Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant that answers questions using the Bing search index and cites web sources, making Bing crawlability a prerequisite for Copilot visibility.
Also known as: Copilot, Bing Chat
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, built on the Bing index. It answers conversationally and cites web sources, and because it draws on Bing, your presence in Copilot answers depends on being indexed by Bingbot — a different crawler from the OpenAI and Perplexity bots.
Once you're in Bing's index, Copilot citations follow the familiar pattern: the clearest, most extractable answer wins retrieval, and authority signals help decide which source gets named. Because many sites focus only on Google, Bing-and-Copilot visibility is often an underexploited opportunity — confirming you're crawlable by Bingbot is a quick, high-value check.
Example. A brand that's well-indexed in Bing can appear in Copilot's answers across Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365 even if competitors who ignore Bing don't — reach that's easy to miss if you only watch Google.
Relevant pillars
Related terms
- Answer EngineAn answer engine is a search system that responds to a question with a direct, synthesized answer instead of a list of links, usually citing the sources it drew from.
- BingbotBingbot is Microsoft's web crawler that builds the Bing search index, which also powers Microsoft Copilot, so blocking it removes you from both Bing and Copilot answers.