Short answer: Bing Webmaster Tools is Bing’s free console for site owners. Add your site or import it from Google Search Console, submit your sitemap, set up IndexNow and use URL Inspection to see why a page isn’t indexed.
Why Bing matters beyond Bing
Bing Webmaster Tools also reports on AI answers. Its AI Performance report shows which of your pages are visibly cited in Microsoft Copilot, in AI-generated summaries in Bing and in some partner AI products.
Its Search Performance report counts clicks and impressions from Bing’s web results and from the links inside its chat answers. Google Search Console doesn’t include any of this Bing data.
How to set up Bing Webmaster Tools
- Open a free account with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account.
- Import your site from Google Search Console, which verifies it for you.
- Or add it by hand and prove you own it with one of the methods offered.
- Submit your sitemap: XML, RSS, Atom or a text file with one URL per line.
- Set up IndexNow, so Bing and other participating engines hear when pages are added, updated or deleted.
- Check your main pages with URL Inspection.
- Give it about 48 hours for the first data, then open Search Performance and AI Performance.
Our Google Search Console guide covers the Google side, and our XML sitemap guide covers the file itself.
What each tool tells you
| Tool | What it tells you or does |
|---|---|
| URL Inspection | Whether a page is indexed, and what Bingbot sees when it downloads it |
| URL Submission | Asks Bing to crawl specific pages, within a daily quota |
| IndexNow | Tells Bing and other engines when a page is added, updated or deleted |
| Sitemaps | The sitemaps Bing knows for your site, including those imported from Search Console |
| Site Scan | An on-demand audit of common technical SEO issues, with a monthly quota |
| Search Performance | Clicks and impressions from web results and from links in chat answers |
| AI Performance | Which of your pages AI answers cite, and the queries behind them |
From the Bing Webmaster Tools help pages, read November 4, 2026.
IndexNow or URL Submission
Bing strongly recommends IndexNow, which also notifies other participating engines, such as Seznam.cz and Naver. It says manual URL Submission and its API may be deprecated as IndexNow spreads.
The help page allows up to 10,000 manual submissions per domain per day, and the quota resets at midnight UTC. Bing adds that repeated manual submissions don’t speed up indexing.
When a page doesn’t appear in Bing
Start with URL Inspection. If the page isn’t indexed, its Index card shows the error and the action to take, such as requesting indexing, editing robots.txt or contacting support.
The Live URL tab shows exactly what Bingbot sees when it downloads the page. Bing adds that it can show whether a site may have been compromised, for example if it sends Bingbot different HTML than it sends people.
Site Scan crawls your site on demand and lists common technical SEO issues. Bing sets its monthly quota from the signals it has about your site.
What we saw on our own site
We read our own Bing Webmaster Tools account between November 1 and 4, 2026. Two things differed from what the help pages suggest.
Our manual URL Submission quota was 10 URLs a day; two days later it was 100, far from the 10,000 the help page mentions. The same page says more quota can be requested through support.
During those days, IndexNow requests were accepted, but our server logs showed no visit from Bingbot to those pages. A Site Scan did bring it: Bingbot fetched the scanned pages within minutes.
So we send every new page through IndexNow and keep Site Scan and URL Submission for the pages that matter most.
Before you count on Bing
- Your site is verified, or imported from Search Console.
- Your sitemap is submitted and Bing reads it.
- IndexNow reports new, updated and deleted pages.
- Your main pages show as indexed in URL Inspection.
- Bingbot gets the same page a visitor gets.
- You check Search Performance and AI Performance every month.
RememberGoogle Search Console doesn’t tell you how Bing sees your site. Check both.
Crawling and indexing are part of our technical SEO work.
Quick answers about Bing Webmaster Tools
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Yes. You open a free account with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account, add your site and prove you own it. Importing the site from Google Search Console verifies it for you.
How do I submit my site to Bing?
Submit your sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools and set up IndexNow, which Bing strongly recommends. For a single page, URL Submission asks Bing to crawl it, within a daily quota.
What is IndexNow?
A protocol that tells participating search engines, such as Bing, Seznam.cz and Naver, when a page is added, updated or deleted. You host a key file on your site so the engines can match the requests to your domain.
Why isn’t my page in Bing?
Open URL Inspection and enter the page. If it isn’t indexed, the Index card shows the error and the action Bing suggests, such as requesting indexing, editing robots.txt or contacting support.
Does Bing Webmaster Tools show AI answers?
Yes. Its AI Performance report shows which of your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot, in AI-generated summaries in Bing and in some partner products. It also lists the queries the AI used to find them.
Sources
Read on November 4, 2026. Bing Webmaster Tools help: Getting Started Checklist, Add and Verify site, URL Inspection, URL Submission, IndexNow, Sitemaps, Site Scan, Search Performance and AI Performance. Our case: our own Bing Webmaster Tools account, read from November 1 to 4, 2026.