How does Bing work?
Bing works like other crawler-based search engines: Bingbot crawls web pages, Microsoft indexes them and ranking algorithms order the results for each query. On top of the classic ten blue links, Bing shows images, videos, news, shopping results and, since 2023, AI-generated answers from Microsoft Copilot.
Bing reaches users through several Microsoft products:
- Microsoft Edge, where Bing is the default search engine.
- Windows search, which sends web queries from the taskbar to Bing.
- Microsoft Copilot, which uses Bing results to ground its answers.
- Partner search engines, such as Yahoo and Ecosia, which display Bing-powered results.
History of Bing: key dates
Bing is the third generation of Microsoft’s own web search, after MSN Search and Live Search.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Microsoft launches MSN Search |
| 11 September 2006 | Windows Live Search replaces MSN Search |
| 3 June 2009 | Bing replaces Live Search |
| 29 July 2009 | Microsoft and Yahoo announce a 10-year deal, Bing powers Yahoo Search |
| 29 April 2019 | Bing Ads is renamed Microsoft Advertising |
| 18 October 2021 | Microsoft and Yandex launch the IndexNow protocol |
| 7 February 2023 | The new Bing with a GPT-4-based chatbot (Bing Chat) launches |
| 15 November 2023 | Bing Chat is merged into Microsoft Copilot |
| 11 August 2025 | Microsoft retires the public Bing Search APIs |
Bing market share in numbers
Bing is the second largest search engine in the world, far behind Google. Statcounter’s September 2026 data shows the following shares:
| Market | Bing | |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide, all devices | 89.94% | 5.29% |
| Worldwide, desktop | 78.12% | 14.62% |
| Poland, all devices | 89.56% | 7.38% |
| Poland, desktop | 82.83% | 13.94% |
The desktop figures show where Bing is strong: office computers running Windows and Microsoft Edge, which makes it relevant for B2B audiences.
Bing in SEO, ads and AI search
Bing matters for marketers in three areas: organic search, paid search and AI answers.
Bing SEO
Bing SEO starts with Bing Webmaster Tools, where you verify a site, submit sitemaps and check crawl errors. Bing also supports IndexNow, a protocol launched in October 2021 that lets a site notify Bing, Yandex, Seznam.cz, Naver and Yep about new, updated or deleted URLs instantly. In my audits I find that sites ranking well in Google usually rank in Bing too, but Bing gives more weight to exact keyword matches in titles and to clear on-page signals.
Microsoft Advertising
Bing ads are sold through Microsoft Advertising, called Bing Ads until April 2019. Campaigns can be imported from Google Ads, and the ads also appear on Yahoo and partner sites. I often add Microsoft Advertising to PPC campaigns for B2B clients because desktop users in offices are a large part of Bing’s audience.
Bing and AI search
Bing’s index feeds Microsoft Copilot, and many AI tools that need live web data use Bing grounding through Microsoft Azure. A page that Bing has not indexed is invisible to these assistants, so Bing visibility is part of Generative Engine Optimization.
Bing vs Google
| Feature | Bing | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Microsoft | Alphabet |
| Global share (Sept 2026) | 5.29% | 89.94% |
| Webmaster tool | Bing Webmaster Tools | Google Search Console |
| Instant indexing protocol | IndexNow | Not supported |
| AI assistant | Microsoft Copilot | Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode |
Other engines built on Bing data include Yahoo and Ecosia.
Bing is one of the checks in my technical SEO services, especially for sites that target several countries.
Frequently asked questions about Bing
Who owns Bing?
Bing is owned by Microsoft. It launched on 3 June 2009, replacing Microsoft's earlier Live Search.
What is Bing's market share?
According to Statcounter, Bing held 5.29% of the worldwide search market in September 2026. On desktop computers its share was 14.62%, and in Poland it reached 7.38% across all devices.
Which search engines use Bing results?
Yahoo Search has used Bing since a 2009 deal, and Ecosia has relied on Bing since at least 2017. DuckDuckGo combines several sources, Bing among them, and Microsoft Copilot grounds its answers in Bing.
Is Bing SEO different from Google SEO?
Bing SEO follows the same basics as Google SEO: crawlable pages, relevant content and good links. The main differences are Bing Webmaster Tools, support for IndexNow and a stronger focus on exact keyword matches.
Related terms
- Search Engine Market Share Worldwide and in Poland · Statcounter
- Microsoft Bing · Wikipedia
- Bing Search API retirement · Microsoft Learn
- IndexNow · IndexNow.org
- Bing Ads rebrands as Microsoft Advertising · The Drum
