Microsoft today is introducing its own personalized news reading experience called Microsoft Start, available as a website and mobile app. It also integrates with other Microsoft products, including Windows 10 and 11 and its Microsoft Edge web browser. The feed will combine content from news publishers. Still, in a way tailored to users’ interests, the company says — a customization system that could help Microsoft better compete with the news reading experiences offered by rivals like Apple or Google, as well as popular third-party apps like Flipboard or SmartNews.
Microsoft says the product builds on the company’s legacy with online and mobile consumer services like MSN and Microsoft News. However, it won’t replace MSN. That service will remain available, despite the launch of this new, in-house competitor. To use Microsoft Start, consumers can visit the standalone website MicrosoftStart.com, which works on both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge (but not Safari), or download the Microsoft Start mobile app for iOS or Android. The service will also power the News and Interests experience on the Windows 10 taskbar and the Widgets experience on Windows 11. It will also be available from the New Tab page in Microsoft Edge.
At first glance, the Microsoft Start website is like any other online portal offering a collection of news from various publishers alongside widgets for things like weather, stocks, sports scores, and traffic. When you click to read an article, you’re taken to a syndicated version hosted on Microsoft’s domain, including the Microsoft Start top navigation bar and emoji reaction buttons below the headline. Users can also react to stories with emojis while browsing the home page. This emoji set is similar to the one offered today by Facebook, except that Microsoft has replaced Facebook’s controversial laughing face emoji with a thinking face. (It’s worth noting that the Facebook laughing face has been increasingly criticized for being used to openly ridicule posts and mock people — even on stories depicting tragic events, like COVID death.)
Microsoft has made another change with its emoji: After you react to a story with an emoji, you only see your emoji instead of the top three and the total reaction count. But while online web portals tend to be static aggregators of news content, Microsoft Start’s feed will adjust to users’ interests in several ways. Users can click a “Personalize” button to be taken to a page where they can manually add and remove goods from several high-level categories like news, entertainment, sports, technology, money, finance, travel, health, shopping, and more. Or they can search for types and interests that could be more specific or more niche. (Instead of “parenting,” for instance, “parenting teenagers.”) This recalls the recent update Flipboard made to its main page, the For You feed, which lets users make similar choices.
As users browse their Microsoft Start feed, they can alick a button to thumbs uyoup or ,thumbs down an article to better adjust the feed to their preferences. Over time, the more the user engages with the content, the better refined the meal becbecomesays Microsoft. This customization will leverage AI and machine learning, as well as human moderation, the company notes. The feed, like other online portals, is supported by advertising. As you scroll down, you’ll notice every few rows will feature one ad unit, where the URL is flagged with a green “Ad” badge. Initially, these mostly appear to be product ads, making them distinct from the news content. Since Microsoft isn’t shutting down MSN and is integrating this news service into several other products, it’s expanding the available advertising real estate it can offer with this launch…
