Microsoft Is Going To Run Bing Ads On Millions Of PCs When Windows 8.1 Arrives

MicrosoftDavid Pann, GM of the search network at MicrosoftMicrosoft is expanding its Bing Ads platform to work with a new search feature in Windows 8.1 when it arrives later this year.

Last week at its Build developer conference, Microsoft unveiled a preview version of Windows 8. It includes a feature called Smart Search, which pulls results from the web as well as from their local PC or tablet.

By integrating Bing Ads into Smart Search, Microsoft is going to be able to serve up ads to PCs running Windows 8.

And since Microsoft says it has sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses so far, that amounts to a pretty huge expansion.

"Now, with a single campaign setup, advertisers can connect with consumers across Bing, Yahoo! and the new Windows Search with highly relevant ads for their search queries," David Pann, GM of the search network at Microsoft, said in a Tuesday blog post.

When Bing Ads show up in Windows 8.1 Smart Search, "they'll include web previews of websites and the latest features like site links, location and call extensions, making it easier for consumers to complete tasks and for advertisers to drive qualified leads," Pann explained in the blog post.

Bing gained some market share on Google in the first quarter, but it's got a long way to go. In Q1, Bing's share of advertiser spend grew 3.6 percent to 21 percent, compared to 79 percent for Google, according to figures released in April by analyst firm The Search Agency.