No. In Microsoft’s documented behavior, changing the Windows default browser changes which app handles ordinary web links, but it does not change the web results shown by Windows Search. Windows Search’s work-and-web results are powered by Bing, and links from those results open in Microsoft Edge.
That distinction is easy to miss because Windows Search, the default-browser setting, and Edge’s address-bar search engine all involve web pages. They are separate controls, with different settings and limitations.
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Three Windows controls that look similar but are separate
The quickest way to understand the behavior is to separate the three relevant settings. Microsoft’s documentation describes them as different parts of Windows and Edge rather than one shared browser preference.
| Control | What it affects | Documented behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Windows default browser | The app used for supported web links and web protocols opened by Windows and other applications | Configured in Settings > Apps > Default apps on Windows 10 and Windows 11. The exact screen can vary by version. |
| Windows Search web results | The provider and destination for web results displayed in the Windows Search panel | Microsoft says work-and-web results are powered by Bing and links open in Microsoft Edge. |
| Edge address-bar search engine | The provider used when you type a query into Edge’s address bar | Changed inside Edge under Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Search and connected services > Address bar and search. |
Changing one row does not automatically change the other two. In particular, selecting another default browser does not redirect Windows Search’s documented web-result links, and changing Edge’s address-bar provider is not documented as a Windows Search setting.
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What changing the Windows default browser actually does
The default-browser choice tells Windows which installed browser should handle supported web links and protocols. For example, when an application invokes a normal web link, Windows can send it to the browser you selected instead of the browser that shipped with Windows.
Microsoft’s current instructions for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 put this control in Settings > Apps > Default apps. You select a browser and then set it as the default wherever Windows presents the relevant controls. Microsoft notes that the exact screens differ between Windows versions, so labels and the number of individual file or protocol associations may not look identical on every installation.
Set another browser as the default
- Open Settings.
- Select Apps, then Default apps.
- Choose the browser you want to use.
- Apply the available default settings for web links or protocols. On some Windows versions, this is a single Set default control; on others, Windows presents individual associations.
- Open an ordinary link from an app outside Windows Search to verify the result.
This test matters. A link opened from an email, document, or another application is an ordinary link and should follow the browser associations Windows exposes. A link selected from a Windows Search web result belongs to the separate Search behavior described below.
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Microsoft’s support page for Edge-dependent apps states: “If you use Windows Search to Search work and web, your results will be powered by Bing and links will open in Microsoft Edge.” That statement is the direct answer for the standard documented Windows Search experience. See Microsoft’s explanation of apps and widgets that depend on Microsoft Edge.
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In practice, typing a query into the Windows Search interface can produce a mixture of local matches and online results. The online portion is the part covered by Microsoft’s Bing-and-Edge description. Selecting a web result therefore does not behave like opening a normal HTTP or HTTPS link from an unrelated application: Windows Search sends the result to Edge even if another browser is selected as the Windows default.
Why the browser setting appears to be ignored
The behavior can look like a failed default-browser change because both actions start with a search box and end with a web page. The difference is the component initiating the navigation. The default-browser setting governs supported links that honor Windows’ app associations. Windows Search’s web-result workflow is an Edge-dependent experience with its own documented destination.
To check which case you are seeing, perform two separate tests: open a link from a regular application, then select a web result in Windows Search. If the first opens in your chosen browser and the second opens in Edge, the settings are working as documented; they are simply using different paths.
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Windows Search can return content from several places, not just the internet. Microsoft’s description of Windows’ essential services and connected experiences says Search can include items from the device, Microsoft accounts, work or school accounts, and the internet. Details are documented at Essential services and connected experiences for Windows.
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That mix explains why changing a browser cannot change the entire “search experience.” A document indexed on your PC, a file associated with a Microsoft account, or a result supplied through a work or school account is not controlled by the browser association at all. Only the online-result portion involves a browser destination, and Microsoft’s cited behavior for that portion is Bing results opening in Edge.
