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Bing’s new AI topic report: what service businesses should check

By SEO Help
Published

Bing’s Topics Portfolio beta adds context to AI citation reporting. Here is how service businesses can use it without confusing visibility with enquiries.

Illustration of search results, an audit checklist and connected discovery nodes.

Bing announced Topics Portfolio, a beta feature within Bing Webmaster Tools’ AI Performance report, on 13 October 2026. It groups grounding queries into broader topics, adding context to where a website appears in AI answers.

For UK service businesses, our recommendation is to use this as a research aid within your AI discovery work. It can inform which customer questions deserve attention, but citation activity should not replace enquiry and commercial reporting.

What has Bing introduced?

Topics Portfolio adds thematic reporting to the existing AI Performance report. Its measures include approximate topic citation totals, the number of sites cited and distinct grounding queries. It also highlights queries where other sites appear and yours does not.

The underlying AI Performance report covers Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and selected partner integrations. It is not a complete view of every AI platform.

Understand the limits before acting

Bing describes the beta figures as directional. Topic classification can be imperfect, and sites with insufficient data may not see the feature. Suggested opportunities can also include another business’s branded queries.

A citation is not a website visit or an enquiry. The report should sit alongside your existing measures of customer acquisition.

How we would use it for a service business

Start with commercial relevance

Choose one topic connected to a service you genuinely deliver. Ask whether someone researching that subject could become a suitable customer, rather than prioritising the largest-looking topic.

For a local provider, check whether the question relates to its real service area. A national provider should check whether its delivery model and customer requirements match the query.

Review the existing page first

Before commissioning another article, find the page that should answer the question. Read it as a prospective customer.

  • Does it explain who the service is suitable for?
  • Are scope, exclusions and next steps clear?
  • Can the business substantiate its claims?
  • Does it answer a genuine question raised during enquiries?

Where information is missing, improve that page before creating overlapping content. Use verified operational details and permissioned evidence. Do not manufacture examples or results to fill a gap.

A proportionate next step

If the report is available, select one relevant question and record the page you review, the evidence added and the date of any change.

Then assess customer usefulness and enquiry quality alongside reporting trends. Treat changes in citations as observations, not proof that your edit caused them.

If the feature is unavailable, use real sales questions and customer conversations to identify useful improvements. There is no need to create content simply to populate a report.

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