What is Microsoft SEO now?
Microsoft SEO is the practice of optimising a Microsoft Partner's website, content, Azure Marketplace listing and structured data so buyers find and cite you across Bing, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and other AI search engines - not just Google.
The definition matters because search itself has changed. Buyers no longer type a keyword and scan ten blue links; they ask Copilot, ChatGPT or Perplexity a question and read the synthesised answer. Microsoft sits at the centre of that shift - Copilot is embedded in Windows, Edge, Microsoft 365 and Bing, and its answers are grounded in the Bing index. For Microsoft Partners, that turns Bing SEO from a nice-to-have into the shortest path to being quoted inside the AI answers your buyers already trust.
Why Bing matters more than most Partners think
Headline share doesn't tell the story. Bing powers a lot more than Bing.com: Microsoft Copilot answers, Copilot in Edge, ChatGPT's web search, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo and a long tail of AI assistants all pull from the Bing index. Every one of those surfaces is a place a buyer can find - and cite - a Microsoft Partner.
That matters because Bing is also less crowded than Google. Fewer competing pages, less mature link graphs, and a search engine that publishes clear technical guidance (Bing Webmaster Tools, IndexNow, structured-data support) mean well-optimised Partner pages can climb quickly. And once a page is in the Bing index and structured well, it becomes a candidate for Copilot to lift.
For a Microsoft Partner selling Copilot readiness, Dynamics 365, Azure or industry solutions, the audience is already inside the Microsoft stack. Optimising where they already live is a shorter, higher-intent path than fighting for the same Google terms as every other B2B agency.
The role of AI search engines
AI search engines don't rank pages the way classic search does - they read, summarise and cite. Copilot, ChatGPT search, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews all pick a small handful of sources per answer, lift a sentence or two from each, and link the citation. Being in that citation set is the new front page.
Two disciplines describe the work. AEO (answer engine optimisation) is getting your content quoted inside AI answers rather than just linked from a results page. GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the same idea aimed at generative assistants like Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Neither replaces SEO - they extend it. The fundamentals still apply: crawlable content, structured data, sharp first-paragraph answers, citable claims and consistent entity signals.
The practical shift for a Microsoft Partner is where the facts live on the page. The definition, the number, the named customer or the specific outcome has to sit in the first paragraph - not buried under brand copy - because that's the shape AI search engines lift into an answer.
How to optimise for Bing and AI search as a Partner
Set up Bing Webmaster Tools properly
Verify the domain, submit an XML sitemap, monitor Bing's crawl and index coverage, and watch the query report - it tells you what Bing (and by extension Copilot) already associates you with. Most Partners still only look at Google Search Console; the Bing view is a different set of terms.
Turn on IndexNow
IndexNow pings Bing, Yandex and other participating engines the moment you publish or update a page. New Partner content lands in the Bing index in minutes rather than days, which shortens the gap to being eligible for a Copilot citation.
Front-load an AI-shaped definition
Open every page with a single-sentence definition of the topic, under 40 words, written the way a citation reads. AI search engines lift that sentence directly; buried definitions get skipped, no matter how good the rest of the page is.
Structure for citation, not just for ranking
Use clear H2s framed as questions, short answer paragraphs directly under them, FAQ blocks with real answers, and schema markup (Article, FAQPage, Organization, Service, BreadcrumbList). Citation-ready structure is the difference between being read by Copilot and being skipped.
Anchor with named customers and outcomes
AI search engines cite pages that make specific, sourceable claims. Named customers, quantified pipeline outcomes and dated wins give Copilot and ChatGPT something concrete to quote you on. Generic case-study copy doesn't.
Build entity signals across the Microsoft ecosystem
A consistent Organization schema, a live LinkedIn company page, a claimed Microsoft Solutions Partner listing, an Azure Marketplace or AppSource listing and a small number of contextual backlinks from Microsoft-adjacent sites all tell Bing and the AI models you're a real Microsoft Partner - not a generic marketing site.
What optimising for Bing looks like in practice
Bing's ranking signals overlap heavily with Google's, but with a few useful tilts. Bing weights exact-match phrases and clean on-page structure more than Google does, treats older, deeper domains kindly, and reads structured data literally - so accurate Organization, Service, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList schema pays off faster there than on Google.
In practice, that means Partner pages that would sit on page two of Google can sit on page one of Bing with the same content, once they're verified in Bing Webmaster Tools, pushed via IndexNow, and structured with question-shaped H2s and clear schema. That page-one position on Bing is what puts you into the pool Copilot draws its answers from.
Further reading
Bing Webmaster Tools documentation covers verification, sitemaps, crawl controls and IndexNow. The Microsoft Bing Blogs run regular pieces on how Copilot generates and cites answers, and Search Engine Journal's ongoing AEO and GEO coverage is a useful outside-in view of how AI search engines choose sources.
For a Microsoft Partner, those three sources together explain both the mechanics of ranking on Bing and the mechanics of being cited by the AI answer engines that sit on top of it.