Microsoft said on Wednesday it is combining its search and advertising development teams, highlighting the importance of those services as the software giant struggles to compete with Web search leader Google. The organization will be led by Satya Nadella, a 15-year Microsoft veteran, who most recently led a group developing business services software such as financial and customer relationship management.

The change comes two weeks after the departure of Chris Payne, the Microsoft executive in charge of closing the gap with Google, which accounts for nearly half the online search market, compared with Microsoft's 11 percent.