Skip to content
Chalk Labs / AI SEO
How-to guide

How to Get Cited in Microsoft Copilot and Bing

By Rahil Jain, founder of Chalk LabsUpdated How we research

The short answer

Microsoft Copilot cites web sources, and the best evidence says Bing's index is the main gate, so being indexed by Bing comes first. Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit an honest sitemap, use IndexNow to announce new and changed URLs, avoid near-duplicate pages, write answer-first sections, and read Bing's AI Performance report to see which queries cite you.

  • Copilot's cited links overlapped with Bing's top 10 more than other assistants did in Ahrefs' 15,000-prompt study.
  • Bing Webmaster Tools has an AI Performance report showing citations and sample grounding queries for Copilot and Bing AI summaries.
  • IndexNow tells participating engines about new, changed or deleted URLs. Google does not take part.
  • Near-duplicate pages get clustered, and Bing says the model may pick an outdated one.

How does Microsoft Copilot choose which pages to cite?

Copilot Search builds answers from web results and cites its sources. Microsoft says each generated answer links the sentence or passage to the original source, and one click shows every link used 1. Microsoft has not published a list of ranking factors for these citations, and we found none in the pages we read.

The best outside evidence points to Bing. Ahrefs studied 15,000 long-tail prompts. Copilot's cited links overlapped with Bing's top 10 more than any other assistant tested, with the highest Bing overlap value in its data at 16.6% 2. That is a 2025 sample, and even the highest overlap means most citations came from outside the top 10 2.

Our reading: you do not need to win Bing's top spot, but you do need to be in Bing's index and match the sub-questions the assistant searches for.

Do it step by step

0 of 8 done0%

  1. Sign in, add your site and complete verification. You need this account to see the AI Performance report later 3. Add every version of your domain that you use.

    Tip: If the site is already verified in Google Search Console, importing it can save time.

  2. Open your robots.txt and your CDN or firewall rules. Make sure Bingbot is allowed and gets 200 responses on your key pages. Microsoft publishes Bingbot IP ranges; check its Bing Webmaster documentation for the current file to use in firewall allow lists.

    Tip: A bot challenge page that returns 403 to crawlers is a common hidden block.

  3. List only canonical, indexable URLs. Set lastmod to the real date the content changed, in ISO 8601 format, and do not reset it when you regenerate the file 5. Skip changefreq and priority, which Bing ignores 5.

    Tip: A sitemap file can hold up to 50,000 URLs 5.

  4. Create a key file at your site root, then send changed URLs with the bash or JSON template whenever you publish, update or delete a page 6. Some CMS plugins can send these pings for you; check yours.

    Tip: Submit to one participating engine. It shares with the others 6.

  5. Find pages that answer the same question with small variations. Pick one canonical version, 301-redirect or consolidate the rest, and then ping IndexNow 7.

    Tip: Do this before writing new pages.

  6. For each page, put a self-contained answer in the first sentence of every section. Add a dated, sourced fact, and make sure no key passage is wrapped in data-nosnippet 8.

  7. In Bing Webmaster Tools, open AI Performance. Note total citations, cited pages and the grounding queries. Log them with the template, and remember the queries are a sample 3.

    Tip: Look for pages that rank in Bing but never appear as cited.

  8. If the Topics Portfolio tab appears, list the Top Opportunity Queries where others are cited and you are not 4. For each one, write or improve a single page that answers that question. Re-check monthly and compare.

Your ticks are saved in this browser only.

Copy-ready templates

sitemap.xml entry with an honest lastmod

text
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.example.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-widget</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-10-14T09:30:00+00:00</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

Use the date the page content really changed, not the build date . Bing ignores changefreq and priority, so leave them out .

IndexNow: submit changed URLs (JSON body)

json
{
  "host": "www.example.com",
  "key": "your-key-8-to-128-chars",
  "keyLocation": "https://www.example.com/your-key-8-to-128-chars.txt",
  "urlList": [
    "https://www.example.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-widget",
    "https://www.example.com/pricing"
  ]
}

Send it as a POST with Content-Type application/json; charset=utf-8 to the /indexnow endpoint of a participating engine. keyLocation is optional when the key file sits at the root, which IndexNow recommends .

Bash: send the IndexNow request

bash
# Replace ENGINE with the host of a participating search engine (see indexnow.org)
ENGINE="<searchengine>"
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "IndexNow status: %{http_code}\n" \
  -X POST "https://$ENGINE/indexnow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d @indexnow.json
# 200 = submitted, 202 = received and key validation pending,
# 403 = key not valid, 422 = URLs not on your host, 429 = too many requests

Save the JSON above as indexnow.json. The documentation uses a <searchengine> placeholder for the host . The response codes are the ones the documentation lists .

