Microsoft is slowly dumping Live Search

Jun 2, 2009 09:21 GMT  ·  By

Live Search is dying, one piece at a time – a mute death, presented by Microsoft as an evolution of its search engine. The Redmond company introduced Bing, formerly codenamed Kumo, on May 28, 2009, and it continues to roll out the service globally even at this time, with the process scheduled to be complete tomorrow, June 3rd. And as it is rolling out, Bing is slowly swallowing Live Search bit by bit. Users have undoubtedly noticed that trying to access the Live Search homepage results in a redirect to Bing Beta. But additional web properties associated with Live Search have already started being converted to Bing.

The move is after all only natural, as the Redmond company is transitioning not only to the new search engine, but also to the new brand. Live Search has also managed to disappear from MSN. Until not long ago every search performed via one of the MSN websites was powered by Live Search. This is no longer the case. MSN users now search with Bing. And Live Search is dumped from other websites as well.

“We’re excited to welcome you today to the new home of the Webmaster Center blog and forums, as part of the new Bing Community site. Welcome! The old URLs are now automatically redirecting visitors to this new site, but be sure to update your Favorites listing in your browser to the new site,” revealed Rick DeJarnette, Bing Webmaster Center. “As you can tell, we’re excited about Bing and ready to talk about it. Keep a look out for plenty of updates to come.”

DeJarnette still writes for the Live Search Webmaster Center Blog, but it's just a matter of time before the label is switched to something a tad more Bing-ish, just as it will be the case for the Live Search blog. Live Search Maps is already offered to visitors rebranded as Bing Maps. And Club Bing is now where Live Search Club used to be. Noticed any other Live Search to Bing rebrands? Please let us know!