- Does this Bing update really affect my company too?
- What exactly is Topics Portfolio and how does it work?
- Why does optimizing for Bing matter for ChatGPT too?
- How much does being cited by AI really matter? The data explains
- Three concrete scenarios: what changes for an e-commerce, a professional firm, and a manufacturing company?
- Which technical actions increase your chances of being cited in topics?
- Why is everyone talking about it now? The AI visibility market is growing fast
- How do you open Topics Portfolio, and where do you start?
- What mistakes are most common with this type of tool?
- How do I know if my actions are improving my AI visibility?
- So, is Topics Portfolio worth opening for your company?
- How we see it at SHM
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Bing has launched Topics Portfolio in beta: it groups AI queries by topic and shows where other sites are cited instead of you.
- Optimizing your Bing visibility pays off twice: 87% of ChatGPT Search citations match Bing's top organic results.
- The fastest technical action to increase AI citations is adding the schema 'sameAs' markup: a study of 50,000+ citations found an increase of up to 52% on Bing.
- Treat Topics Portfolio numbers as directional signals, not exact data: Microsoft itself recommends it.
Does your site show up in Bing's AI answers? Now you can find out topic by topic, and see exactly where your competitors are pulling ahead without you noticing.
Does this Bing update really affect my company too?
Yes, even if you're not a digital publisher. Any company with a site indexed on Bing can now see the topics where AI cites competitors in its place. That applies to e-commerce stores, professional firms and manufacturers alike.
On October 13, 2026, Microsoft announced a beta feature called Topics Portfolio, inside the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. In plain terms: a free tool that tells you which topics Bing's AI answers cite other sites for, but not yours.
Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free console for site owners, similar to Google Search Console. The AI Performance report, in public preview since February 2026, measures how often your content is cited in Copilot answers and Bing's AI summaries.
Topics Portfolio adds another layer: you don't just see where you're cited, you discover where you could be and aren't yet.
| Your situation | Should you use it? | why |
|---|---|---|
| You have a site with informational or product content | Yes | You can find topics where competitors beat you in AI answers |
| You sell or communicate in B2B | Yes | Bing is strong on desktop, where business searches are concentrated |
| You've already optimized for Google but ignore Bing | Yes | ChatGPT Search uses the Bing index: optimizing for Bing works for two channels |
| Your site is very small or new | No, for now | Topics Portfolio requires a minimum volume of data to be displayed |
What exactly is Topics Portfolio and how does it work?
Topics Portfolio groups AI queries by topic, shows your citations in each one and, most importantly, lists the queries where other sites appear and yours doesn't.
The starting point is understanding what grounding queries are: the search terms Bing uses internally to find content to cite in its AI answers. You don't see them in the URL, but they determine who gets cited and who doesn't.
Topics Portfolio groups them into macro-topics. For each topic you'll find three numbers: how many total citations exist on that theme (Topic Size), how many different sites are cited (Sites Cited) and how many distinct queries make up the topic (Queries).
Below the topics table you'll find the Top Opportunity Queries list: the queries where other sites are cited and yours isn't. This is where the tool's practical value lies.
- 1 · Bing AIReceives a question from the userCopilot or Bing's AI summary receives a natural-language query.
- 2 · Bing AIRuns internal grounding queriesThe system generates search terms to find relevant content in the index.
- 3 · Bing AICites the sites it found in the answerThe most relevant content is cited in the answer shown to the user.
- 4 · Topics PortfolioGroups grounding queries by topicThe tool aggregates queries into topics and shows where you're cited and where you aren't.
- 5 · YouIdentify the gaps and plan your contentYou use the Opportunity Queries list to decide which content to create or improve.
An important caveat: the numbers are estimates, and opportunity query volumes are provided as ranges, not precise figures. Microsoft itself writes: "Treat the numbers as directional signals for planning, not as a precise record." Keep that in mind when comparing different topics.
One more thing to know: topics are generated by AI, so a query may land in a topic you would classify differently. And searches for a competitor's brand can show up as opportunities, but they aren't always relevant to you.
