Direct answer
Bing's AI search reporting lives in the AI Performance report, a free tool in Bing Webmaster Tools. It shows how often Microsoft Copilot, Bing's AI summaries and some partner AI tools cite your pages, and the searches behind each citation. Since October 13, 2026, it also lists questions where other sites get cited and you don't. It doesn't cover ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity.
What does Bing's AI Performance report show?
It counts how often your pages appear as a source in AI answers on Microsoft's surfaces, and which pages those are. Microsoft launched it as a public preview in February 2026.
Bing's help page lists three surfaces: Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing, and "select partner AI integrations." It doesn't say which partners. For those surfaces, the report gives you:
- Total citations, the number of times your content was shown as a source in an AI answer.
- Cited pages, the unique pages from your site cited per day, and the daily average.
- Grounding queries, the phrases the AI searched when it pulled your content.
- Page-level citations, so you can see which URLs get cited most.
- A trend line over 7 days, 30 days, 3 months or a custom range.
Click a grounding query to see which pages it cited, or click a page to see which queries led to it. Data refreshes daily, and you can export it to CSV or Excel.
What are grounding queries?
Grounding queries are the searches the AI ran to find sources for its answer, grouped into short phrases. They aren't the questions people typed.
Bing's example: if your pages get cited in answers about solar energy, you might see "solar energy" or "solar panels" in the list. Bing says the report shows "grouped, generalized phrases" and does not display individual user questions or highly specific long-tail queries. So treat the list as themes. A buyer's real question could be "which solar installer near Edison does battery backup," and the report might file it under "solar panels."
What did the June and October updates add?
Two updates added competitive context. Neither one names your competitors.
On June 16, 2026, Bing added four preview features worldwide:
| Feature | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Intents | Labels each grounding query by type, such as Informational, Commercial, Comparison, Local or Research |
| Topics | Groups related grounding queries into themes, like Solar Energy |
| Citation Share | Your site's percentage of all citations for one grounding query |
| Compare | Overlays an earlier date range on the chart, so you can see before and after a page change |
Citation Share is the closest thing to "how much of this answer space do I own." Bing says it doesn't reveal which other domains hold the rest.
On October 13, 2026, Bing added Topics Portfolio as a beta tab. For each topic it shows Topic Size (approximate citations across all sites), Sites Cited (how crowded the topic is) and the number of queries. Below that, Top Opportunity Queries lists queries where other sites get cited and yours doesn't. Bing shows those volumes as ranges, and it warns that the topic labels are AI-generated and sometimes wrong.
How do I start using it?
Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, open AI Performance, and give it time to collect data. If your site is already verified, look for AI Performance in the menu.
- Sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools and add and verify your site.
- Check that robots.txt doesn't block Bingbot. Bing only reports content it's allowed to index.
- Open AI Performance and set the range to 3 months.
- Sort pages by citations. Note which pages get cited and which pages you expected to see but don't.
- Click your most important page and read its grounding queries. Do they match what the page is for?
- If you have Topics Portfolio, read the opportunity queries in your main topic. Each one is a question where another site answered and you didn't.
- Export the data with the date range in the file name. After you change a page, use Compare to check the same range against the earlier one.
What doesn't the report tell you?
It doesn't show clicks, other engines, the answer itself, or brand mentions that come without a link.
- No clicks. Bing says a citation "does not represent traffic, clicks, or user engagement." For why that gap matters, see AI visibility vs AI traffic.
- Microsoft surfaces only. It doesn't show what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity or Grok say about you.
- Citations, not mentions. If Copilot names your business but links someone else's page, you won't see it. That's the difference covered in Mentioned vs cited.
- A sample. Bing calls the data "not a complete log," and very low citation activity may not show up at all.
- No reason why. Bing says Compare "does not explain why the change happened." Your page edit, a model update and a change in what people ask all look the same on the chart.
- Little for small sites. Topics Portfolio only appears with enough data, and Bing says "smaller sites may see a shorter list or may not even see this feature."
