Microsoft Edge comes with a fantastic native visual search feature powered by Bing. However, Bing is just one database, and it specializes primarily in product identification (like clothing and furniture). If you need to perform deep forensics—like identifying a fake Facebook profile or tracking down copyright infringement—Bing alone is not enough.

To conduct proper investigations on a Windows PC, you need to upgrade Edge by installing a reverse image search Edge extension. This tutorial will show you how to transform Edge into a multi-engine forensic tool.

Step 1: Navigating the Edge Add-ons Store

Microsoft Edge is built on the Chromium engine (the same architecture as Google Chrome), meaning it supports almost all Chrome extensions, in addition to its own Add-ons store.

  • Open Microsoft Edge.
  • Click the three horizontal dots (Settings and more) in the top right corner.
  • Select "Extensions," then click "Open Microsoft Edge Add-ons website."
  • In the search bar, type "Reverse Image Search" or "Search by Image."

    • Step 2: Installation and Chrome Web Store Allowance

    If you cannot find a specific extension (like the popular open-source "Search by Image" extension) in the Microsoft store, you can install it directly from the Chrome Web Store.

  • Navigate to the Google Chrome Web Store in Edge.
  • A banner will appear at the top of the screen saying: *"You can now add extensions from the Chrome Web Store to Microsoft Edge."*
  • Click the "Allow extensions from other stores" button on the banner.
  • Search for your preferred visual search extension and click "Add to Chrome" (it will install seamlessly into Edge).

    • Step 3: Configuring the Multi-Engine Workflow

    Once installed, the extension must be configured to utilize all available forensic databases.

  • Click the Extensions icon (the puzzle piece) in the Edge toolbar.
  • Click the three dots next to your new visual search extension and select "Extension options."
  • Ensure that Yandex (for facial recognition and global media), Google Lens (for general search), and TinEye (for date tracking) are all checked and enabled.
  • Set the default behavior to "Open in new background tab" so your workflow is not interrupted during an investigation.

    • Step 4: The Investigative Execution

    With your Edge browser now fully equipped, let's run a test query.

  • Find an image you want to verify on a website (e.g., a viral image on Reddit).
  • Right-click the image.
  • You will now see two options: Edge's native "Search in Sidebar" (Bing), and your new extension's menu (e.g., "Search by Image").
  • Hover over the extension menu and click "All search engines."
  • Edge will open three new tabs in the background, querying Google, Yandex, and TinEye simultaneously. You have just performed a comprehensive digital background check on an image with a single click.
    • Extension Conflicts

    Microsoft Edge is aggressive about promoting its native features. Occasionally, Edge updates may try to override third-party context menus. If your "right-click to search" extension disappears, go to `edge://extensions/`, disable the extension, and re-enable it to restore its position in the context menu.

    By supplementing Edge's native Bing integration with a multi-engine extension, you harness the power of the Chromium architecture to create the ultimate visual search environment on Windows.