How it works
Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) is Microsoft's AI chat surface integrated with Bing search. Underlying model is GPT-4 (via OpenAI partnership) with Microsoft fine-tuning. Retrieval uses Bing's existing index, the same crawl + ranking system used for traditional Bing search. Citations rendered as numbered footnotes with source cards. Available in bing.com/chat, Edge browser sidebar, Windows 11 Copilot, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Signals it weights heavily
- Bing's traditional ranking signals (content, links, freshness)
- JSON-LD schema
- Bing Webmaster Tools verification
- Image alt-text
How to optimize for Microsoft Copilot (with Bing)
- Allow Bingbot explicitly: many sites neglect Bing.
- Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools: Bing's verification signal lifts Copilot citation rates.
- Bing's ranking weights skewed toward older, more authoritative content vs Google's freshness-weighted approach.