Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said Microsoft’s new Bing Internet search engine may lure more Web surfers in the future.

While Google isn’t losing many users to Bing, Microsoft’s product shows that the search market is competitive, Schmidt said at the annual Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Schmidt, who serves on Apple’s board, also said he was kept apprised of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s health.

Schmidt said he plans to remain an Apple director, declining to comment further.