What OpenAI says
- ChatGPT search rewrites a question into one or more targeted searches.
- It sometimes partners with other search providers and links Microsoft's privacy statement for how they may process queries.
- To be eligible, allow OAI-SearchBot to crawl your site.
- Results are ranked on multiple factors; placement isn't guaranteed.
What that means
There's more than one route into ChatGPT answers. Allowing OpenAI's crawler is essential; being indexed in Bing covers the partner route and also helps in Copilot.
Set up Bing Webmaster Tools
- Sign in at Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Import your site from Google Search Console, or verify with a DNS record.
- Submit your sitemap.
- Check the pages it reports as not indexed.
Keep it simple
Indexing is a precondition, not a ranking boost. The pages still need to answer buyers' questions clearly.
Quick checks in Bing Webmaster Tools
- Index coverage for your key pages.
- Crawl errors and blocked URLs.
- Sitemap status.
- Search performance for your brand and category terms.
Questions
Is Bing indexing enough to appear in ChatGPT?
No. It covers one route. You also need to allow OAI-SearchBot and to have pages worth citing.
Should we use IndexNow?
It notifies participating search engines, including Bing, when pages change. It's cheap to set up and helps new pages get found.
Does this help Copilot too?
Copilot draws on Microsoft's search, so Bing indexing matters there as well.
A common gap
Many B2B sites are set up carefully in Google Search Console and never added to Bing Webmaster Tools. Pages may still be indexed in Bing, but nobody checks for errors, blocked pages or missing sitemaps. Given the routes into ChatGPT and Copilot, that's an easy gap to close.
What to check monthly
- Pages indexed versus pages in your sitemap.
- New crawl errors.
- Whether your key pages appear for your brand and category terms.
What not to expect
Bing indexing won't, by itself, make ChatGPT name you. It's one of several conditions, alongside OpenAI's own crawler access, useful pages and independent mentions.
Start here: AI visibility for B2B. More articles in AI visibility.