How to show up in Microsoft Copilot (and Bing)

How does Microsoft Copilot find businesses?

When Copilot needs current information it writes a short query, sends it to Bing, and builds its answer from the results, with citations. For local questions Copilot can show maps and business listings from Bing. Microsoft hasn't published how Copilot picks which businesses to name.

There is no separate "Copilot crawler": Bingbot crawls for Bing and Copilot alike. Business listings come from Bing Places for Business, Microsoft's free listing service for Bing Search and Bing Maps.

What should you fix, step by step?

1. 01Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools

   Sign in at Bing Webmaster Tools and add your site. If you already use Google Search Console you can import your sites from it. Submit your sitemap and check the indexing reports for your important pages. Bingbot needs to be allowed in robots.txt; the AI Crawler Checker checks Bingbot's access alongside the AI bots.

2. 02Use IndexNow when you publish or change pages

   Bing supports IndexNow, a simple ping that tells it a URL changed so it can recrawl it quickly, instead of waiting for the next crawl. Our IndexNow Submitter sends it without any code. See IndexNow explained.

3. 03Claim and complete Bing Places for Business

   Claim your listing at Bing Places. If you have a Google Business Profile, Bing Places can import it, which saves time and keeps the two consistent. Check the category, hours, phone, website and photos after the import.

4. 04Don't block Copilot with robots meta tags

   Bing supports two meta values that limit Copilot specifically: noarchive keeps a page out of Copilot answers (it can still rank in Bing), and nocache lets Copilot use only the URL, title and snippet. If either was added to your pages, remove it from the ones you want quoted.

5. 05Put your key facts in plain HTML text

   Bingbot reads the HTML your server sends. Facts that only exist inside images, PDFs, sliders or text loaded later by JavaScript are easy to miss. Your homepage and service pages should say, in ordinary text: what you do, for whom, where (city and areas served), how to book, hours, and typical prices if you can share them.

   One page per main service, with the questions customers actually ask answered on it, gives an assistant something specific to quote. Run the SEO Health Snapshot for the basics, and see AI crawlers and JavaScript.

6. 06Add LocalBusiness schema that matches your listings

   Structured data (JSON-LD) states your facts in a form machines don't have to interpret: business type, address, phone, opening hours, area served, price range and your profile links in sameAs. It doesn't guarantee a mention, but it removes ambiguity, and it must say exactly what your listings say.

   Use the most specific type that fits (Dentist, Plumber, Attorney…). Our free Schema / JSON-LD Generator writes it for you.

7. 07Make your name, address and phone identical everywhere

   AI answers are stitched together from many sources at once: your site, your listings, review sites and directories. When they disagree (an old phone number, a previous address, "St." on one and "Street" on another plus a different suite), the assistant has to guess, and it often picks the version that appears most.

   Write down one canonical version of your business name, address, phone, hours and website, then make every profile match it: Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business, Yelp, Facebook, and the directories for your trade.

8. 08Earn real reviews where this engine looks

   When someone asks for "the best" or "a trusted" business, assistants lean on review platforms and third-party lists rather than your own claims. Bing's local results show ratings from review partners, and Copilot cites the same open web as Bing: review platforms, directories and local articles.

   Ask happy customers for reviews as part of your normal process, reply to reviews (good and bad) and fix the issues they raise. Never buy or script reviews: platforms remove them, and it can get a listing suspended.

9. 09Check what Copilot says about you, then re-check monthly

   Ask Copilot the questions your customers ask ("best emergency plumber in Leeds", "dentist open Saturdays near Austin"), not just your business name. Note who gets named, what's said about you, and which sources are cited. Copilot shows its sources under each answer; compare them with your own pages.

   Our free AI Visibility Quick Scan does a first pass, and this guide shows how to test by hand.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: How web search works in Microsoft Copilot
• Bing: Robots meta tags Bing supports
• Bing Places for Business

We update this guide when Microsoft Copilot changes how it works. Something out of date? Tell us.