AI Performance log (spreadsheet columns)

markdown
| Month | Total citations | Avg cited pages | Top grounding query | Page cited | Opportunity query | Page to write or fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11 | | | | | | |
| 2026-12 | | | | | | |

Fill from the report each month. Grounding queries are a sample, and the counts show citations, not clicks or ranking .

Do you need to be in Bing's index first?

Yes, in practice. A page Bing has not crawled or indexed cannot be retrieved by a system that builds on Bing results. Microsoft says sitemaps remain a foundational signal for URL coverage, and that no tool can guarantee when or how your content appears in AI-generated results 5. We do not guarantee it either.

Microsoft also says the lastmod field in a sitemap is a key signal for how quickly updates reach search results and AI answers, and that changefreq and priority are ignored 5. Set lastmod to the real change date, and not to the date the sitemap was built 5.

Check your coverage in Bing Webmaster Tools. Add and verify your site, submit the sitemap, and inspect your five most important URLs. If a page is missing, fix crawl blocks and thin content before you do anything else.

What is IndexNow and should you use it?

Use it if your site changes often. IndexNow is an open protocol that sends a simple ping to search engines when a URL is added, updated or deleted. Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep take part, and Google does not 10. Microsoft's own advice for AI search is to use IndexNow for real-time URL submission 5.

The setup is short. Make a key of 8 to 128 characters (letters, digits and dashes), and host it as a text file at your site root, which IndexNow recommends. Then send a request listing the changed URLs. One request can carry up to 10,000 URLs, and a submission to one participating engine is shared with the others 6.

IndexNow is a notification, not a ranking boost. It speeds discovery. It does not make a thin page worth citing, and the IndexNow site itself says only that discovery without it can take days to weeks 10.

Why do duplicate pages hurt Copilot visibility?

Because the system picks one page from each cluster. Bing wrote in December 2025 that large language models group near-duplicate URLs into a single cluster and choose one page to represent the set, and that the chosen page may be an outdated version 7. If you have ten near-identical pages, you have not made ten chances.

Bing recommends canonical tags, redirects and IndexNow to make your preferred version clear 7. That is especially relevant to template pages that change only a city name or a product code. Our guide to creating programmatic pages without spam covers how to keep such pages distinct.

Merge or redirect old duplicates with a 301, and make the canonical page the most complete one. Then use IndexNow to announce the change.

How should you write pages that Copilot can quote?

Make each section answer one question in its first sentence. Copilot links the passage it uses back to the source 1, so the passage must stand alone. Use a question heading, a direct answer, then evidence with a named source and date.

Our guides on writing content AI engines quote and answer-first introductions give the pattern. The free Answer Block Checker scores an opening paragraph.

Be careful with the data-nosnippet attribute. Microsoft says content marked with it stays indexed but is kept out of snippets and AI-generated answers, including Copilot experiences powered by Bing 8. Use it for text you do not want quoted, such as prices that change daily, and never on the passages you want cited.

What did an AI assistant search for when we asked this question?

On 20 October 2026 we asked a Claude agent with web search to research 'how to get my website cited in Microsoft Copilot and Bing'. It ran three searches: how to get a website cited in Copilot, Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report, and how fast IndexNow gets pages into Bing and Copilot.

One run on one engine is a sample. It does show the three practical levers, which this guide follows: content, measurement and indexing speed.

How do you see whether Copilot cites you?

Open the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. Microsoft launched it in public preview on 10 February 2026. It shows total citations, average cited pages and sample grounding queries, which are the key phrases the AI used when retrieving your content, across Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and select partner integrations 3.

Read the limits. Microsoft says the grounding queries are a sample, and that citation counts do not show ranking, authority or placement within an answer 3. The report counts citations, not clicks.

On 13 October 2026, Microsoft added a beta Topics Portfolio tab. It groups your grounding queries into themes and lists Top Opportunity Queries, where other sites are cited and yours is not 4. It appears only when your site has enough data 4. Use those queries as your next content briefs.

How much traffic can you expect from Copilot?

Probably little, and we have no reliable Copilot referral figure to quote. StatCounter showed Microsoft Copilot at 1.79% of worldwide AI chatbot share in September 2026, behind ChatGPT at 80.48% and Gemini at 10.91%, though the page does not explain its method 9.

That makes Copilot a modest target by volume. It can still matter for your audience. Check your own analytics and ask new customers how they found you before you invest heavily.

Copilot work also pays off elsewhere. Bing indexing helps other engines that use Bing data, and the same answer-first pages serve every assistant.

