--- title: "Bing’s Topics Portfolio: see which subjects get you cited in AI answers" description: "Bing Webmaster Tools now groups the AI-answer queries you’re cited for into topics and lists the gaps. What it is, where to find it, what to do." url: https://dumbcmo.com/blog/bing-topics-portfolio-ai-performance category: "Getting found" tags: ["news", "bing", "copilot", "aeo", "ai search", "bing webmaster tools"] published: 2026-10-29 updated: 2026-10-29 reading_time: 8 min author: "The DumbCMO" --- # Bing’s Topics Portfolio: see which subjects get you cited in AI answers > **TL;DR:** Bing added a beta Topics Portfolio tab to the AI Performance report. It groups the queries where Copilot and Bing’s AI answers cite you into topics, shows how big and crowded each topic is, and lists queries where rivals get cited and you don’t. Free, rough, Bing-only. Use it as a to-do list. [Notebook](https://dumbcmo.com) › [Blog](https://dumbcmo.com/blog) › Getting found › Bing’s Topics Portfolio: see which subjects get you cited in AI answers Everybody wants to know if the robots are quoting them. Most tools that promise to tell you are guessing and charging for it. Bing actually shows you. Its free Bing Webmaster Tools (Bing’s free dashboard for website owners. Think Google Search Console, but for Bing.) has an AI Performance report. On 13 October 2026, Bing added a beta tab to it called **Topics Portfolio**. This note covers what it is, where to click, and what to do with it. ## In normal-people words ## What it is, in plain words First, the report it lives in. Since February 2026, AI Performance has shown when your site gets cited as a source in AI answers on Microsoft Copilot, Bing’s AI summaries and “select partner integrations” ([Bing](https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/2/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview/)). It lists grounding queries (The short phrases Bing’s AI searched for when it went looking for sources to build an answer. Not the exact question a person typed.), and which of your pages got cited for each one. The trouble: a list of queries one at a time is hard to plan with. Topics Portfolio **groups those queries into broad topics**. Bing’s examples are things like football, taxes or AI chatbots. So instead of a long list of little phrases, you see a handful of subjects you show up for. Then it adds two things you couldn’t see before: - **How big and how crowded each topic is.** How many citations the whole topic gets across all sites, and how many sites compete for it. - **Where you’re missing.** Queries where other sites get cited and yours doesn’t. Bing says the topics and missed queries are built from your own site’s activity, not a generic industry list. > **The DumbCMO:** A free report that tells you where rivals get quoted and you don’t. Somewhere an “AI visibility” tool selling the same idea for a monthly fee just felt a chill. ## What the numbers mean The main page lists your topics with four columns. Here they are in normal words. **The Topics Portfolio table, decoded** | Column | What Bing says it is | What it means for you | | --- | --- | --- | | Topic | A cluster of related grounding queries where your site appears | A subject the AI already links to you | | Topic Size | Approximate citations across all sites for this topic in the period | How much AI-answer demand there is | | Sites Cited | Approximate number of sites appearing for this topic | How crowded it is | | Queries | Approximate number of distinct grounding queries in the topic | How many angles the topic has | Under the table sits **Top Opportunity Queries**: the strongest queries across all your topics where other sites get cited and you don’t. Bing shows their citation volumes as ranges, not exact numbers. Click a topic and you get a detail page. Three cards at the top: the topic’s size, **your own citations** in it, and how many queries it has. Below that, two lists: - **Your Grounding Queries**: queries in this topic where you already appear. - **Opportunity Queries**: queries in this topic where others appear and you don’t. That’s the whole idea. What you already own, and what’s still open. ## How to find it **Getting to Topics Portfolio** 1. **Sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools.** Go to [bing.com/webmasters](https://www.bing.com/webmasters). If your site isn’t added yet, add and verify it. You can import it from Google Search Console. 2. **Open AI Performance.** Pick your site, then open the AI Performance report. 3. **Click the Topics tab.** It sits next to Citations & Pages. **No tab? Bing only shows it when your site has enough data.** Smaller sites may not get it yet. 4. **Pick a date range.** You can choose one, two or three months. Start with three for a steadier picture. 5. **Open your strongest topic first.** Bing’s own advice: start where your citations are already concentrated, then work down the opportunity queries. ## The chai stall version The tourist information board at the corner lists “best chai nearby”. Bing just handed you the board’s notebook. One page says: **for “masala chai” the board sends people to you**. Another says: for “cutting chai near the station” it sends them to the stall opposite, and you’re not mentioned at all. You already make cutting chai. You just never put it on your signboard. That’s an opportunity query. ## What to actually do with it **Read the table like this** - **If** A topic is big and has few sites cited **→ then** That’s your best bet. Real demand, not much competition. Put your effort here first. - **If** A topic is big and very crowded **→ then** You’ll need something the other sites don’t have: your prices, your photos, your process, your numbers. Another generic explainer won’t get picked. - **If** An opportunity query is something you actually sell or know **→ then** Write or fix one page that answers it directly in the first two lines. That’s the cheapest win in the whole report. - **If** An opportunity query is a competitor’s brand name **→ then** Skip it. Bing admits branded queries can show up as “opportunities”. You’re not getting cited for someone else’s brand. - **If** A topic doesn’t describe your business at all **→ then** Click thumbs down. The topics are sorted by AI and Bing says they can be wrong. That button is how it gets fixed. A simple monthly routine: 1. Write down your top five opportunity queries. 