Microsoft says it is changing its plans in response to the feedback. There will be a Microsoft Search in Bing browser extension, but it will not be installed automatically with Office 365 ProPlus. The Microsoft 365 admin center will get an option to roll out the browser extension within an organization. End users who receive the extension retain control over their search engine preference.
Last month, Microsoft announced its plan to provide Office 365 ProPlus with a Chrome extension that replaces the default search engine with Bing. Administrators could stop that via Group Policy or remove the extension after installation.
Due to the changes, the Microsoft Search in Bing extension will also be released later and not in the upcoming 2002 version. More clarity should be provided in the coming weeks about when the extension will be ready.