AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools: what is it and how does it work?

In an area where transparency is often still lacking, AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools is one of the first official reports to provide insight into how your content is used in AI responses.

Why AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools is an important development

Many SEO tools track clicks, impressions, and rankings, but don’t provide insight into citations within AI responses. AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools breaks that pattern. The report shows how content from your website is used as a source within AI experiences powered by Bing Search technology.

What is AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools?

AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools is a report within Bing Webmaster Tools that provides insight into citations of your website within AI-generated responses. Specifically, it covers AI experiences like Microsoft Copilot that use Bing Search. The report shows when your content appears as a source, without showing ranking or click data.

What does Total Citations measure?

Total Citations shows how often your website was cited as a source in AI-generated answers during the selected time period. This metric shows only the number of citations and does not indicate ranking, visibility, or how prominently your source was displayed within the answer.

What does Average Cited Pages measure?

Average Cited Pages shows the average number of unique pages on your website that are cited per day in AI responses. This data is aggregated across supported AI platforms. The figure provides insight into citation patterns but does not indicate anything about ranking or authority.

What are Grounding Queries?

Grounding Queries show key phrases that AI used when retrieving content that was then cited. This is a sample of the total citation activity. This gives you insight into the topics and search intentions for which your content is being used as a resource.

What does Page-Level Citation Activity show?

Page-Level Citation Activity shows how many times specific URLs from your website were cited within AI responses during the selected time period. This makes visible which individual pages are most often used as references, without making statements about importance or position.

How is AI Performance different from Google Search Console?

The AI Performance interface in Bing Webmaster Tools closely resembles Google Search Console, featuring charts, filters, and date ranges. The difference is that Google Search Console currently does not offer a separate report showing how your content is used within AI overviews or other AI experiences. Such a report would be valuable to many SEO specialists, but at this time, Bing offers more transparency in this area.

For anyone familiar with Google Search Console, here's how similar this tool is to it 

Does AI Performance also apply to ChatGPT or Gemini?

AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools provides insights exclusively into AI experiences that use Bing technology. For ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AI platforms, there is currently no comparable dashboard where you can see if your website is being cited. This makes this report valuable, but also limits it to the Microsoft ecosystem.

How does Bing use your content in AI answers?

When a user asks a question in Copilot or a Bing AI experience, the system retrieves information from indexed pages. Based on that, it generates a response. If your page is used as a reference source, this is recorded as a citation within AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing always respects robots.txt and other control mechanisms.

What can and can't you infer from AI Performance?

AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools shows how often your content is cited as a source, but does not show exact placement, click behavior or conversions. Thus, a citation does not automatically mean traffic. The report primarily provides insight into participation in AI-driven search experiences.

What does AI Performance mean for the future of SEO?

AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools marks a first step toward measurable AI visibility. Where many AI platforms still provide little insight into resource usage, Bing is introducing a concrete report that shows how content participates in AI responses. With this, Bing is one of the first to move along in a search landscape in which AI is playing an increasing role.

Gain insight into your AI performance within Bing? 

Want to know how often your content is cited in Bing’s AI responses and what that means for your SEO strategy? We’ll help you analyze AI performance and translate the data into concrete opportunities for improvement. Curious about where your website stands right now? Take our free SEO scan and discover immediately where your AI and organic visibility can grow.