Billeo Adds Microsoft Bing to Offer Assistant Program

Billeo has added Microsoft Bing to the list of Internet search engines supporting its Offer Assistant service. Offer Assistant helps consumers locate deals online that take advantage of incentives and rewards from their credit or debit cards. The program now works for searches using Bing, Yahoo! and Google.

Billeo makes its money by partnering with card issuers, to help them increase usage. The idea is simple: The best time to display card incentives is when consumers are shopping. According to Comscore, 70% of online purchases begin with a search, so Billeo tools make the rewards visible right on the search-results page. The company's Offer Assistant highlights special deals from loyalty programs offered by American Express, Visa, Discover, Bank of America, Chase, and other credit providers. (Finovate video here.)

Partnering with Bing gives Billeo the top three players in the U.S. search engine market, representing about 97% of U.S. searches. According to data from Comscore, Microsoft sites grew from 8% of the online search market to 11% in 2009, largely due to the introduction of Bing in June. Google continues to dominate the market at about 66%, with Yahoo coming in second at about 20%.

Billeo's partnership with Bing is mutually beneficial. Bing has its own incentives program, which offers cash rebates to certain online purchases, provided consumers use Bing to search for their goods. Offer Assistant highlights these offers, drawing attention to Bing's services. Billeo even makes Bing rewards visible on searches conducted using Yahoo! and Google, advertising Bing's rewards program to users of rival search engines. And of course, the deal allows Billeo to promote its Office Assistant product to consumers who prefer to search on Bing.

How Offer Assistant Works

1. In order to use Offer Assistant, users download Billeo's free browser plug-in. The plug-in, which works for Internet Explorer and Firefox, includes the full suite of Billeo services. Users also have the option to download just the Form Filler application. The full suite includes:

Offer Assistant, which notifies consumers of special offers from Billeo partners
Bill Pay Assistant, which manages online bill payments
Shopping Assistant, which helps consumers track their favorite shopping sites so they can return to them easily
Password Assistant, which helps users log in to online stores
Form Filler, which stores consumer data to quickly populate online forms
Save and File, which stores payment confirmation notices and receipts

2. Users shop online, conducting product searches using Bing, Yahoo! or Google. Offer Assistant adds a notification icon directly into the search results, indicating that a special offer is available. (Screenshot #1, below.)

3. Clicking the icon provides more information and a direct link that can be used to claim the offer. (Screenshot #2.)

4. Clicking the link takes the user to the vendor's webpage. If the user chooses to make the purchase, the Billeo add-on helps them complete the transaction by filling in the order forms, reminding them to claim the special offer, and saving the order-confirmation information provided by the site. (Screenshot #3.)

Billeo continues to attract more than 100,000 monthly unique visitors. The company's 2009 peak was in February with 215,000 visitors.