Bing Webmaster Tools Update: AI Performance Revealed

Search visibility is entering a new phase. On 10 February 2026, Microsoft introduced a public preview of the AI Performance report inside Bing Webmaster Tools.

For the first time, a major search platform now provides publishers with structured data showing how their content appears inside AI‑generated answers.

This development matters more than many marketers realise. Generative search systems increasingly summarise information directly inside the interface rather than sending users to external websites.

Microsoft’s new dashboard signals an important shift. Instead of focusing only on impressions and clicks, search platforms are starting to expose citation‑level data. Organisations can now see when AI systems reference their content, which pages appear in responses, and which queries trigger those citations.

While Bing may not dominate global search traffic, Microsoft’s ecosystem extends far beyond a single search engine.

Copilot runs across Windows, Edge, Microsoft 365, and other enterprise environments. As a result, the influence of Bing’s AI retrieval systems reaches millions of daily interactions.

For marketers, analysts, and digital leaders, this update offers a glimpse into the future of generative engine optimisation (GEO). This guide breaks this update down more below.

The Shift from Clicks to Citations

In the previous era of search, a click was the primary unit of value. If a user didn’t land on your website, the search was often considered a lost opportunity.

However, Microsoft Copilot and Bing AI summaries have fundamentally changed user behaviour. Users now stay within the search interface to receive comprehensive answers.

While Bing holds approximately 5.02% of the search market worldwide (second behind Google), its influence extends further through integrations with Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365.

For enterprise environments and B2B sectors, Bing’s desktop-heavy audience represents a high-value demographic. The launch of the AI Performance dashboard acknowledges that visibility today is about more than raw traffic. It’s being the source of truth that grounds an AI’s response.

When an AI cites your brand, it builds authority and mental availability. Even if the user doesn’t click immediately, your brand becomes the expert verified by the engine.

This citation-based visibility is the new metric for brand health in a world where AI agents increasingly act as gatekeepers to information.

The launch of Microsoft’s AI Performance dashboard

Overview of Bing Webmaster Tools’ AI Performance Dashboard

The new dashboard inside Bing Webmaster Tools offers five core metrics that allow you to audit your AI footprint. These metrics provide a level of transparency that Google Search Console has yet to match:

  • Total Citations. Total citation is the raw count of how often your domain appeared as a source in AI-generated answers. Think of this as your AI impressions. It measures the breadth of your influence across Copilot and Bing AI.
  • Average Cited Pages per Day. Average Cited Pages Per Day is the metric that reveals the diversity of your visibility. If you have 1,000 pages but the AI only cites three, you have a citation bottleneck. A higher number indicates that your site has a broad range of authoritative content that the AI finds useful.
  • Grounding Queries. This is the most innovative feature. Grounding queries are the sampled phrases or retrieval hooks that the AI used when it decided to fetch your content. These are distinct from traditional search keywords. They reflect the AI’s internal reformulation of a user’s prompt.
  • Page-Level Citation Activity. You can drill down to see exactly which URLs are citation magnets. This helps you identify the specific content formats or topics that the AI prefers to reference.
  • Visibility Trends Over Time. Like a standard performance report, this timeline shows whether your AI visibility is growing or shrinking. It allows you to correlate content updates with changes in citation frequency.

5 Strategies to Improve AI Visibility in Bing

Optimising for AI retrieval requires a different technical mindset than traditional SEO. The goal is extractability, which means making it as easy as possible for the AI to find and verify facts within your content.

Here are some strategies you can start with:

1. Adopt a Micro-Unit Content Structure

AI models retrieve information in chunks. To increase your chances of being cited, break your content into small, self-contained sections.

Use clear H2 and H3 headings followed immediately by a concise, factual summary. These answer capsules act as perfect snippets for the AI to lift and cite directly in its response.

2. Focus on Grounding Query Alignment

Review the grounding queries in your Bing dashboard. You will notice these phrases are often more complex and context-heavy than traditional keywords.

Adjust your content to address these conversational intents. If the AI uses a grounding query like “how does [Product A] compare to [Product B] for Australian SMEs,” ensure you have a dedicated section that answers that exact comparison.

3. Leverage IndexNow for Instant Freshness

AI models prefer current data. Microsoft has integrated IndexNow as a core signal for AI performance. When you update a page with new statistics or insights, use IndexNow to notify Bing immediately.

Faster update signals ensure the AI references the most current version of your expertise, which is a major factor in citation selection.

4. Strengthen Technical Entity Signals

The AI needs to be certain that your site is a trusted authority. Use Schema.org markup to explicitly define your organisation, its authors, and its credentials.

Clear entity references across your text and metadata help the AI connect your content to established topics. The more machine-readable your authority is, the more likely the AI is to use you as a primary source.

5. Use Evidence-Backed Claims

Vague marketing fluff is ignored by AI retrieval systems. Bing’s models look for explicit evidence, data points, and examples.

If you claim a service is efficient, back it up with a specific statistic (e.g., “reduces processing time by 40%“). Factual density makes your content more groundable, which directly increases citation rates.

The launch of the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools represents a significant milestone

How to Measure Business Impacts Without Clicks

As AI responses reduce direct traffic from informational queries, organisations must expand how they measure search success:

Track Citation Frequency

Citation data reveals how often AI systems rely on a site as a source. A rising citation trend suggests that the platform increasingly recognises the domain as authoritative.

While citations may not always produce immediate visits, they still influence brand exposure and credibility. Organisations should monitor which pages generate the most citations and expand those topic areas.

Monitor Branded Search Growth

Users often remember the brand associated with a cited source. Later, they may search for that organisation directly when they require deeper information.

An increase in branded search volume can therefore signal that generative search exposure strengthens brand awareness.

Analyse High‑Intent Traffic Patterns

Even when informational clicks decline, high‑intent visits often remain stable. Users who require services, products, or professional advice still need to visit a website to act.

Analytics teams should examine engagement metrics such as session depth, returning visitors, and lead generation. These indicators often reveal whether remaining traffic carries stronger commercial value.

Evaluate Topic Authority Signals

Another useful approach involves tracking how frequently key content pieces appear in citations across multiple queries. If a small number of pages drive most citation activity, those topics likely represent the organisation’s strongest authority areas.

Content teams can expand these areas to reinforce visibility.

Combine Qualitative and Quantitative Insights

Generative search introduces complexity that traditional metrics cannot fully capture. 

Organisations should combine citation data, search trends, brand metrics, and engagement signals to understand the broader impact.

This approach creates a more accurate picture of digital influence in a generative environment.

Prepare for the Future of GEO

The launch of the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools represents a significant milestone for the search industry.

For the first time, publishers can see how generative systems reference their content when producing AI-generated answers.

This development reflects a larger transformation in how information is discovered online. As generative interfaces increasingly deliver answers directly inside the search environment, the traditional focus on clicks alone no longer captures the full picture of visibility.

Forward-thinking organisations will adapt their strategies accordingly. They will focus on:

  • Producing authoritative content
  • Structuring information so AI systems can interpret it easily
  • Measuring success through citation activity, brand visibility, and topic authority

Tell No Lies works with businesses and agencies to navigate these updates and changes. Our team helps organisations implement robust data and analytics frameworks, ensuring accurate tracking, tagging, and reporting, and translating complex search signals into clear, actionable insights.

If your organisation wants to remain visible as generative search reshapes the digital ecosystem, speak with Tell No Lies today about strengthening your GEO data foundations.

We provide the data visibility and reporting needed to support informed decision-making for the next generation of search.