Bing's Confusing 'Recommended by' Feature Sparks Transparency Concerns

Microsoft Bing has introduced a new feature in its product search results section called 'Recommended by.' This section displays product thumbnails along with the company that made the recommendation, but there is no link to verify the source of the recommendation. The products linked from this section direct users to various retailers, not the recommending companies.

This 'Recommended by' feature was spotted by Sachin Patel and replicated in some browsers. The example given shows a product with the label 'Recommended by GearLab,' but there is no link to click on to visit GearLab's website. When clicking on the products, users are taken to retailer sites where GearLab's name is not mentioned.

Google experimented with a similar feature in May 2025, which might be influencing Microsoft Bing's approach. However, the current implementation seems confusing and lacks transparency about the recommending companies' involvement.