If you have searched with Bing recently, you might have noticed a pop-up banner at the top-right of your screen advertising a staggering $2,000,000 Total Prize Drop. It looks like a typical internet scam at first, but this is an official, highly orchestrated campaign by Microsoft.
The tech giant is running a massive sweepstakes program, offering one lucky user $1,000,000 USD in pure cash. If you do not win the million dollars, you still have a chance to win one of three Mercedes-Benz cars, each backed by a $170,000 purchasing budget.
The deadline is approaching fast. The sweepstakes officially closes on May 21, 2026, at 11:59 PM PT. With only a few days left on the countdown timer, we decided to dive deep into the Microsoft Rewards dashboard to see what this program really is. What we found is a fascinating look at how far Microsoft is willing to go to build its software ecosystem.
Microsoft is giving away Giant $1 million checks, Copilot+ PCs, and… Apple AirPods?
This is not the first time Microsoft has handed out life-changing money. The official rewards page proudly features photos of previous grand prize winners holding giant novelty checks. Ron won the million dollars in December 2024, Nate took home the prize in May 2025, and Ivan from Singapore was the most recent winner in October 2025.
Ron’s quote is what I found funny and intriguing at the same time: “Microsoft Rewards is easy: I wake up, use the Bing app, get my points.”
While the million-dollar prize and the luxury cars are reserved for the grand sweepstakes, Microsoft is also running a daily “Instant Win” game. By simply completing daily searches on Bing, users can instantly win premium tech hardware. The screenshots we captured from the winner’s circle show real people taking home Acer Copilot+ PCs, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, and Dyson Airwrap Multi-Stylers.
Funnily enough, when I checked the winners’ list, I found a hilarious detail. Alongside the Xbox gift cards and Windows hardware, Microsoft is also giving away Apple products. Jeff H. from Georgia recently won a pair of Apple AirPods 4, while Lily Y. from Washington won AirPods Pro 3. Classic Microsoft!
It is incredibly ironic and perfectly on brand for Microsoft. Even while promoting their own cutting-edge Copilot+ ecosystem, the company knows that offering flagship Apple hardware is a surefire way to get people to click the “Claim free entry” button.
Microsoft is gamifying the Windows ecosystem
Microsoft has gamified its entire software lineup. You get a basic free entry just for signing up on the Sweepstakes page, but their real strategy is in the “Bonus Entries” dashboard.
Even the Bing wallpaper app, which is supposed to just change your wallpaper, is part of the featured activities, and we all know how Microsoft’s wallpaper app is a decoy to get you to use Bing.
If you want a serious chance at the $1 million prize, you have to change your daily digital habits. The rewards page is filled with action tiles that grant you extra sweepstakes tickets for embedding yourself deeper into the Microsoft walled garden.
Based on the entry portal, installing the Microsoft Rewards browser extension earns you 20 bonus entries. Backing up your photos and videos using the OneDrive mobile app nets you another 20 entries. You can grab 10 entries for setting Microsoft Edge as your default browser on your smartphone, and another 10 for installing the Bing mobile app. Trying out Microsoft 365 Premium grants a massive 30 entries, while engaging with the Microsoft Copilot app gives you 15 entries.
Every single task is a carefully orchestrated nudge. Obviously, Microsoft is not a charity to give away money for fun. The company is treating this $2 million prize pool as a massive customer acquisition cost. By the time a user has maximized their sweepstakes entries, they have completely transitioned their digital life over to OneDrive, Edge, Bing, and Copilot.
The tragic reality of the search engine monopoly (Bing vs Google Search)
All of this aggressive marketing brings up an interesting question. We recently reported that Bing officially crossed the 1 billion user milestone. It was a monumental achievement for the search engine, proving that its deep AI integration and Copilot features are finally being recognized by a massive global audience.
If Bing is doing so well and already has a billion users, why is Microsoft spending $2 million to bribe people into using it?
Well, as we all know, this is the tragic reality of anyone trying to take on Google in the search engine industry. Google holds an absolute, unshakeable monopoly over web search. “Google it” is a default human behavior. Breaking a behavioral habit that has been ingrained in the global population for over two decades is nearly impossible.
The sad truth is that Microsoft has built a genuinely great product line. Bing is highly capable, Microsoft Edge is objectively faster and more memory efficient than Google Chrome, and the Copilot integration is genuinely useful (Yes, it is, for those who know how to use it!).
I use all of them every single day. It’s been years since I used Google Chrome, and the only times I use it are when I have to test a feature, like the vertical tabs that Google’s browser recently got, which Microsoft Edge already had for years.
Yet, having a superior or highly competitive product is not enough to break a monopoly. To get a normal person to change their default browser setting, Microsoft literally has to offer them a million dollars.
Of course, we are not promoting Microsoft’s sweepstakes rewards program, and I haven’t claimed the offer myself, but if you want to throw your hat in the ring, you have to act fast.
The promotion is open to legal residents of several countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico. You can check your specific regional eligibility in the official FAQ and claim your free entry directly on the Microsoft Rewards dashboard before the May 21 deadline. And in case you are wondering, the sweepstake winners will be drawn at 12:00 PM PT on June 4, 2026
