> Microsoft could just have Edge feed Bing traffic and make money off ads on Bing - but they want more!

That won’t work if users switch their default search engine to Google, what many of them probably do. And Edge’s user base is relatively small anyway.

The only reason apple is making money with safari is because they keep it a browser people trust.

If people wouldn't trust safari, and treat it like edge: uninstalling it, moving to other browsers, etc.. it wouldn't be worth it for google to pay apple.