ChatGPT uses Bing search to provide citations, making Bing webmaster tools a significantly more valuable tool today.
If you want to know why ChatGPT cites a competitor and not you, Google Search Console is the wrong place to look. I hadn't logged into Bing Webmaster Tools in years because Bing sends so little traffic. When I went back in, I found about 2,000 AI citations of my site in the last three months that I had no idea existed.
Which Search Engine Each Chatbot Uses
Chatbots don't crawl the whole web themselves. When one needs a current answer it runs a search in the background, reads the top results, and cites them. Each one leans on a different search engine:
| Chatbot | Search Behind It | Where to Analyze It |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Bing, plus OpenAI's own crawler | Bing Webmaster Tools |
| Microsoft Copilot | Bing | Bing Webmaster Tools |
| Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode | Google Search Console | |
| Claude | Brave Search | No webmaster tool, check rankings by hand |
OpenAI doesn't publish the exact mix, but the data is consistent. A Seer Interactive study found that 87% of ChatGPT search citations matched Bing's top results, compared to 56% for Google.
If a page doesn't rank in Bing, it has a hard time getting cited by ChatGPT, no matter how well it ranks in Google.
What to Look At in Bing Webmaster Tools
- AI Performance: total citations, which pages get cited, and the grounding queries the AI ran in the background to find you. It covers Copilot and Microsoft's AI partners, which makes it the closest thing to ChatGPT citation data that exists.
- Grounding queries: these are not what people type. They are the short searches the AI writes for itself, and they are the terms to rank for in Bing.
- Search Performance: your Bing clicks, impressions and positions for those same terms.
- IndexNow: push new and updated URLs to Bing instantly. Cloudflare and most SEO plugins can do this for you.
- Site Scan & URL Inspection: confirm the pages you want cited are actually indexed.
One limit to know about: the AI Performance report shows citations, not clicks.
Bing vs Google Ranking Factors
Bing and Google share most of the same signals. The difference is how much weight each one gets, and Bing is the more literal of the two.
| Factor | Bing | |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match keywords in the title, H1, URL and meta description | More weight | Less, it matches on meaning |
| Social shares & engagement | A stated ranking signal | Not a ranking signal |
| Clicks & time on page from search results | A stated ranking signal | Downplayed publicly |
| Freshness | More weight, and IndexNow gets updates in right away | Depends on the query |
| Backlinks | Fewer needed, favors older and trusted domains (.edu, .gov) | Still the heavier signal |
| Named author & cited sources | Listed under quality & credibility | E-E-A-T |
| JavaScript rendered content | Less reliable | Handles it well |
How to Rank Higher in Bing
- Use the exact phrase: put the query you want in the title tag, the H1 and the first paragraph, word for word. Synonyms that work in Google work less well in Bing.
- Write real meta descriptions: Bing reads them for relevance, not only for the snippet.
- Turn on IndexNow: and keep an accurate XML sitemap with real last modified dates.
- Update pages that matter: Bing rewards content that is current.
- Share on social: LinkedIn, X and Facebook activity counts for something in Bing.
- Serve content in the HTML: don't rely on JavaScript to render the text you want indexed.
- Claim Bing Places: if location matters to your business.
Use Both Tools
I'm not replacing Search Console. Google still sends most of my traffic, and it's the right tool for Gemini and AI Overviews. But AEO work aimed at ChatGPT gets measured in Bing Webmaster Tools, and it's free. If you'd like help with this, I offer AEO consulting.
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