Bing Added AI Performance Report
10 Feb, 2026
•
4mins read
Microsoft launched AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools today, and it’s a bigger deal than most people realize.
For the first time, a major platform is showing publishers where and how often their content gets cited in AI-generated answers. The dashboard tracks citations across Microsoft Copilot, Bing’s AI summaries, and select partner integrations.
This is the visibility we’ve been asking for. And it’s going to change how we think about AI optimization.
What Bing’s AI Performance Report Shows
AI Performance introduces five key metrics:
1. Total citations – How many times your site appears as a source in AI answers during a selected period.
2. Average cited pages – Daily average of unique URLs from your site that AI systems reference.
3. Grounding queries – Sample phrases AI used when retrieving your content to cite. This shows you what questions your content is answering.
4. Page-level citation activity – Which specific URLs get cited most often, so you can see what’s working.
5. Visibility trends over time – How citation activity changes, helping you spot patterns and measure the impact of content changes.
Microsoft is calling this an early step toward Generative Engine Optimization tooling. That’s exactly right. This is infrastructure for a new optimization discipline.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
We’ve been optimizing for AI discovery in the dark. Traffic from ChatGPT shows up in referral logs. Perplexity citations appear occasionally. Google AI Overviews sometimes show your content. But there’s been no systematic way to understand what’s working.
Bing just turned the lights on.
You can now see which content formats AI systems prefer. If your FAQ pages get cited consistently while long-form guides don’t, that tells you something about structure. If comparison tables outperform prose, that’s a signal about how AI extracts information.
You can identify where your actual topical authority lives. You might think you’re known for enterprise software guidance but discover 80% of citations come from pricing content. That gap between perception and reality is valuable.
You can validate whether content changes work. Restructure a product page with extractable data and watch whether citations increase. It’s not perfect attribution, but it’s feedback we didn’t have before.
The OpenAI Connection Nobody’s Talking About
OpenAI announced ads in ChatGPT last week. Most of the conversation focused on user experience and whether sponsored content would compromise trust.
But here’s what matters: to sell ads effectively, OpenAI will have to build advertiser tools. And those tools will need to show query patterns, volume data, and performance metrics.
When Google launched AdWords, they had to build Keyword Planner so advertisers could see search volume and plan campaigns. SEOs who never bought an ad used that tool religiously because it revealed search behavior at scale.
The same thing will happen with ChatGPT ads and every other AI advertising platform. Microsoft’s AI Performance dashboard is version one. As these platforms mature and advertising becomes core to the business model, the data will get far more detailed.
What we’re seeing now is the foundation. The real value will come when platforms expose grounding query volume, conversion patterns, and competitive intensity across different topics.
What You Can Do With This Bing’s AI Performance Report Right Now
Start by validating what’s already working. Check which pages get cited most often. Look for patterns in content structure, topic focus, and format. Those pages are teaching you what AI systems value.
Identify gaps where you should be getting cited but aren’t. If you have strong content on a topic but zero citations, the issue is either discoverability or how the content is structured for extraction.
Test structural changes and measure impact. Add comparison tables to product pages. Restructure FAQs for clearer extraction. Break dense paragraphs into scannable sections. Watch whether citations increase over the following weeks.
Use grounding queries to understand how people actually ask about your topics. These sample queries show you the language real users employ, which helps refine both your content and your SEO strategy.
IndexNow and Content Freshness
Microsoft emphasized IndexNow in the announcement. The protocol notifies search engines when content changes, helping AI systems reference current information instead of outdated versions.
If you publish time-sensitive content like launches, implement IndexNow. It’s low-effort infrastructure that keeps your citations accurate.
Even for evergreen content, regular updates signal that your content is maintained and trustworthy. That matters for citation decisions.
Local Business Implications
Microsoft specifically called out Bing Places for Business. For local businesses, accurate structured data is critical for location-based AI queries.
When someone asks “what’s the best Italian restaurant near me with outdoor seating,” AI systems pull from verified business listings. If your hours, address, or amenities are wrong in Bing Places, you won’t appear in those answers.
Claim your listing, keep it current, and make sure your structured data matches what’s on your website. Basic local SEO fundamentals apply.
What Comes Next
This is version one. Microsoft will expand these metrics, add more granular data, and refine how they categorize citations.
Other platforms will follow. The competitive pressure to provide publisher visibility is real. Google can’t let Microsoft be the only platform showing this data. OpenAI will need it for advertisers. Everyone will want to “win” in the space, propelling development and transparency forward.
The transparency gap is closing. That’s good for publishers, good for content creators, and good for the ecosystem.
We finally have infrastructure to optimize for AI discovery based on actual data instead of assumptions. Now it’s just time to use it.
SEO and content strategist driving transformative growth for Fortune 500 companies and Y Combinator startups across fintech, tech, and healthcare sectors. As founder of Tu Contenido and consultant at Previsible, Ana has helped clients achieve over 20 million monthly visitors and 30% revenue increases through data-driven SEO strategies and innovative content initiatives.
Navigate the future of search with confidence
Let's chat to see if there's a good fit
Table of Contents
Navigate the future of search with confidence
Let's chat to see if there's a good fit
More from Previsible
Google’s In-Context LLM Future, SEO Data Overcomes Top Challenges, & How Researchers Use AI
 Lane Ellis
•
21 Feb, 2025
Google Ups Gemini AI Caps, Bing’s New AI Search, & LinkedIn Gets Comment Metrics
 Lane Ellis
•
28 Feb, 2025
Google Adds AI Mode Search, OpenAI’s Newest Model Released, & Sesame’s Intriguing Voice AI
 Lane Ellis
•
7 Mar, 2025
 Lane Ellis
•
14 Mar, 2025
SEO Jobs Newsletter
Join our mailing list to receive notifications of pre-vetted SEO job openings and be the first to hear about new education offerings.
"" indicates required fields
Δ
Company
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.