How does it compare with Search Console and prompt tracking?
Each one answers a different question, and none covers everything. Use the free reports for Microsoft and Google, then ask the other engines directly.
| Bing AI Performance | Google Search Console, Generative AI report | Asking the engines on a fixed question list | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engines | Copilot, Bing AI summaries, some partners | AI Overviews and AI Mode, combined | Whichever engines you ask |
| What it counts | Citations of your pages | Impressions of links to your site | Whether you're named, who's named instead, which links are cited |
| Shows the queries? | Yes, as grouped phrases | No query view; pages, countries, devices, dates | Yes, you pick the questions |
| Competitor view | Your share only, no names | None | Yes, the names in the answer |
| Clicks | No | No, use the main Performance report | No |
| Cost | Free | Free | Your time, or a paid tool or service |
| Main limit | Sampled; small sites see less | Only shows if you have enough AI impressions | Answers vary run to run, so each question has to be repeated |
Google announced its report on June 3, 2026, and rolled it out to all sites on August 31, 2026. Like Bing, Google doesn't show the report until a site has enough data.
Is it worth checking if my business is small?
Yes, because it's free and takes a few minutes once a month. Expect thin data at first. An empty report doesn't mean you're blocked. Bing says very low or infrequent citation activity may not surface, and if you see no grounding queries at all, "This is expected and does not indicate a penalty or exclusion."
If the report stays empty for 3 months, Copilot rarely cites your pages when people in your area or category ask. The fix is the same as for other engines. Publish pages that answer specific buyer questions, and get other sites to mention you.
For the engines Bing's report can't see, you have to ask them. Named keeps one fixed prompt set and repeats it to check changes, across every AI engine you care about, starting with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok and Muse. The Namies draft fixes, and a person checks every change. The rules are on our facts page. Results vary run to run, and nobody can promise a ranking.
FAQ
Is Bing's AI Performance report free?
Yes. It's part of Bing Webmaster Tools, which is free. You need to verify your site first.
Does the report show ChatGPT citations?
No. Bing lists Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and "select partner AI integrations," and doesn't name the partners. Check ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok by asking them.
Why don't I see any grounding queries?
Usually because your site has too few citations in the date range. Bing says this is expected and isn't a penalty. Make sure Bingbot can crawl your site, then check again in a month.
Can I see which competitors get cited instead of me?
Not by name. Citation Share shows your percentage for a query, and Topics Portfolio lists queries where other sites get cited and you don't, without naming them. To see the names, ask the engines your buyers' questions and read the answers.
Is Google's Search Console AI report the same thing?
No. Google's report counts impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode together, with no query view. Bing's report counts citations and shows grouped queries.
Sources
- Microsoft Bing, "Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview," February 2026: https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/2/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview/ (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Microsoft Bing, "New AI Visibility Insights in Bing Webmaster Tools: Intents, Topics, Citation Share, Compare," June 16, 2026: https://blogs.bing.com/search/2026/6/New-AI-Visibility-Insights-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Intents-Topics-Citation-Share-Compare/ (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Microsoft Bing, "Introducing Topics Portfolio (Beta) in AI Performance," October 13, 2026: https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/10/introducing-topics-portfolio-beta-in-ai-performance/ (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Bing Webmaster Tools help, "AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools": https://www2.bing.com/webmasters/help/ai-performance-9f8e7d6c (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Google Search Central Blog, "Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console," June 3, 2026 (updated for the Aug 31, 2026 worldwide rollout): https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Search Console Help, "Generative AI performance report (Search)": https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139?hl=en (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Named facts page: https://named.khanex.ai/facts/ (read Oct 28, 2026)
If you want to see what the engines outside Bing's report say about you, Named's free AI audit shows where you stand and who gets named instead.
About the author: Saad Khan is a 23-year-old AI engineer and the founder of Named, which works to get small businesses recommended by AI engines.