If your content is being referenced by AI systems, you should know about it. If it is not, you should know that too. Microsoft's new AI Performance dashboard, now available in Bing Webmaster Tools, gives advertisers and publishers direct visibility into how their content appears across AI generated answers.
This matters because the way people discover information is shifting. According to McKinsey, half of consumers already use AI powered search, and that behaviour could influence up to $750 billion in revenue by 2028. The question is no longer whether AI changes search. It is whether your brand shows up when it does.
What the Dashboard Tracks
The dashboard surfaces five core metrics. Total citations show how frequently your content is referenced by AI systems. Average cited pages reveal overall citation patterns across your site. Grounding queries expose the specific phrases AI uses when retrieving your content. Page level citation activity identifies which URLs are being cited. And visibility trends track how your citation presence changes over time.
The most useful feature maps grounding queries directly to specific pages. You can see which pages are cited for which queries, and the reverse. That connection between query intent and page selection is exactly what advertisers need to understand how AI systems evaluate their content.
Why This Matters for Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft's grounding technology powers Copilot and other major AI assistants. That means the content Microsoft's systems cite is not just about organic search rankings. It directly influences how your brand appears in the AI layer that sits on top of traditional search.
For advertisers already running Microsoft Advertising campaigns across the ecosystem, this dashboard adds a new dimension to performance visibility. You can now measure not just how your ads perform, but how your content performs in the AI surfaces where an increasing share of discovery happens.
What to Do Now
Start by accessing the dashboard in Bing Webmaster Tools and reviewing which pages are currently being cited. Look at the grounding queries to understand what AI systems associate with your content. If your most commercially valuable pages are not appearing, that is a signal to review your content strategy.
Advertisers who want to understand how AI search fits into their broader Microsoft Advertising approach can explore how Scepter Digital supports strategic audits and ecosystem planning.
This insight is based on content originally published on the Microsoft Advertising Blog, rewritten with added context and perspective by Scepter Digital.
