Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free tool for seeing how your site performs in Bing, with indexing insights, keyword performance and crawl diagnostics. If your site is already verified in Google Search Console, you can import it straight in, which makes setup a few minutes' work.
Most small businesses set up Google Search Console and never think about Bing. That's a mistake now, and not because of Bing search on its own. Microsoft says on its Bing blog that Bing powers a wide range of search and AI experiences, including Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Microsoft Start and AI tools such as ChatGPT, as well as Edge, Windows and Copilot. That's Microsoft's own claim, but it's the reason this tool deserves ten minutes of your time.
What's inside Bing Webmaster Tools
Microsoft's Bing blog lists these features:
| Feature | What it shows you |
|---|---|
| Search Performance | Impressions, clicks and average position, with up to 16 months of data |
| Top Recommendations | The fixes Bing suggests for your site |
| URL Inspection | How Bing sees a specific page |
| IndexNow and URL submission | A way to tell Bing about new or changed pages |
| Keyword research | Search terms and demand from Bing |
| Backlinks | Referring domains and anchor text, for your site and competitors |
| Sitemaps | Your submitted sitemaps; Bing processes them at least once every 24 hours |
| Site Scan | Broken links, duplicate tags and missing metadata |
| Robots.txt tester and Crawl Control | How Bing's crawler can access your site |
| Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools | An AI assistant inside the tool |
| AI Performance | How often your content is cited in Copilot and Bing AI answers |
The backlink report on competitors is a nice extra, because Google Search Console doesn't give you that at all.
How to set up Bing Webmaster Tools
- Go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account.
- If your site is already verified in Google Search Console, import it directly. Otherwise, choose Add a Site.
- Verify that you own the site (see the options below). A green checkmark appears once you're verified and the dashboard starts collecting data.
- Switch on IndexNow through your CMS or an SEO plugin. Microsoft calls this optional but recommended.
- Submit your sitemap under Sitemaps, or reference it in your robots.txt file.
- Open the AI Performance report and note which of your pages are being cited.
Ways to verify your site
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Import from Google Search Console | The quickest route if your site is already verified there |
| Domain Connect | Automatic through supported DNS providers, such as GoDaddy, Bluehost and Wix |
| XML file | Upload a verification file to the root of your site |
| Meta tag | Add a tag to the head of your homepage |
| DNS TXT record | Add a record at your domain host |
IndexNow: telling Bing about changes straight away
IndexNow alerts Bing and other participating search engines when you add, update or delete content, rather than waiting for a crawl. You can switch it on through a supported platform such as Shopify, Wix or Duda, through a plugin, or by coding it in. Bing's IndexNow page lists WordPress plugins including the IndexNow plugin, Yoast, RankMath, AIOSEO and SEOPress, and InstaIndex for Shopify. If you already run one of those SEO plugins on WordPress, check its settings first: you may only need to tick a box.
To add tracking without touching code, see Google Tag Manager.
The report most people miss: AI Performance
This is the reason I'd set up Bing Webmaster Tools today. Microsoft launched AI Performance as a public preview in February 2026, and it shows how your content is cited in Microsoft Copilot, in AI-generated summaries in Bing and in select partner integrations. It reports:
- Total Citations across those AI experiences.
- Average Cited Pages, the number of unique pages of yours cited per day.
- Grounding queries, a sample of the phrases the AI used to retrieve your content.
- Page-level citation counts, so you can see which pages are doing the work.
- Trends over time.
Two cautions from Microsoft itself: these figures don't indicate ranking, placement, authority or page importance, and the data is a sample of overall activity rather than a complete count. Treat it as a direction of travel, not a scoreboard. Still, I don't know of another free report that shows you the actual phrases an AI assistant used to find your pages, and that's gold for anyone working on getting cited by Microsoft Copilot.
Microsoft's own advice on getting cited
In the same announcement, Microsoft gives its tips for content that gets cited in AI answers:
- Strengthen depth and expertise on the topic.
- Use clear headings, tables and FAQ sections.
- Support your claims with evidence and cited sources.
- Keep content fresh and accurate.
- Make sure your text, images and video describe the same things.
Microsoft also says Bing respects robots.txt and other content owner preferences, so if you've blocked crawlers, you've blocked the citations too.
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After the search data, Clarity session recordings shows behaviour on the page.
My verdict
If Google Search Console is already set up, Bing Webmaster Tools takes about ten minutes and costs nothing, so there's no good reason to skip it. The Bing search data is useful, the competitor backlinks are a bonus, but AI Performance is the real reason to bother: it's one of the few places you can see your pages being cited by an AI assistant at all. If you're wondering how much Bing matters for AI search, my piece on whether ChatGPT uses Google or Bing goes into it, and my guide to Search Console vs Google Analytics covers the Google side.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Yes. Microsoft describes Bing Webmaster Tools as free, with indexing insights, keyword performance and crawl diagnostics.
Can I import my site from Google Search Console?
Yes. If your site is already verified in Google Search Console, Microsoft says you can import it directly into Bing Webmaster Tools instead of verifying it again.
What is the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools?
It's a report, launched in public preview in February 2026, that shows how your content is cited in Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and select partner integrations, including total citations, cited pages and sample grounding queries.
Does the AI Performance report show my ranking?
No. Microsoft says the figures don't indicate ranking, placement, authority or page importance, and the data is a sample of overall activity.
Do I need IndexNow for Bing Webmaster Tools?
It's optional, but Microsoft recommends it. IndexNow tells Bing and other participating search engines when you add, update or delete content, and many CMS platforms and SEO plugins support it.
