A powerful new choice in search is coming
The Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is a major initiative between our companies to create a competitive choice in search for advertisers and consumers. The combined scale will assist both companies in speeding the pace of innovation to improve the search user experience, as well as help advertisers get better results and help improve monetization for partners. 

When the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is implemented, both companies will continue to have differentiated consumer search experiences. However, Microsoft will manage the technology platforms that deliver the algorithmic (powered by Bing) and paid (powered by Bing Ads) search results. 

Yahoo! and Microsoft will each provide customer support to different advertiser segments: Yahoo!’s sales team will exclusively support high volume advertisers, SEO and SEM agencies and resellers and their clients. Microsoft will support self-service advertisers. In addition, Bing Ads will be the platform for all search campaigns.

More volume, less effort.
Search ad inventory from the Yahoo! Bing Network1 will be combined into a new unified search marketplace, giving advertisers of all sizes access to a combined audience of 499 million searchers worldwide.2

Timing 

Our aim is to transition to Microsoft technologies in India before the end of 2011. Timing for additional Asia markets is still to be determined.*

What People Are Saying 

Advertisers on the Deal
Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP Group
“This is extremely encouraging and introduces more balance into the search and display markets," said Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of British advertising group WPP (WPP.L). "It is good for our clients and our agencies and for regulators." (Reuters; July 30, 2009)

What Experts and Analysts are Saying
Ross Sandler, Analyst, RBC Capital Markets
"Overall, it's a big positive for two companies that have been struggling to keep up with Google. This consolidates their resources and allows them to make a more concerted push as the No. 2 entity." (Reuters; July 29, 2009)

Consumer and Privacy-Related Comments
Jules Polonetsky, Co-chair and Director , Future of Privacy Forum
"We hope that this search deal leads to a period of aggressive privacy competition between Google and Microsoft and that consumers benefit from efforts to provide relevant services in a privacy smart manner." (The Future of Privacy Forum Blog; July 29, 2009)
*Yahoo! and Microsoft have received regulatory clearance in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, and United States to form the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance. This agreement required clearance by US and European regulators before it could close. With the completion of these important regulatory milestones, Yahoo! and Microsoft will begin the process of implementation. However, Microsoft and Yahoo! will continue to work with regulators in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan to ensure that they have all relevant information necessary to evaluate the transaction before the deal commences in those markets.

1The Yahoo! Bing Network includes Microsoft and Yahoo! sites worldwide.
2comScore qSearch (custom), March 2013.