Why does optimizing for Bing matter for ChatGPT too?
ChatGPT Search uses the Bing index as its main web source. Improving your presence on Bing means increasing your chances of being cited in ChatGPT's answers too.
Many marketing managers treat Bing as a secondary channel. That's understandable when you look at Italian market share: as of July 2026, Bing holds 9.66% of the desktop market in Italy, versus Google's 80.29%. Across all devices, its share drops to 5.1%.
But one data point changes the picture. A Seer Interactive study of more than 500 citations found that 87% of ChatGPT Search citations match Bing's top organic results, versus 56% for Google. It's reported by Search Engine Land.
In June 2026, Microsoft confirmed that ChatGPT's web answers run on Web IQ, its grounding API built on the Bing index. Sites not indexed by Bing can't appear in ChatGPT Search answers, as SEO Handbook documents.
The practical logic is simple: if you want to show up in ChatGPT answers, you need to rank well on Bing. Topics Portfolio tells you exactly which topics you're missing out on. It's the starting point for an SEO and AI visibility strategy that truly covers every relevant channel.
How much does being cited by AI really matter? The data explains
AI visibility is highly concentrated: a few pieces of content capture most of the citations. Identifying the right topics makes the difference between being ignored and owning a subject.
A 91-day analysis of Copilot data, conducted by Search Influence across 86 pages, found 19,717 total citations. The surprising part: a single page generated 69% of all citations. AI visibility isn't spread evenly. It concentrates on the content that covers a topic best.
That makes the Opportunity Queries list in Topics Portfolio strategic. It's not about optimizing your whole site in a generic way. It's about identifying the 3-5 topics with the biggest gap and stepping in with targeted content.
To dig deeper into how to structure this process, our article on the content validation workflow for AI Search offers a practical method you can apply right away.
Three concrete scenarios: what changes for an e-commerce, a professional firm, and a manufacturing company?
The value of Topics Portfolio changes by industry, but the mechanism is the same: find the topics where competitors are cited instead of you, and close the gap with targeted content.
Illustrative examples: numbers are meant to show the reasoning, they are not real customer data.
| Company type | Sample topic | Typical opportunity | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-commerce (e.g., technical paints) | Exterior paints: how to choose | Product pages with no informational content | Add application guides for each category |
| Professional firm (e.g. accountant) | Regime forfettario 2026: limits and benefits | No structured FAQ page on the topic | Create a Q&A page optimized for grounding queries |
| Manufacturing company (e.g., components) | Centrifugal pumps for industrial plants | Data sheets with no application context | Add use cases and technical specs in natural language |
The common thread is that opportunity queries point to a content gap, not a technical problem. The site exists and is indexed, but it has no page that answers that specific question thoroughly. Topics Portfolio makes this gap visible in a systematic way, with no guesswork.
If you work in B2B, you have an extra advantage: Bing is stronger on desktop, where most professional searches happen. A manufacturing company that owns the right topics on Bing can show up in the AI answers buyers see while researching suppliers.
Which technical actions increase your chances of being cited in topics?
The fastest, best-documented action is adding the schema 'sameAs' markup to your site. A study of over 50,000 AI citations found an increase of up to 52% on Bing from this change alone.
Schema markup is code you add to your site's pages to tell AI who you are and what you're about. The sameAs field links your entity (company, product, service) to authoritative sources like Wikipedia or Wikidata, helping AI identify you with certainty.
A GEO study of 50,431 AI citations across 6 engines, reported by Series X Marketing, found that adding sameAs markup produces a 34% increase in overall citation share, and 52% specifically on Bing and Gemini.
Beyond schema markup, there are other concrete actions to consider. Content structure matters: AI answers prefer pages that answer a specific question directly, with clear headings and short paragraphs. Structured FAQ pages, step-by-step guides and spec sheets tend to be cited more often than generic pages.
