Microsoft broke Windows 11 search by trying to fix it: Here's what happened

A buggy Bing update broke Windows 11's Start menu search, prompting it to display blank search results that were still clickable.

If you’re still running Windows 11 version 23H2 on your PC, there’s a chance your Start menu search is broken. Multiple users have reported that the Start menu shows blank search results that, strangely, are still clickable.

As recently highlighted by Microsoft in a Windows release health update, "An investigation determined that the problem coincided with a server-side Bing update designed to improve search performance. To mitigate the issue, the server-side Bing update was rolled back, and reports of search failures are steadily decreasing.”

While Microsoft says the issue isn't widespread, as it has affected only a small number of users since April 6, 2026, Bleeping Computer notes that users have been lodging complaints on social media about the same issue for months.

As highlighted above, Microsoft has rolled back the buggy Bing update, which could potentially reduce instances of the Start menu displaying blank search results.