Claim Bing Places in one sitting. Then focus on the listing sites Copilot and ChatGPT cite most.

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Claim Bing Places in one sitting. Then focus on the listing sites Copilot and ChatGPT cite most.

Bing is the search engine behind Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft says a current Bing Places listing helps keep a business's details eligible for its AI answers. Claiming yours is free and takes one sitting. But when we put renter questions to Copilot, 93% of the sources it cited were listing sites. Here is why the listing is still worth claiming, what changed in how ChatGPT searches, and where these assistants actually look.

By HaloScore TeamUpdated October 2026 · 6 min read

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✦AI answer

Best apartments in Maple Heights near the light rail?

Tessmer Flats: two blocks from the station, with a rooftop deck.

Wickmere Apartments: pet friendly, with a resort-style pool.

Ballast Commons: a newer building with in-unit laundry.

Sourcesapartments.comzillow.comtrulia.comapartmentlist.com

Tessmer Flats

Apartment complex ✓ Verified

• 1450 Harbor Avenue, Maple Heights
• (425) 555-0177
• Leasing office open today, 9 to 6

Illustration. Names are invented.

• Key findings
• HaloScore data
• The basics
• The research
• The takeaway
• How to do it
• Questions
• Sources

Key findings

• Bing Places is quick and free. It is Microsoft's business listing, the Bing counterpart to a Google Business Profile, and importing your Google profile sets it up and verifies it in one step.
• Copilot runs on Bing. Microsoft says a current Bing Places listing helps keep a business's details eligible for its AI answers, and 27% of the communities we assessed got no Bing business card when we searched their name.
• ChatGPT no longer leans on Bing. OpenAI runs its own search index, and independent research in 2026 found ordinary ChatGPT answers drawing mostly on it (its paid reasoning mode leaned on Google results).
• Listing sites are where these assistants look. In our measurements, the sources Copilot and ChatGPT cite for apartment questions are overwhelmingly listing sites. Claim Bing Places because it is quick, and keep your listing-site profiles complete and accurate, since they are what these assistants quote.

HaloScore data

Copilot and ChatGPT cite listing sites far more than anything else

HaloScore puts the questions renters ask to the major AI engines and records every source each answer cites. For this article we looked at three things: whether Bing recognizes apartment communities as businesses, what Microsoft Copilot cites when renters ask it for apartments, and what ChatGPT cites.

Bing did not recognize every community. When we searched each community's name on Bing, 27% of the communities we have assessed got no business card, the panel Bing shows when it recognizes a local business. A missing card does not always mean a missing listing.

Copilot cites listing sites, almost exclusively. In our tests on October 6, 8 and 11, 2026, Copilot answered renter questions about the communities we measure, each asked several times. Of the sources it cited, 93% were listing sites, led by Apartments.com, Zillow, ApartmentHomeLiving and Trulia. Property websites were 2%. None was a Bing Maps or Bing Places page.

So does ChatGPT. Over the last 30 days, 72% of the sources ChatGPT cited in answers about apartment communities were listing sites, and 12% were property or management-company websites.

Figure 1

Listing sites are most of what ChatGPT and Copilot cite

Share of the sources each AI assistant cited in answers to renter questions.

ChatGPT (last 30 days)

72%14%

Microsoft Copilot (October tests)

93%

Listing sitesProperty and management websitesReview sitesEverything else

Source: HaloScore measurements: ChatGPT, September 12 to October 12, 2026; Microsoft Copilot, tests on October 6, 8 and 11, 2026.

haloscore.ai/resources

The data in this chart

	Listing sites	Property and management websites	Review sites	Everything else
ChatGPT (last 30 days)	72%	12%	2%	14%
Microsoft Copilot (October tests)	93%	2%	0%	5%

Figure 2

Copilot cited Apartments.com and Zillow most, and no Bing page

Share of all the sources Copilot cited for renter questions. No Bing page appeared among them.

Site

Share of sources cited

apartments.com

13%

zillow.com

11%

apartmenthomeliving.com

11%

trulia.com

10%

apartmentlist.com

9%

realtor.com

6%

zumper.com

6%

redfin.com

6%

Source: HaloScore measurements, Microsoft Copilot tests on October 6, 8 and 11, 2026.

haloscore.ai/resources

The data in this chart

Site	Share of sources cited
apartments.com	13%
zillow.com	11%
apartmenthomeliving.com	11%
trulia.com	10%
apartmentlist.com	9%
realtor.com	6%
zumper.com	6%
redfin.com	6%

What we found

27%

of the apartment communities we assessed got no Bing business card when we searched their name.

93%

of the sources Microsoft Copilot cited for renter questions were listing sites; none was a Bing Places page.

72%

of the sources ChatGPT cited for apartment questions in the last 30 days were listing sites.

How we measured: the Bing check covers the communities HaloScore assessed between June and October 2026, each community's most recent reading; a missing card does not always mean a missing listing. The Copilot figures come from our tests on October 6, 8 and 11, 2026, asking renter questions about the communities we measure. The ChatGPT figure covers September 12 to October 12, 2026, each answer counted once.

Citations show the pages an assistant links to, not every source of data behind an answer, so a Bing Places listing can inform an answer without appearing in its sources. What the citations do show is where the renter is sent and what the assistant quotes: listing pages.

Key takeaway

Copilot and ChatGPT mostly cite listing sites when renters ask about apartments, so the details on your listings are the ones these assistants are most likely to repeat.

