Chrome 149 Default Search Extension Prompt

[Eddy DosSantos]

Hi Everyone, 

I’ve heard that some users of Chrome 149 Beta are seeing a new and more aggressive version of the user prompt messaging when enabling an extension that changes the default search engine, which may increase the churn rate back to Google.

I could not confirm any related changes in the Chrome 149 release logs. Could you please confirm whether any updates to the default search override UX were introduced in Chrome 149?

If so, would this also affect users who already had the extension installed prior to the update?

Many Thanks--

									Eddy DosSantos  Network Quality Manager M +972-58-5091911  www.perion.com
Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI)
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[Eddy DosSantos]

Hi, 

I received the attached screenshot from a Chrome 149 Beta user showing the new prompt. I have not been able to reproduce the same behavior on my end, but I wanted to check whether this prompt is expected to be rolled out to all. Could you please confirm? If so, will this also affect users who already have an extension installed?

Many Thanks--

 

[woxxom]

Judging by the source code you can probably force-enable it by exiting Chrome and running it with "--enable-features=SearchEngineExplicitChoiceDialog" command line. The behavior is currently being tested along with some dependent features listed in the link on random Mac/Windows users: https://crsrc.org/testing/variations/fieldtrial_testing_config.json;l=21168;drc=6bd89e56

[Eddy DosSantos]

Thank you, Woxxom, for pointing that out. I hope it will be officially announced before implementation.

[Oliver Dunk]

Hi Eddy,

The new dialog is rolling out experimentally, and aims to roll out to everyone in the near future.  The new dialog saves the same result as the old one, and any previously-recorded choice is retained.  Users who have an extension installed (and were prompted at search time) should not be prompted again after the change rolls out.

Oliver Dunk | DevRel, Chrome Extensions | https://developer.chrome.com/ | London, GB

[Eddy DosSantos]

Thank you, Oliver!