To understand how Bing visibility intersects with other AI engines, the article on SEO without the Google index offers a useful picture of what changes when AI becomes the main gateway to information.
| Technical action | Difficulty | Estimated impact on Bing AI | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add sameAs markup (schema) | Low | +52% citation share (study of 50k+ citations) | High |
| Structure pages with a question + direct answer | Low | Increases the likelihood of grounding | High |
| Check indexing in Bing Webmaster Tools | Low | Prerequisite to appear | Immediate |
| Create dedicated pages for each opportunity query | Medium | Closes the flagged content gap | Medium |
| Update existing content with natural language | Medium | Improves relevance for conversational queries | Medium |
Why is everyone talking about it now? The AI visibility market is growing fast
Yes. The race for visibility in AI answers began in 2025, and in 2026 it has become a concrete priority for companies that depend on organic search.
Bing's AI Performance report entered public preview in February 2026. In June came Topics, Intents, Citation Share and Compare. Now, in October, Topics Portfolio arrives with the list of opportunity queries. The pace of development signals that Microsoft considers this report strategic.
The broader context is AI Search: search run by artificial intelligence instead of classic lists of links. Tools like Copilot, ChatGPT Search and Google's AI Overviews are changing how people find information. If you don't cover these channels, you risk becoming invisible even if your site ranks well in traditional results.
Companies' interest in this topic is also confirmed by the growth of tools dedicated to tracking AI citations, as we explain in our article on Peec and AI visibility monitoring.
How do you open Topics Portfolio, and where do you start?
It only takes a few minutes to access the tool. The real work starts afterward: reading the list of opportunity queries and deciding which topics to tackle first.
- 1 · YouLog in to Bing Webmaster ToolsGo to bing.com/webmasters and sign in with your Microsoft account. If you haven't verified your site yet, do that first.
- 2 · YouOpen the AI Performance reportYou'll find the AI Performance section in the side menu. Select the site you want to analyze.
- 3 · YouGo to the Topics Portfolio tabIt's the tab to the right of 'Citations & Pages'. It only appears if Bing has enough data on your site.
- 4 · YouReview the topics where you have a presenceThe first screen shows the topics where Bing already considers you present. Note Topic Size and Sites Cited to gauge the size of the market.
- 5 · YouAnalyze the Top Opportunity QueriesThis list is the heart of the tool: queries where other sites are cited and yours isn't. Filter the ones relevant to your business.
- 6 · Content teamPlan content for the priority gapsPick the 3-5 opportunity queries with the highest volume and create or update the matching pages.
What mistakes are most common with this type of tool?
The most common mistake is treating the numbers as precise data and building detailed reports, instead of using them as a compass for editorial decisions.
Topics Portfolio is a beta tool, with estimates and volume ranges. If you expect Google Analytics-level precision, you'll be disappointed, and you may make the wrong decisions based on tiny differences between topics.
A second common mistake is chasing every opportunity query without filtering. Some of them involve competitor brands: they show up as opportunities because they technically fall within the topic, but they aren't relevant to your site. Microsoft flags this explicitly, with the example of a shoe site that sees a competitor's brand in the Running Shoes topic.
| Common mistake | Why it is a problem | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Treating volumes as exact data | They're estimates: small differences aren't significant | Compare only topics with clear gaps, not marginal ones |
| Chasing opportunity queries on competitor brands | You can't be cited for someone else's brand | Filter out branded queries before planning content |
| Ignoring Topics Portfolio because "Bing is small" | ChatGPT Search uses the Bing index: the channel is worth double | Treat Bing as a proxy for visibility on ChatGPT |
| Creating new content without updating existing content | Your existing pages may already partly cover the topic | Audit your existing pages first, then create new ones if something is missing |
| Not checking indexing on Bing | If Bing doesn't index the page, it can't cite it | Check your coverage in Bing Webmaster Tools first |
A third mistake is waiting for the tool to leave beta before using it. The directional data it offers today is already enough to guide editorial decisions. Those who start now have an edge over those who wait for the final version.
