Microsoft Bing is tricking unsuspecting users searching for Google by displaying a webpage that looks like Google Search.

This type of strategy is sometimes called a “dark pattern,” or a deceptive pattern that tricks users into doing something they did not intend. Below the Google-looking search bar, including a Google Doodle-esque cartoon, regular Bing results are displayed.

According to Windows Latest, people who searched for Google using either Edge or Chrome web browsers with Bing set as their default search engine would get a results page that loo

But if you use that search bar that appears below the doodle, your search results will still be funneled through Bing. Scrolling on the page with the spoofed Google bar reveals the actual Bing search results, however, which start with a link to the real Google search engine.

Microsoft Bing is displaying what is being categorized as a misleading Google-esque search page when users search for Google, making it look you are on the competing search engine.

Windows Latest first spotted the situation, describing it as a “genius move to keep you from Google search.” It’s part of a larger pattern by Microsoft to get Google users to switch to Edge and Bing, taking advantage of their positions as the default browser and search engine in Windows.

When you search for the word Google using Microsoft Edge's address bar, you'll notice that the result is loaded in Bing, but with a spoofed Google UI. This appears to be a way to trick people into believing that they're using Google.

Microsoft is pulling yet another trick to get people to use its Bing search engine. If you use Bing right now without signing into a Microsoft account and search for Google, you’ll get a page that looks an awful lot like... Google.