Local results versus web results
- Local device matches: Files, applications, and other indexed items found on the Windows device.
- Account-linked matches: Content surfaced from connected Microsoft, work, or school accounts, subject to the account and organization configuration.
- Internet matches: Web results supplied through Bing and opened in Edge under the documented Windows Search behavior.
If a result is a local file or application, no browser is involved. If it is labeled or presented as a web result, the Bing-and-Edge rule is the relevant one.
Changing Edge’s search engine is a third setting
Edge has its own preference for searches submitted through the address bar. Microsoft lets users choose a search provider in Edge’s Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Search and connected services > Address bar and search area. The instructions are available in Microsoft’s guide to changing the default search engine in Edge.
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- Select Settings and more (the three-dot menu), then Settings.
- Open Privacy, search, and services.
- Scroll to Search and connected services, then select Address bar and search.
- Choose the search engine you want for address-bar queries.
This changes searches that you submit from Edge’s address bar. Microsoft’s instructions do not identify it as a control for Windows Search’s web results. Consequently, you can have a non-Bing provider in Edge’s address bar while Windows Search still displays Bing-powered results and opens those links in Edge.
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What to expect in common situations
You set another browser as default, but Windows Search still opens Edge
That is the expected result under Microsoft’s documented behavior. Confirm the change by opening a normal link from another application. Do not use a Windows Search web result as the only test of the default-browser setting.
Normal links still open in Edge
Return to Settings > Apps > Default apps and verify that Windows applied the browser choice to the associations it offers on your version. Windows 10 and Windows 11 do not present exactly the same interface, and an organization-managed computer may impose additional policies. If the browser is listed as the default but links from a particular application still use Edge, that application may be using its own link-handling rule rather than the system association.
Edge address-bar searches still use Bing
Changing the Windows default browser does not change Edge’s internal search-provider setting. Open Edge’s Address bar and search page and select the provider there. This affects Edge address-bar queries, not the web results generated by Windows Search.
Only local files appear in Search
That is not evidence that the browser setting controls Search. Windows Search can return local and account-linked content without showing an internet result. The browser distinction matters only when you select a web result.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 S mode are an exception to ordinary browser choice
Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Windows 11 in S mode FAQ says that Edge is always the default browser and Bing is the default search engine in S mode. Users can access other browsers and search engines, but choosing a different default browser requires switching out of S mode, and Microsoft says that switch is permanent.
Therefore, advice written for a standard Windows installation does not transfer directly to S mode. If the device is running S mode, the restriction is part of the edition’s design rather than a sign that the default-app page failed to save your choice. Consider the permanence of leaving S mode before making that change.
Version, region, and managed-device limits
Microsoft’s browser-default instructions apply to Windows 10 and Windows 11, but the visible Settings screens can change between releases. The Windows Search statement about Bing-powered work-and-web results opening in Edge is general documentation; it does not publish an exhaustive matrix for every Windows build, country, or enterprise policy.
On a work or school computer, administrators can control connected experiences, account access, application availability, or browser policies. The cited Microsoft guidance should therefore be read as the standard documented behavior, not a guarantee that every managed device exposes identical controls. If your organization’s policy differs, consult the administrator before changing settings or interpreting a different result as a Windows defect.
A practical decision guide
Use the setting that matches the result you want:
- Want ordinary links to open in another browser? Change the browser under Settings > Apps > Default apps, then test a link from a normal application.
- Want a different provider for searches typed in Edge? Change Edge’s Address bar and search setting.
- Want Windows Search web results to use another browser or provider? Microsoft’s cited documentation does not describe the default-browser or Edge address-bar settings as controls for that behavior; it documents Bing results opening in Edge.
- Using S mode? Edge and Bing are the defaults by design, and leaving S mode to choose another default browser is permanent.
Keeping these three paths separate prevents the most common troubleshooting mistake: changing a browser association and then judging it by a Windows Search result, which follows a different documented workflow.
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