Microsoft Copilot and your business: how to become visible through Bing

Microsoft Copilot mentions your business when it finds good, up-to-date information about you through Bing. Copilot uses the Bing search engine to supplement its answers with sources from the web. If you want to be visible in Copilot, make sure Bing knows your website well: register your site with Bing Webmaster Tools, claim your listing in Bing Places and keep your details the same everywhere.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant. You find it in many places: in the Edge browser, in Windows, as a standalone app and in Microsoft 365 programs such as Word, Outlook and Teams. That is why many people use Copilot without consciously choosing it. Someone who asks a question on their work computer often gets an answer from Copilot.

That makes Copilot relevant for almost every business. A buyer looking for "workwear suppliers in North Brabant" or a resident asking "when is the town hall open?" may well get an answer from Copilot.

The role of Bing

When a question needs current information, Copilot searches through Bing. It reads the pages Bing finds and works them into the answer, often with a link to the source. Those are the citations in the answer.

For you, this means: if Bing does not know your pages well, Copilot cannot use them well either. Many businesses focus only on Google and forget about Bing. That is a missed opportunity, because the steps to rank well in Bing are small.

Step 1: register your site with Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free tool for seeing how Bing views your website. It is similar to Google Search Console. With it you can:

• submit your sitemap so Bing finds all your pages;
• see which pages are in the index and which are not;
• spot errors, such as pages that do not load or are blocked;
• see which searches you appear for in Bing.

If you already have a Google Search Console account, you can import your site from there. That saves time.

A useful extra is IndexNow. It is a protocol that lets you tell search engines such as Bing straight away that a page is new or has changed. Many website systems and plugins already support it. That way changes reach Bing, and therefore Copilot, faster.

Step 2: claim your business in Bing Places

Bing Places for Business is Microsoft's business directory. It is comparable to a Google Business Profile. Here you fill in your name, address, phone number, opening hours, category and website. If you already have a Google Business Profile, you can often import your details.

This matters for local questions. If someone asks Copilot for "a good hairdresser in Deventer", it helps when Bing knows exactly where you are and what you do. Also read why this works the same way at Google in Google Business Profile and AI visibility.

Step 3: make your website easy to read

What works for ChatGPT and Gemini also works for Copilot:

• Clear headings and direct answers. Put a common question in a heading and answer it straight away.
• Structured data. Schema markup passes on your name, address, opening hours and services in a fixed format.
• Fast, accessible pages. Important text should be readable without logging in or extra clicks.
• Do not block bots. Check in your robots.txt that bingbot is allowed to visit your site.

You will find more tips in 7 website changes to get mentioned by AI more often.

Step 4: keep your listings consistent

Copilot trusts information more when it is the same in several places. Check that your name, address and phone number match on your website, in Bing Places, in your Google Business Profile and in industry directories. Small differences, such as an old address or a different spelling of your name, can cause confusion.

Reviews count too. Ask happy customers for a review on the platforms used in your industry.

How to check what Copilot says yourself

HelloGeoLabs tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude, but not Copilot. You can easily test Copilot yourself, though:

1. Open Copilot in a private window or without logging in, so earlier conversations do not influence the answer.
2. Ask the questions your customers ask, for example "which installer in Apeldoorn fits heat pumps?".
3. Note whether you are mentioned, in which position and which sources Copilot shows.
4. Repeat this every month with the same questions so you can see changes.

Do you notice that Copilot mainly uses certain sites as sources, such as an industry directory or a comparison site? Then make sure you are listed well there too.

Frequently asked questions

Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Copilot is a Microsoft product and uses language models from OpenAI among others, but it searches through Bing and has its own set-up. So the answers can differ.

Do I need to advertise on Bing to appear in Copilot?
No. Ads are something different from being mentioned in an AI answer. Good visibility in Bing is what counts.

Start with the models your customers use most

Copilot is a useful addition, but many people mainly ask their questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude. Want to know how you score there today? Take the free AI check. Want to follow it every week? You can with GEO tracking.