To see how to build this kind of analysis into a structured process, the article on local visibility in AI Search shows how Italian SMEs are already tackling the topic systematically.
How do I know if my actions are improving my AI visibility?
Go back to Topics Portfolio every month and compare citations by topic. There are only a few metrics to track, but they're clear: citation share, number of remaining opportunity queries and Topic Size.
| Indicator | Where to find it | Positive signal | Check frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation Share by topic | AI Performance > Topics Portfolio | Grows over time for the topics you cover | Monthly |
| Number of opportunity queries | Top Opportunity Queries | Goes down as you create content for the gaps | Monthly |
| Topic Size | Topic detail page | Stable or growing: confirms the topic is relevant | Quarterly |
| Sites Cited | Topic detail page | If it goes down, the topic is consolidating around a few players | Quarterly |
| Total citations | AI Performance > Citations & Pages | Steady growth after optimizations | Monthly |
The time window available in Topics Portfolio is one, two or three months. Use the three-month window for a stable picture, and compare month over month to see the effect of your optimizations. Remember that new content takes a few weeks to be indexed and cited: don't expect immediate results.
If you want a broader monitoring system, one that also includes ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, the article on AI Overviews and brand visibility offers a useful framework to pair with your Bing data.
So, is Topics Portfolio worth opening for your company?
It's worth it if your site already has informational or product content, you operate in B2B or you run an e-commerce store with a structured catalog. Topics Portfolio gives you a map of content gaps that no other free tool offers today at this level of topical detail.
Somewhere in between: your site is relatively new or has little content. You may not see Topics Portfolio because of a lack of data. Start by checking indexing on Bing and building a content base before checking again.
Not yet if your site is very small, local or just launched. The tool needs a minimum volume of data to work. Focus first on basic indexing and on creating core content.
How we see it at SHM
For us, Topics Portfolio is one of those rare tools that turns an abstract problem, "where am I invisible in AI answers?", into a list of concrete actions. And it does so for free, inside a console that many companies already have but don't use.
We believe AI should be integrated to free companies from routine and give time back to strategic decisions. Topics Portfolio does exactly that: instead of spending hours guessing which content is missing, you get a list of queries where competitors are beating you. The creative work, deciding how to answer better than they do, stays human.
In our experience with B2B sites in technical sectors, the most common gap isn't a lack of content, but a lack of content that answers specific questions in natural language. The data sheets are there, but there's no page explaining "when to choose this product over that one." That's exactly the kind of gap Topics Portfolio makes visible.
If you want to map your AI visibility on Bing and build a content strategy based on real data, we can help with our SEO for AI service and the strategic integration of AI into your marketing processes. If you'd like to understand the topic in more depth before getting started, we also run AI training sessions for companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The tool requires a minimum volume of data: small sites or sites with little AI activity may not see the feature. Bing shows Topics Portfolio only when it has enough data on the site and on the ecosystem of topics it operates in.
They're directional estimates, not precise data. Microsoft itself recommends treating them as planning signals, not an exact record. Opportunity query volumes are provided as ranges, not exact figures.
Yes, for two reasons. First, 9.66% on desktop equals roughly one in ten business users, a relevant channel in B2B. Second, ChatGPT Search uses the Bing index as its primary source: ranking well on Bing increases your chances of being cited in ChatGPT answers too.
It depends on how fast Bing indexes your pages and how often it updates its AI citations. As a rule, wait at least 4-6 weeks before comparing data. Use the three-month window in Topics Portfolio to get a stable picture.
Not in most cases. Microsoft itself warns that competitors' branded searches can show up as opportunities because they fall under the same topic, but they aren't relevant to your site. Filter out these queries before planning your content.
Add the schema 'sameAs' markup to your site's main pages. A study of over 50,000 AI citations found a 52% increase in citation share on Bing from this change alone. It's a relatively simple technical fix with a documented impact.
AI visibility isn't built by optimizing everything: it's built by finding the three topics where you matter most and owning them better than anyone else.
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