A Los Angeles medical practice should add its website to Bing Webmaster Tools because it is free, it takes a few minutes if you already use Google Search Console, and it now shows when your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot answers. That last part matters for anyone working on answer engine optimization. It is a measurement tool, not a ranking lever, and nothing in it promises more patients.
For what AEO is, see what is answer engine optimization. For how a practice earns citations in AI answers, see AEO for Los Angeles medical practices. This post covers only the Bing setup.
1. Decide who owns the account
Use an account the practice controls. Bing's getting started checklist says you can "open a free Bing Webmaster Tools account" and sign up "using an existing Microsoft, Google or Facebook account." Pick the practice's own login, not a personal account belonging to a marketer.
Then give other people access through User Management instead of sharing a password. Bing's checklist says you can "manage access level permissions through the User Management feature." Write down who has access and remove it the day someone leaves.
2. Import from Google Search Console if you already have it
If the practice already has a verified Search Console property, importing is the shortest path. Bing's Help says you can import "the settings (user details, level, etc.) along with the property directly into Bing," and that imported sites "get automatically verified." Bing also notes it periodically rechecks the link and imports new sitemaps it finds there.
If you later want to cut that link, Bing's Help says you can choose "Disconnect" beside the account in the Profile section.
3. Or verify the site yourself
Without Search Console, add the site manually and prove ownership. Bing's Help lists "four methods of ownership verification": automatic DNS verification where the DNS provider supports it, an XML file in the site root, a meta tag on the home page, or a CNAME record. Any of these touches the website or the domain, so have whoever manages the site or DNS do it with the owner's approval.
Expect a wait. Bing's Help says that once a site is added "it usually takes 48 hours for our system to generate analytics and data."
4. Tell Bing where your sitemap is
A sitemap lists the pages you want found. Bing accepts XML sitemaps and sitemap index files, Atom, RSS 2.0 and plain text files with one URL per line. Most practice websites already publish an XML sitemap at the root of the domain, so this is usually one field to fill in.
Bing also supports IndexNow, a way for a site to tell search engines a page was added or changed. The IndexNow FAQ suggests you first "check whether your Content Management System (CMS), hosting provider, or SEO plugin already supports it." It also says every URL submitted "counts toward your site's crawl quota," so send real changes only, not the same page over and over.
5. Read the AI Performance report for Copilot citations
This is the reason AEO work should include Bing. In February 2026 Bing introduced AI Performance, which it says lets you "understand how often your content is cited in generative answers, with clear visibility into which URLs are referenced." It covers Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and some partner experiences. It shows total citations, cited pages, grounding queries (the phrases the AI used to find the content) and trends over time.
Read it for what it is. Bing says the cited pages figure "does not indicate ranking, authority, or the role of any page within an individual answer." In June 2026 Bing added Intents, Topics, Citation Share and Compare in preview, and it describes Citation Share as "not a ranking system or a competitive scoreboard." Use the report to see which practice pages get cited and which questions they get cited for. Then improve those pages the same way you would for patients: clear answers, reviewed facts and accurate details.
6. Keep the business details identical everywhere
Bing and Copilot read your site, but also your listings elsewhere. Keep the practice name, address, phone and hours identical on the website, Google Business Profile and any Bing or directory listing. If something is unresolved, fix the source first rather than publishing a third version. See local SEO for Los Angeles service businesses for the basics.
7. Check it once a month
Set a monthly reminder to:
- confirm the site is still verified and the sitemap shows no errors;
- note which pages Bing reports as cited in AI answers;
- review Bing's SEO Reports, which its checklist says run on verified domains "every alternate week";
- write down what changed on the site that month, so you are not guessing later.
Keep this separate from patient privacy work. Nothing in Bing Webmaster Tools needs patient data, and none should go near it.
Setup checklist
- Account owned by a practice-controlled login.
- Access given through User Management, with a written list.
- Site imported from Search Console or verified by one of Bing's four methods.
- Sitemap added.
- IndexNow used only if the site platform already supports it.
- AI Performance checked monthly, read as citation activity, not rankings.
- Name, address, phone and hours matching everywhere.
If you want this set up and tracked alongside the rest of your search work, see our SEO and AEO page.
Questions people ask
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Yes. Bing's getting started checklist describes opening a free Bing Webmaster Tools account.
Can we copy our Google Search Console setup into Bing?
Yes. Bing's Help says you can import a verified Search Console property with its settings, and imported sites are verified automatically.
Does Bing Webmaster Tools show Copilot citations?
Yes. Its AI Performance report shows how often your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and some partner experiences, plus the grounding queries behind them.
Does a citation count mean we rank higher?
No. Bing says the cited pages figure does not indicate ranking or authority, and describes Citation Share as not a ranking system.
Will setting up Bing Webmaster Tools bring more patients?
No promise. It is a free measurement and housekeeping tool. Results depend on the practice, its pages and its audience.
