Quick answer: On June 16, 2026, Microsoft added AI-visibility features to Bing Webmaster Tools’ AI Performance report — Intents, Topics, Citation Share, and Compare — so site owners can finally see whether (and how) their content is cited in AI answers like Copilot. It’s the first mainstream, free tool that reports your share of AI citations. We opened our own account to see it in action — and our starting line, as a brand-new site, is exactly zero.
For all the talk about Generative Engine Optimization, one thing has been frustratingly hard: measuring it. Most “AI visibility” data has lived behind paid tools. Bing just changed that. Here’s what’s new, what it actually looks like inside the dashboard, and why we’re oddly happy our number is zero.
What Bing added
The AI Performance report gained four capabilities, all in global preview as of June 16, 2026:
- Intents — groups the queries that ground AI answers into broad contexts (Informational, Commercial, Research, Local, Learn & Solve, Creation). You learn why you’re surfaced, not just for what.
- Topics — clusters related queries into themes (e.g. “solar panels,” “solar efficiency” → “Solar Energy”), mirroring how AI organizes information — handy for spotting authority areas and gaps.
- Citation Share — the percentage of citations attributed to your site out of all citations shown for a query. Microsoft is explicit that it’s observational, “not a ranking system or competitive scoreboard.”
- Compare — overlay a previous period to see how citation activity shifts after you change content.
What it actually looks like
This is our real AI Performance screen. The top cards show Total Citations and Avg. Cited Pages, with a time-series chart below and a “List By” toggle for Grounding Queries or Pages. A note reminds you the data is “a sample of overall activity” that’s refined as more is processed, and that intent/topic labels are AI-generated. New sites see a banner that data can take up to 48 hours to reflect.
Our baseline: zero (and why that’s useful)
Our citation count is 0. GeoParrot is a brand-new site, so it isn’t being cited in AI answers yet — and that’s exactly the honest starting point of a real experiment. We’d rather show you the true zero than a borrowed dashboard. In our GEO Lab, this becomes a baseline we’ll track: as we publish and earn authority, does our Citation Share move off zero — and on which topics first? We’ll report exactly what happens, including if it stays flat.
How to access it
- Sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools and add/verify your site (we verified via DNS).
- Open the AI Performance report from the dashboard.
- Use the date range and the List By toggle; explore Intents and Topics once data accrues.
- If you’re new, give it up to 48 hours — and keep your sitemap submitted so Bing can crawl you.
Why this matters for GEO
- Measurement, finally. Citation Share moves GEO from “we think we’re visible” to a number you can watch.
- Intent over keywords. Knowing you appear in commercial vs informational contexts reshapes strategy.
- Bing = Copilot. Since Copilot is Bing-grounded, this is your clearest window into Copilot visibility — pair it with our Copilot guide.
- Complements GA4. BWT shows citations (including zero-click); GA4 shows the clicks that follow — see tracking AI search traffic in GA4.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free?
Yes — it’s part of Bing Webmaster Tools, which is free. The AI Performance features rolled out in preview globally.
Does it cover ChatGPT or Gemini?
It reflects Copilot, Bing, and partner AI experiences grounded in Bing — not Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s own retrieval. For Google surfaces, watch Google’s tools and AI Overviews.
Why is my citation count zero?
Likely your site is new, not yet cited, or data is still processing (up to 48 hours). Build authority and answer-first content, then watch it over time.
The bottom line
Bing just gave every site owner a free window into AI citations. Even if your number is zero today, that’s a baseline worth setting now — because the brands that measure first are the ones that improve fastest.
Source
Based on Microsoft’s Bing Webmaster Tools announcement (June 2026) and our own hands-on use of the AI Performance report. Screenshot is from our GeoParrot account.
Leave a Reply