Which mistakes waste the most time?

The usual ones are never verifying the site in Bing Webmaster Tools, setting every sitemap lastmod to today, and blocking Bingbot by accident through a CDN rule. Another is treating IndexNow as a ranking tool when it only speeds discovery 10.

A quieter mistake is ignoring the report. The AI Performance data tells you which phrases already cite you 3. Pages that never appear there need either indexing fixes or a clearer answer.

What an AI assistant searches when it answers this

We gave the question below to AI search tools and recorded the web searches they ran behind the scenes. This is called query fan-out. Each phrase is a page you could publish to be found and cited.

The prompt

“how to get my website cited in Microsoft Copilot and Bing”

The searches it ran
  • get website cited in Microsoft Copilot
  • Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance report
  • IndexNow Bing Copilot indexing speed

Observed October 20, 2026 using Claude web search. Claude agents were told to run 6 to 10 searches, so that count is our setting, not Claude's own choice. Assistants differ and change often, so treat this as a sample, not a rule. See how we collect it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft Copilot the same as Bing?

They are related but not identical. Microsoft's Bing AI Performance report covers Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and select partner integrations together 3. Ahrefs' study found Copilot's citations overlapped with Bing's top 10 more than other assistants did, which suggests a link to Bing's index 2.

Will IndexNow get me into Copilot?

Not by itself. IndexNow only tells participating search engines that a URL changed 10. Microsoft says no tool can guarantee when or how content appears in AI-generated results 5. You still need a page worth citing.

Does Google support IndexNow?

No. The IndexNow site lists Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep as participants and does not list Google 10. For Google, rely on sitemaps and Search Console.

Can I hide parts of a page from Copilot?

Yes. Microsoft says the data-nosnippet attribute keeps marked content out of Bing snippets and AI-generated answers, including Copilot experiences powered by Bing, while it stays indexed 8. Use it sparingly.

What is a grounding query?

It is a phrase the AI used when retrieving content for an answer. Bing's AI Performance report shows a sample of the grounding queries behind your citations 3. They often differ from what the user typed, so read them as search phrasing.

About the author

Rahil Jain

Rahil Jain is an AI SEO (answer engine and generative engine optimisation) consultant and co-founder of Chalk Labs.

LinkedIn · Method and credentials

Sources

  1. Introducing Copilot Search in Bing · Microsoft Bing BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Copilot Search cites sources; each answer links passages to the original source (4 April 2025).
  2. Ahrefs AI search overlap study · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 15,000 long-tail prompts; Copilot cited links overlapped Bing's top 10 more than other assistants tested (highest Bing overlap value, 16.6%, read from the chart); about 12% of ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot links in Google's top 10 (published 11 August 2025).
  3. Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview · Microsoft Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Launch 10 February 2026; citations, cited pages, sample grounding queries; surfaces covered; limits of the data.
  4. Introducing Topics Portfolio (Beta) in AI Performance · Microsoft Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 13 October 2026 beta; groups grounding queries into themes; Top Opportunity Queries; shown only with sufficient data.
  5. Keeping Content Discoverable with Sitemaps in AI Powered Search · Microsoft Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Sitemaps foundational; lastmod key signal and must be honest; changefreq and priority ignored; 50,000 URLs per file; IndexNow; no tool can guarantee AI results (31 July 2025).
  6. IndexNow documentation · IndexNow.orgOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Key file of 8 to 128 characters at site root; up to 10,000 URLs per POST; shared across participating engines; response codes.
  7. Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO and AI Search Visibility? · Microsoft Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: LLMs cluster near-duplicate URLs and pick one page, which may be outdated; canonicals, redirects and IndexNow help (19 December 2025).
  8. Bing Introduces Support for the data-nosnippet HTML Attribute · Microsoft Bing Webmaster BlogOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Content marked data-nosnippet stays indexed but is excluded from snippets and AI answers, including Copilot experiences powered by Bing (15 October 2025).
  9. AI Chatbot Market Share Worldwide · StatCounter Global StatsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: September 2026: ChatGPT 80.48%, Gemini 10.91%, Perplexity 5.85%, Copilot 1.79%, Claude 0.95%; method not explained.
  10. IndexNow · IndexNow.orgOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: IndexNow is a ping when URLs are added, updated or deleted; participants Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex, Yep; Google not listed; discovery without it can take days to weeks.
How this page was made. Built on Rahil Jain's AI SEO method and drafted with AI research assistance. Every statistic links to the page we read it on (opened October 20, 2026 or nearby). Published October 20, 2026; last updated October 20, 2026. Chalk Labs sells AI SEO services, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.