Microsoft Copilot gets its web answers from the Bing search service, and OpenAI names Bing for ChatGPT's Enterprise and Edu plans. Bing Webmaster Tools now shows how often Copilot and Bing's AI answers cite your pages, so a free setup is worth the time.
Where does Copilot get its web answers?
When web search is turned on, Microsoft Learn explains that Copilot "may fetch information from the Bing search service." This turns a prompt into a short search query sent to Bing. Bing's own Webmaster Guidelines back this up. They say the guidelines cover "Bing search experiences, Copilot, and grounding API results." They also say that "Bing and Copilot search experiences rely on the same core crawling, indexing, and ranking foundation as traditional search."
Does ChatGPT use Bing?
The answer depends on which ChatGPT plan someone uses. Back in 2023, the Microsoft Bing Blog announced it was "bringing Bing to ChatGPT as the default search experience." That was true at the time. Today, OpenAI describes things differently depending on the account type. For consumer ChatGPT, the OpenAI Help Center says ChatGPT search "sometimes partners with other search providers." It rewrites a question into search queries sent to those providers. It also links privacy statements for Microsoft and Shopify. For business and school accounts, OpenAI's enterprise help page states that ChatGPT "may share disassociated search queries with the Bing search engine to return web results." Healthcare workspaces do not use Bing for web search. So Bing plays a role, though OpenAI doesn't name it as the only provider, and that role differs by plan.
What can Bing Webmaster Tools show about AI citations?
In February 2026, the Bing Webmaster Blog introduced AI Performance, a public preview feature inside Bing Webmaster Tools. It shows how content appears as a cited source in Microsoft Copilot, in AI-generated summaries on Bing, and in "select partner integrations." The report tracks Total Citations and Average Cited Pages per day. It also tracks Grounding Queries, a sample of phrases the AI used to pull in content. It includes page-level citation counts and trends too. Bing is clear about the limits of this data too. Citation counts do not show ranking, authority or where a page landed inside an answer. In June 2026, the Bing Search Blog added more preview features: Intents, Topics, Citation Share, and Compare. Citation Share is a share of citations for a given grounding query. Compare overlays data from an earlier period.
How do citation controls and IndexNow work?
Bing's Webmaster Guidelines spell out how a few common tags affect AI results. A NOINDEX tag keeps a URL out of Bing search, Copilot and grounding results entirely. NOARCHIVE "prevents content from being used in Copilot responses." NOCACHE limits what Copilot can use to the URL, title and snippet alone. If a page is meant to show up in an AI answer, these tags are worth checking.
IndexNow works alongside these settings. According to IndexNow.org, IndexNow is a ping that tells search engines a URL was added, updated or deleted. Its listed supporters include Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep. A submission through IndexNow is shared with all participating engines at once. The IndexNow FAQ is direct about what this does and doesn't guarantee: "Submitting a URL does not guarantee immediate indexing." Each engine still decides on its own whether and when to index a page. Google is not on the list of IndexNow supporters, so this ping does not reach Google search.
What should a small business owner do first?
A few steps tie directly back to how Bing's tools work.
- Set up Bing Webmaster Tools using the Search Console import option. According to Bing Webmaster Tools Help, this method can auto-verify a website and its sitemap from an existing Google Search Console account. Data usually shows up within about 48 hours.
- Check the AI Performance report regularly to see which pages Copilot and Bing's AI summaries are citing and for which phrases.
- Turn on IndexNow so Bing hears about new or updated pages quickly. A 2024 Bing Webmaster Blog post notes that many content management systems already support IndexNow. This comes from Bing's own comparison of its tools against Google Search Console.
- Keep a Bing Places for Business listing current with accurate address, hours and contact details, matching what's listed elsewhere.
- Avoid blocking Bingbot, and think twice before adding NOARCHIVE or NOCACHE tags to pages meant to be cited.
None of this guarantees a spot in an AI answer. A citation count is not the same as a click or a visit, and Bing doesn't name its "select partner integrations" publicly. For small businesses working on search, answer engine and generative engine visibility, that distinction matters. Our guide to how ChatGPT search finds websites covers more about how generative engines pull in web content. Our guide to getting cited by AI answers covers more about what makes a page easier to cite.
Frequently asked questions
Does ChatGPT use Bing?
OpenAI's consumer help pages describe ChatGPT search as working with unnamed "search providers." Its enterprise help pages name Bing specifically for Enterprise and Edu plans. Microsoft announced Bing as ChatGPT's default search experience back in 2023. The setup can differ depending on which ChatGPT plan is in use.
Where does Microsoft Copilot get its answers from the web?
Copilot pulls web answers from the Bing search service. Microsoft's own guidelines describe Copilot, Bing search and grounding API results as sharing "the same core crawling, indexing, and ranking foundation."
Can I see if Copilot cites my website?
Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report tracks citations in Copilot and in Bing's AI-generated summaries. It includes a sample of the phrases used to retrieve content. It does not show how a page ranked within an answer.
What is IndexNow, and does it notify Google?
IndexNow is a ping that lets a website tell participating search engines about new, updated or deleted pages in one submission. Its listed supporters are Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep. Google is not on that list, so an IndexNow ping does not reach Google search.
Do I need to verify my website again to use Bing Webmaster Tools?
No. Bing Webmaster Tools can import a website that's already verified in Google Search Console. It auto-verifies the website along with its sitemap, with data typically showing up within about 48 hours.
Bing Webmaster Tools gives a small business a free, direct look at how Copilot and Bing's AI summaries use its pages. It can't promise placement in every AI answer.
TygerLabs offers SEO, AEO and GEO services for small businesses working on this kind of visibility.
