The search ecosystem is evolving rapidly and Microsoft has just made a major move.

In February 2026, Microsoft announced AI Performance reporting inside Bing Webmaster Tools (Public Preview). This update introduces a new layer of visibility for publishers and marketers: tracking how often their content is cited in AI-generated answers across Bing and Microsoft Copilot.

For the first time, search engines are offering structured reporting on AI citations not just clicks, impressions, or rankings.

This marks a foundational shift toward AI Search visibility measurement.

At DareAISearch, we believe this is one of the most important search analytics updates in the last decade.

What Is AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools?

The new AI Performance report is designed to help website owners understand how their content is being used inside AI-generated responses.

Unlike traditional SEO metrics, this feature focuses on:

Total AI Citations
Average Cited Pages
Grounding Queries
Page-Level Citation Insights
Citation Trends Over Time

Instead of measuring where you rank, it measures how often AI systems reference your content when generating answers.

That’s a fundamental change.

Why This Update Is Bigger Than It Looks

For years, SEO performance has been measured through:

Rankings
Click-through rates
Impressions
Organic traffic

But AI-powered search experiences are different.

Users increasingly consume answers directly within AI interfaces. In these experiences:

The user may not click.
The AI synthesizes content.
Visibility is measured through citation and inclusion.

Bing’s AI Performance dashboard signals that AI citations are now measurable assets.

This is the beginning of structured Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

What Data Does the AI Performance Report Show?

Here’s a breakdown of the key metrics:

Total Citations

How many times your site was referenced in AI-generated answers within a selected timeframe.

This measures AI authority frequency.

Average Cited Pages

The average number of unique URLs cited per day.

This helps identify:

Whether your AI visibility is concentrated or distributed
If only one page dominates citations
Or if you have strong topical depth

Grounding Queries

The queries or prompts AI systems used when retrieving your content.

This is powerful.

It gives insight into:

Query intent
AI interpretation patterns
Emerging conversational phrasing

Page-Level Citation Insights

Which specific pages are being cited most often.

This helps identify:

AI-optimized content
High-authority assets
Pages worth expanding into clusters

Visibility Trends Over Time

Historical citation patterns that show how AI usage changes across time.

This helps correlate:

Content updates
Seasonal shifts
Algorithm changes
Authority growth

What This Means for SEO & AI Search Strategy

This update confirms something we’ve been saying at DareAISearch since early 2025:

Search is shifting from ranking pages to selecting answers.

In an AI-first search environment:

Ranking #1 is no longer enough.
Being cited inside AI responses matters.
Structured clarity, authority, and entity depth drive visibility.

Traditional SEO optimized for ranking.
GEO optimizes for inclusion in generated answers.

How to Optimize for AI Citations (Generative Engine Optimization Framework)

To increase AI citations inside Bing AI and Copilot experiences:

1. Improve Content Clarity

Clear headings
Direct answers under subheadings
Short summary sections
FAQ blocks

AI systems prefer structured, scannable formats.

2. Strengthen Topical Authority

Build clusters, not isolated blogs
Expand entity coverage
Deepen semantic context

AI models retrieve based on knowledge depth, not keyword density.

3. Use Structured Data & Schema

FAQ Schema
HowTo Schema
Organization Schema
Article markup

Schema improves machine interpretation.

4. Update Content Frequently

AI systems prioritize freshness in informational categories.

5. Optimize for Conversational Queries

Grounding Queries reveal how AI phrases user intent.

Content must answer:

“What is…”
“How does…”
“Why should…”
“Best way to…”

Conversational optimization is now mandatory.

DareAISearch POV: Why This Is Just the Beginning

At DareAISearch, we see this update as validation and not innovation.

We’ve been building AI Search visibility frameworks long before reporting became available.

Here’s our POV:

1. AI Citations Will Become a Core KPI

Just like backlinks became authority signals in early SEO, AI citations will define credibility in the generative era.

2. AI Visibility ≠ Traffic (Yet)

Brands must measure:

AI Citations
AI Brand Mentions
AI Share of Voice
AI Sentiment Presence

Traffic attribution models will evolve.

3. Multi-Platform AI Tracking Is Critical

Bing’s reporting is a start.

But true AI visibility spans:

Bing AI
Copilot
Gemini
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Other LLM-powered surfaces

AI search visibility requires a cross-platform measurement layer.

4. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Is Now a Discipline

SEO optimized for search engines.
GEO optimizes for generative systems.

Different retrieval models.
Different ranking logic.
Different content architecture.

This Bing update officially moves GEO into measurable territory.

The Bigger Shift: From Clicks to Citations

The future of search will revolve around:

AI-generated answers
Conversational interfaces
Zero-click experiences
Entity-driven retrieval
Structured knowledge systems

And now for the first time publishers can see how they’re performing inside AI systems.