Strategy question
Evolve a GTM strategy to acquire 1 million new users for Bing on Android.
- Microsoft
- Strategy
- Hard
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What this question tests
Tests go-to-market strategy against an entrenched, default-installed competitor, requiring a distribution and differentiation plan, not just marketing spend.
How to approach it
- Clarify the challenge: Google Search and Chrome are default on most Android devices, so Bing must overcome default bias, not just awareness.
- Identify distribution channels: OEM partnerships with non-Google-forward manufacturers, bundling with Microsoft apps like Office and LinkedIn already installed, and Copilot AI integration as a differentiator.
- Propose a differentiation angle: lead with deeper AI-assisted search and chat integration, rather than competing purely on core search quality where Google is entrenched.
- Propose acquisition tactics: incentivized switching campaigns like search rewards points targeted at existing Microsoft 365 and Xbox users with built-in account affinity.
- Address retention: the default search engine setting is sticky, so the plan must include a clear call-to-action to actually change the Android default, not just install the app.
- Define success: net new default-search-engine switches, not just app downloads, since downloads alone won't reflect real usage change.
What a strong answer includes
- Correctly identifies default bias, not brand awareness, as the real obstacle, showing accurate problem framing.
- Proposes leveraging Microsoft's existing installed-app base as a distribution channel, a concrete, realistic tactic.
- Names a genuine differentiation angle, AI-assisted search, rather than competing head-on with Google on core search quality.
- Defines success by actual default-engine switches, not vanity downloads, correctly targeting the metric that reflects real behavior change.
Common mistakes
- Proposing generic marketing spend without addressing the structural default-installation disadvantage.
- Measuring success by app downloads alone, which doesn't capture whether users actually switched their default search behavior.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you convince an OEM to make Bing more prominent given Google's existing agreements?
- What would you do if the switch-incentive campaign drove downloads but not sustained usage?
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 4: Discovery and strategy for AI products
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop