Things are starting to look better for Microsoft's Bing. Users are starting to use "Bing" as a verb, and searches are up. But Bloomberg warns that it is a long way from unseating Google and it has yet to see advertisers using the service in any real numbers.

In April about 12 percent of all Web searches were performed using Microsoft's year-old search engine. Meanwhile, Google's share is flat at 64 percent. Redmond has has been trying to build its presence in search since 2004 and spent huge amounts in marketing.

Most of the roughly $6 billion in losses racked up by Microsoft's online business division since 2006 are related to Bloomberg quotes various advertising agencies as saying they are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to Bing. However they are starting to ask if whether they are "underinvested" in Microsoft's search engine.

Bing may never come close to passing Google as the top search engine, but it may not have to. The 2009 deal with Yahoo!  makes Bing the search technology that Yahoo will use on its Web sites, though it won't use the Bing name. If Yahoo and Microsoft hold their current shares, Bing will power nearly 30 percent of all searches.

"At that size, advertisers can't ignore them," Bloomberg said.