Experian Hitwise has released new data about the search market in the UK, indicating that Google’s share has fallen below 90% in the country.

Google’s market share for the month was 89.33%. That’s the first time in as much as five years that Google has dropped below 90% in the United Kingdom, according to the firm. Here’s a look at the numbers:

“As Google’s market share dropped it was a positive month for Microsoft, Yahoo!, Ask and the all Other search engines monitored by Experian Hitwise,” writes James Murray on the firm’s UK blog. “Microsoft Sites, led by the bing engine increased market share by 0.72% up to 4.71% of all searches. This was a 2012 peak for Microsoft which was also ahead by 0.86% year-on-year.”

“October saw the launch of Windows 8 with Bing set as the default search engine which may have gone some way to increasing Microsoft’s market share,” Murray adds. “Online searches for Windows 8 increased by 120% throughout October showing the increased online interest for Microsoft’s new operating system. As search continues to diversify however, the market is likely to continue to shift and change.”

It will be interesting to watch, not only in the UK, but everywhere else, especially in light of recent developments on the Bing front.

There are still 18 times more searches conducted on Google sites in the UK than on all of the other search engines combined.