Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, available on the web, in Windows, in the Edge browser and in mobile apps. When it needs current information, it searches the web through Bing and answers with links to its sources.
For businesses, Copilot is important for one main reason: its web answers are built on Bing. If Bing can't find, crawl and trust your pages, Copilot is unlikely to cite them. This guide explains how Copilot works, how to see when it cites you, and what to do about it.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is a family of AI assistants from Microsoft. The consumer version, which evolved from Bing Chat, is a free assistant available at copilot.microsoft.com, in dedicated Windows, Mac, Android and iOS apps, and from an icon in Edge. Microsoft says it can search the web and provide summaries with sources, along with writing help, image creation, voice and vision features.
There is also Microsoft 365 Copilot for work, which combines company data like email and documents with optional web search. And on Bing itself, Microsoft launched Copilot Search in Bing in April 2025, which blends traditional results with AI summaries and cited sources. Product names and features change often, so treat these details as accurate as of October 2026.
Why Microsoft Copilot matters
Copilot reaches people where they already work: Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365. That puts it in front of many business buyers during research, often without them opening a separate AI app.
It also has an advantage for marketers that most AI assistants don't: Microsoft gives site owners data. Bing Webmaster Tools includes an AI Performance report that shows how often your content is cited in Copilot and Bing's AI answers. That makes Copilot one of the few AI platforms where you can measure AI citations with first-party numbers instead of relying only on manual testing.
How Microsoft Copilot works
Grounding in Bing search
Microsoft's clearest explanation is written for organizations, covering Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot used with a work account, so the consumer app may differ in details. When web search is enabled, Copilot decides whether web information would improve an answer. If so, it generates a short search query from the user's prompt and sends it to Bing, then uses the results to write its response. This is a form of grounding, tying the model's answer to retrieved sources.
Short, targeted queries
In that documentation, Microsoft says only a generated query of a few words is sent to Bing, not the user's full prompt or attached documents. That means your pages are matched against concise search queries, so traditional relevance signals like clear titles, headings and topic focus still matter.
Citations in the answer
Copilot shows sources as links in its responses. In Microsoft 365 Copilot, answers can separate information from the user's company files from information found on the web, and work chat can list the exact web queries sent to Bing.
Bing's index as the foundation
Because Copilot relies on Bing, your visibility depends on Bing's crawling and indexing. Pages missing from Bing's index can't be retrieved for Copilot answers.
How to measure Copilot citations
In February 2026, Microsoft introduced AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools as a public preview. It covers Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and select partner experiences, and shows:
- Total citations: how often your content appears as a source in AI answers.
- Average cited pages: the daily average of unique pages from your site that were cited.
- Grounding queries: a sample of the phrases the AI used when retrieving your content.
- Page-level activity and trends: citations by URL and over time.
In June 2026, Microsoft added Intents, Topics, Citation Share and Compare, still in preview. Citation Share shows what percentage of citations for a grounding query went to your site. Microsoft notes these numbers reflect citation frequency, not ranking or authority.
How to improve your visibility in Copilot
- Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools. It's free, it shows indexing problems, and it's where the AI Performance report lives. You can import a site from Google Search Console to save time.
- Submit an XML sitemap and fix crawl errors. Make sure Bingbot isn't blocked in robots.txt or by your CDN.
- Use IndexNow. IndexNow lets you notify Bing and other participating engines the moment a URL is added, updated or deleted, so changes can be picked up sooner.
- Study your grounding queries. The phrases in the AI Performance report show how Copilot searches for content like yours. Build or improve pages that answer those queries directly.
- Write clear, answer-first sections. Put a concise answer under each descriptive heading, then add depth. This helps your page match short, specific queries.
- Add accurate structured data. Schema markup helps search engines understand your business, products and content, as long as it matches what's visible on the page.
- Strengthen trust signals. Clear authorship, accurate business details and mentions on reputable sites help search engines see you as a credible source.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
- Ignoring Bing. Many teams only watch Google. Since Copilot is grounded in Bing, weak Bing indexing quietly limits your Copilot visibility.
- Blocking Bingbot to avoid AI. Blocking Bing's crawler also removes you from Bing search results.
- Treating citation counts as rankings. Microsoft says AI Performance metrics show citation frequency, not ranking position or authority.
- Confusing consumer and work Copilot. Microsoft 365 Copilot also draws on company files, and admins can turn web search off. Public web visibility mostly matters for the web-grounded parts.
- Waiting for data before acting. The report is still in preview. Use it as a guide alongside your own prompt testing.
How Butter approaches Microsoft Copilot
At Butter, we treat Copilot as a Bing-first opportunity. Our GEO plan includes monthly AI prompt testing across major AI assistants, indexing strategy, schema markup guidance, knowledge graph submissions, and one AI-crawlable content citation and backlink each month. On our GEO+SEO plan, technical SEO fixes like broken links and crawl issues help Bing reach your pages, and the Butter Analytics dashboard brings your search data together in one place. We can't guarantee Copilot citations, but we make sure Bing can find and understand your best content. See our GEO service page for details.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft Copilot use Bing?
Yes. Microsoft's documentation says that when Copilot needs web information, it generates a short query and sends it to Bing, then writes its answer from the results. That's why Bing indexing matters for Copilot visibility.
How can I see if Copilot cites my website?
Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools and open the AI Performance report. As of October 2026, it is in preview and shows citations, cited pages and grounding queries for Copilot and Bing's AI experiences.
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Not exactly. Microsoft Copilot is the general consumer assistant. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the work version that can also use company email, files and chats, with web search controlled by admins.