How to rank in Microsoft Copilot
Copilot grounds its answers in Bing search results. If Bing has not crawled and indexed your pages, Copilot cannot cite them. The good news: Bing gives you more direct control over indexing than any other engine.
By the AIO Automatic team · Last updated
Where does Copilot get its answers?
Copilot searches Bing, pulls the most relevant indexed pages, and summarizes them with citations. Your visibility in Copilot therefore starts with your visibility in Bing: pages must be crawlable by Bingbot, indexed, and clearly answer the question. Bing also feeds other AI products, so this work pays off beyond Copilot.
Many sites ignore Bing because of its organic share. That is a mistake for AI visibility. Bing's index sits behind Copilot and is one of the sources behind ChatGPT search, so a weak Bing presence costs you in two engines at once. See the ChatGPT guide.
How do you get indexed in Bing fast?
Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your XML sitemap, and turn on IndexNow so new and updated URLs are pushed to Bing the moment they change. Allow Bingbot in robots.txt and avoid bot challenges on your CDN. Then use URL Inspection in Bing Webmaster Tools to confirm key pages are indexed.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: verify, submit the sitemap, and check crawl errors.
- IndexNow: host a key file and ping changed URLs so Bing recrawls immediately.
- Bing Webmaster Tools also reports AI performance data for Copilot citations, which shows which pages get used.
| Step | Tool | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Verify the site | Bing Webmaster Tools | Access to crawl, index and AI performance data |
| Submit sitemap | Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing discovers every URL |
| Enable IndexNow | Key file plus ping endpoint | Changed URLs recrawled within minutes to hours |
| Allow Bingbot | robots.txt and CDN rules | No blocked or challenged crawls |
| Answer-first content | Your pages | Passages Copilot can quote directly |
What content does Copilot cite most?
Copilot favors pages that answer the question in a short, self-contained passage, use clear headings, and include specific facts such as features, prices and comparisons. Pages with structured data that matches visible content and a strong topical cluster around the question tend to be cited more consistently than thin, standalone pages.
Build each important topic as a cluster: one pillar page, supporting pages for sub-questions, and internal links between them. Then corroborate with mentions on sites Bing already trusts for your category. The hub guide covers the full approach.
Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot the same as Bing Chat?
Yes. Bing Chat was renamed Copilot, and it still grounds answers in Bing search results.
Does IndexNow help with Google?
Google does not use IndexNow. It is supported by Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam and other participating engines. Use Google Search Console for Google.
How do I know if Copilot cites my site?
Run your buyer prompts in Copilot and check the citations, and review the AI performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. We track this weekly for clients.