Bing Webmaster Tools: Track Copilot Citations

Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free service for website owners to monitor how their site performs in Bing search, submit sitemaps and URLs, fix crawl and indexing issues, and, more recently, see how often their content is cited in Microsoft Copilot and other AI answers.

This page covers what the tool does, why Bing indexing matters more now that Copilot and other AI tools rely on Bing, the main features including the AI Performance report, how to set it up, and how it compares to Google Search Console.

What is Bing Webmaster Tools?

Bing Webmaster Tools (often shortened to BWT) is Bing's equivalent of Google Search Console. You verify that you own a site, and Bing gives you data and controls for how it crawls, indexes and shows that site.

For years many marketers ignored it because Bing's search market share is smaller than Google's. That calculation has changed. Bing's index now powers a lot of AI-generated answers, and Microsoft has added reporting built specifically for AI visibility. Bing's own getting-started post describes the tool as free.

Why Bing Webmaster Tools matters

The main reason is AI. Microsoft documents that when web search is on, Microsoft Copilot generates search queries, sends them to the Bing search service and uses the results to ground its answers. OpenAI's help center says ChatGPT search may share queries with third-party search providers such as Bing. If Bing can't crawl or index your pages, you lose a path into those answers.

Bing Webmaster Tools is also the only place Microsoft shows you direct data on AI citations. In February 2026, Bing launched the AI Performance report in public preview, covering citations in Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and select partner experiences. Few AI platforms give site owners anything comparable.

Be realistic about the limits. The AI data covers Microsoft surfaces and unnamed partners, not ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity in general. Bing's own blog describes several metrics as samples or approximations that are still being refined.

How Bing Webmaster Tools works

Search performance and indexing

According to Bing's feature overview, the core tool includes a search performance report with clicks, impressions and average position (up to 16 months of data), URL Inspection, a Sitemaps report, Site Explorer, backlink data, keyword research, Site Scan audits, a robots.txt tester and crawl controls. It also has built-in support for IndexNow URL submission, plus IndexNow Insights reporting added in 2024.

AI Performance report

The AI Performance report shows total citations (how often your content was shown as a source in AI answers), average cited pages per day, page-level citation counts, trends over time and grounding queries. Grounding queries are the phrases the AI used when it retrieved your content. Bing notes this list is a sample, not a complete record. The report does not say where in an answer you were cited or whether anyone clicked.

In June 2026, Bing added more AI visibility features in preview: Intents (classifying grounding queries as informational, commercial, local and so on), Topics (grouping related queries), Citation Share (how much of the citation space you get for a query, without naming competitors) and Compare (overlaying a previous date range). In October 2026 it added Topics Portfolio in beta, which groups your grounding queries into themes and highlights opportunity queries where other sites are cited and yours is not. Bing describes those numbers as approximate, directional signals.

Copilot inside the tool

Bing also built an AI assistant into the dashboard. It became available to all users in March 2025 and answers site-specific questions in chat. It is English only.

Bing Webmaster Tools in practice: an example

Picture a hypothetical accounting firm that has never opened Bing Webmaster Tools. It imports its site from Google Search Console in a few clicks and finds two problems: its sitemap hasn't been read in months because of an old URL, and Site Scan flags dozens of pages with missing titles.

After fixing both, the firm checks the AI Performance report weekly. It sees that a guide on quarterly estimated taxes gets regular citations, and that grounding queries mention deadlines for freelancers. It expands that section, adds a clear table of dates and submits the update through IndexNow. The report won't prove the change caused more citations, but it gives the firm a feedback loop it had none of before.

How to set up and use Bing Webmaster Tools

Sign in and add your site. Use a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account. The fastest route is importing verified sites from Google Search Console.
Verify ownership. If you don't import, verify with Domain Connect, an XML file upload, a meta tag on your homepage or a DNS TXT record.
Submit your sitemap. Add your XML sitemap in the Sitemaps section and reference it in robots.txt. Bing recommends accurate lastmod dates and ignores changefreq and priority.
Turn on IndexNow. Enable it through your CMS, CDN or a plugin so Bing hears about changes right away.
Fix crawl and indexing issues. Run Site Scan, use URL Inspection on key pages and check that robots.txt is not blocking Bingbot.
Review AI Performance regularly. Track citation trends, see which pages get cited and read grounding queries for clues about the questions your content answers.
Act on what you learn. Strengthen pages that get cited, and use topic and opportunity data as a directional guide for new content.

Common mistakes and misconceptions

"Bing is too small to bother with." Bing's search share undersells its reach. Copilot grounds answers using Bing, and other AI tools use Bing as a search provider. Ignoring Bing can mean ignoring part of your AI visibility.

"The AI Performance report shows all my AI citations." It covers Copilot, Bing's AI summaries and select partner integrations. It does not measure citations across every AI platform, and grounding queries are only a sample.

"If Google indexes my site, Bing does too." They are separate crawlers and indexes. A page can be in Google and missing from Bing, which is exactly what the URL Inspection tool helps you find.

"Citation counts tell me how important my page is." Bing explicitly says citation metrics measure frequency, not ranking, authority or placement in an answer.

Bing Webmaster Tools vs. Google Search Console

Both are free, both report search performance and indexing, and both accept sitemaps. The differences: Search Console covers Google, which still drives most search traffic, while Bing Webmaster Tools covers Bing and Microsoft's AI surfaces. Bing currently offers dedicated AI citation reporting, IndexNow support and built-in keyword research and backlink data, which Search Console does not. Most sites should use both.

How Butter approaches Bing Webmaster Tools

We set up Bing Webmaster Tools as a basic step in technical health, right next to Google Search Console. Indexing strategy is part of every GEO plan, which starts at $399/month, and that includes making sure Bing can crawl and index the pages that matter.

We read the AI Performance data alongside our own monthly AI prompt testing. Bing's report shows what Microsoft's surfaces cite, and prompt testing covers tools Bing doesn't report on. Together they give a fuller, still imperfect, picture of where your brand shows up. Through Butter Analytics, website performance data from 85+ tools can sit in one dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?

Yes. Bing Webmaster Tools is free to use. You only need a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account to sign in and a way to verify that you own the site.

Can I see Copilot citations in Bing Webmaster Tools?

Yes. The AI Performance report, launched in public preview in February 2026, shows how often your content is cited in Microsoft Copilot, Bing's AI-generated summaries and select partner experiences, along with sample grounding queries and page-level citation counts.

How do I import my site from Google Search Console to Bing?

When adding a site in Bing Webmaster Tools, choose the Google Search Console import option and sign in with your Google account. Bing pulls in your verified sites, so you skip separate verification.

Does ChatGPT use Bing?

OpenAI says ChatGPT search may share queries with third-party search providers such as Bing. It does not publish exactly how much it depends on Bing, so being well indexed in Bing helps but is not the whole story for ChatGPT visibility.

Sources and further reading

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