2. For each one, find the page on your site that should answer it. No page? Write one. Weak page? Put the answer at the top. 3. Come back next month and check if that query moved into Your Grounding Queries. Same rules as always for getting quoted by an AI: clear answers, plain words, one question per page, proof you’re real. More on that in [Does SEO still matter now that Google answers with AI?](/blog/seo-in-the-age-of-ai-answers) > **The DumbCMO:** It’s a to-do list with a beta sticker on it. Treat it like one. ## The catches Bing is unusually honest about these, so let’s repeat them: - **It’s a beta.** Bing says to treat the numbers as “directional signals for planning, not as a precise ledger.” - **The numbers are approximate.** Topic Size, Sites Cited and Queries are estimates. Opportunity volumes are ranges on purpose. - **AI sorts the topics.** A query may land in a topic you’d have labelled differently. - **Small sites may see little or nothing.** Topics without enough activity are hidden. - **It’s Bing’s world only.** Copilot, Bing’s AI summaries and some partners. It says nothing about Google’s AI Overviews or other AI tools. - **Citations aren’t visits.** The AI Performance report counts how often you’re cited, not how many people clicked through. Check your actual traffic and sales separately. ## Do this today - [ ] Sign in to [Bing Webmaster Tools](https://www.bing.com/webmasters). If your site isn’t there, import it from Google Search Console. - [ ] Open AI Performance and look for the Topics tab. If it’s missing, check Citations & Pages instead and come back in a month. - [ ] Write down your top three topics and the one with the fewest sites cited. - [ ] Pick two opportunity queries you can honestly answer. Improve or write one page for each this week. - [ ] Thumbs-down any topic or query that has nothing to do with your business. - [ ] Put a reminder in your calendar for one month from today to check again. ## Not-so-frequently asked questions ### Does this cost anything? No. Bing Webmaster Tools is free, and Topics Portfolio sits inside its AI Performance report. ### Why don’t I see the Topics tab? Bing only shows it when your site has enough presence and there’s enough activity in your topics. Smaller sites may see a short list or no tab at all for now. ### Does this tell me about ChatGPT or Google’s AI? No. It covers Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and some partner integrations. For Google, look at Search Console. ### Is a grounding query what someone typed? Not exactly. It’s the phrase Bing’s AI used to go and find sources. Close to the question, but not the person’s exact words. ### Should I chase every opportunity query? No. Chase the ones you can honestly answer and that connect to something you sell. Ignore rivals’ brand names and anything off-topic. ### Will fixing a page get me cited for sure? Nobody can promise that. Bing decides. A clear, specific answer just gives it a better reason to pick you. ## Things your agency won’t say - “Proprietary AI visibility tracking” is often a pricier version of a free Bing tab. Ask to see it next to Bing’s numbers. - An “opportunity” is a query someone else gets cited for. It is not a promise you can win it. - Anyone who reports a beta’s approximate numbers to you as exact, down to the decimal, is selling bullsh#t with a chart on it. ## Jargon Jail **Locked up: “Grounding query”** The short phrase an AI searches for when it goes looking for sources to back up its answer. **It’s the AI’s own search, not your customer’s exact question.** If your page shows up for it and gets cited, you’re in the answer. ## Where to go next - The explainer: [Does SEO still matter now that Google answers with AI?](/blog/seo-in-the-age-of-ai-answers) - The Google side: [Google’s AI summary now shows on over 80% of searches](/blog/ai-overviews-on-80-percent-of-searches) - Before you pay anyone: [“We’ll get you into ChatGPT, guaranteed”](/scam-watch#guaranteed-ai-answers) - Everything on AI answers: [SEO, dumbed down](/seo) ## Sources 1. Bing Webmaster Blog, [“Introducing Topics Portfolio (Beta) in AI Performance”](https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/10/introducing-topics-portfolio-beta-in-ai-performance/), 13 October 2026. 2. Bing Webmaster Blog, [“Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview”](https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/2/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview/), 10 February 2026. ## Related notes - [Google rankings shook on 24 October. Should you do anything?](https://dumbcmo.com/blog/google-ranking-shake-october-24): Many rank trackers spiked on Saturday 24 October 2026, which suggests Google changed something. Google hasn't confirmed it. Wait a week, check Search Console, and change nothing in a panic. - [Google’s AI summary now shows on over 80% of searches](https://dumbcmo.com/blog/ai-overviews-on-80-percent-of-searches): Tracking tools now put Google’s AI summary on 80%+ of searches, up from about half in mid-2025. Your clicks may keep falling. Your job is to be the business the summary mentions. - [Does SEO still matter now that Google answers with AI?](https://dumbcmo.com/blog/seo-in-the-age-of-ai-answers): Yes, SEO still matters, but fewer people click through when Google shows an AI summary. Be the business the summary is built from: clear answers, real reviews and a name people search for. --- From [DumbCMO](https://dumbcmo.com): The marketing notes you were too embarrassed to take.