The basics

Bing Places is Bing's version of a Google Business Profile

Bing Places for Business is Microsoft's free platform for business listings, which appear in Bing search results and Bing Maps.^[1] It is the Bing counterpart to a Google Business Profile: the name, address, phone, hours, category and photos Microsoft shows for a business. Setting it up is quick. You can import your Google Business Profile, which Microsoft says gives instant verification, or claim the listing by searching for it on Bing and verifying it by postcard or with a verification code.^[2] In October 2025 Microsoft listed deeper integration with Bing Maps and Copilot as future work;^[1] we found no announcement that it has shipped.

The research

Copilot runs on Bing, while ChatGPT now mostly runs on its own index

Microsoft Copilot answers from Bing. Microsoft describes Copilot as one of the experiences "powered by Bing's search index".^[3] In February 2026 Microsoft added that businesses can register with Bing Places "to help ensure that key details such as address, hours, and contact information remain current and eligible for inclusion in AI-generated responses".^[4] Copilot's audience is growing: 32% of US adults who use AI used it in 2026, up from 21% the year before.^[5] Bing's share of US search is about one in ten (9.9% in September 2026).^[6]

Figure 3

Copilot is the fourth most used AI assistant among US adults who use AI

Share of US adult AI users who used each general AI assistant. Microsoft Copilot rose from 21% in 2025.

AI assistant

Share of US adult AI users, 2026

ChatGPT

60%

Gemini

58%

Meta AI

34%

Microsoft Copilot

32%

Alexa

26%

Siri

23%

Claude

20%

Perplexity

16%

Source: Menlo Ventures, 2026: The State of Consumer AI, chart "General AI Usage Among U.S. Adult AI Users" (5,067 US adults, July 2026).^[5]

haloscore.ai/resources

The data in this chart

AI assistant	Share of US adult AI users, 2026
ChatGPT	60%
Gemini	58%
Meta AI	34%
Microsoft Copilot	32%
Alexa	26%
Siri	23%
Claude	20%
Perplexity	16%

ChatGPT has moved away from Bing. In 2023 Microsoft announced Bing as ChatGPT's default search.^[7] When OpenAI launched ChatGPT search in 2024, it described it as using "third-party search providers" without naming one,^[8] and it now runs its own search crawler; a site has to allow that crawler to appear in ChatGPT search.^[9]

What is a search index?

A search index is the store of web pages a search engine has collected, gathered by a program called a crawler that visits and copies pages. An AI assistant that searches the web answers from an index, so a page has to be in the index the assistant uses before the assistant can cite it.

ChatGPT can still draw on outside providers, Microsoft's Web IQ among them, along with Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google Maps data for local listings.^[10][11] But the most recent independent measurement, about 1,249 ChatGPT answers captured in July 2026, found ordinary answers drawing mostly on OpenAI's own index, with local businesses appearing through it almost every time; ChatGPT's paid reasoning mode drew mostly on Google results.^[12][13] Bing shows up mainly in ChatGPT's Deep Research mode.^[11] In short, Bing is one of several sources ChatGPT can use, and for local businesses it is not the main one.

Key takeaway

Bing Places matters for Copilot, which answers from Bing, but much less for ChatGPT, which now draws mostly on OpenAI's own index.

The takeaway

Claim the listing, then put the effort into your listing sites

A Bing Places listing is a short, free task that gives Bing and Bing Maps a verified record of your community, and Microsoft says it helps keep your details eligible for Copilot's answers. It is worth one sitting. Both assistants we looked at send renters to listing sites far more than anywhere else, so your listing-site profiles are what they are most likely to quote when they describe your community.

How to do it

Import your Google profile, then make sure Bing and Google can reach your website

• Claim the listing by importing your Google Business Profile. It carries over the name, hours and contact details and verifies the listing in one step.^[1][2]
• Match your other listings exactly. The same community name, street address and leasing phone as your Google Business Profile, your website and your listing sites.
• Fill in the basics and keep them current. Category, hours, website link and photos. When anything changes on Google, change it on Bing too.
• Add your website to Bing Webmaster Tools. It is free,^[14] imports and verifies a site you have already verified in Google Search Console,^[15] and lists every page Bing has indexed.^[16] Its AI Performance report shows which of your pages are cited in AI answers across Microsoft Copilot, Bing's AI-generated summaries and some partner services, and groups the searches behind them by intent, including local searches.^[17]
• Make sure Bing and Google can reach your website. Since September 15, 2026, the Block settings for AI crawlers at Cloudflare, a service many websites run behind, also turn away Bing's and Google's crawlers, which takes a site out of their search results too.^[18] Microsoft's guidelines list blocking Bingbot among the things to avoid.^[19] Ask whoever manages your website which setting it uses.
• Then keep your listing-site profiles complete and accurate. The listing sites renters use are what Copilot and ChatGPT cite most, so they are where accurate details about your community do the most good.

A worked example

Tessmer Flats

Tessmer's marketing coordinator searches "Tessmer Flats Maple Heights" on Bing and finds no business card. The coordinator signs in to Bing Places, imports Tessmer's Google Business Profile, and checks that the name, address and leasing phone came across exactly as they appear on Google. The listing is verified on import. Next the coordinator adds the website to Bing Webmaster Tools through its Google Search Console import, submits the sitemap, and bookmarks the AI Performance report to see whether Copilot starts citing Tessmer's pages. The whole task takes one sitting; the rest of the week goes to completing Tessmer's listing-site profiles.

Questions

Common questions

We already have a Google Business Profile. Do we still need Bing Places?

Yes. They are separate listings run by different companies, and Copilot answers from Bing. Importing the Google profile makes the Bing listing a short task.

Does ChatGPT use Bing?

Sometimes, and less than it used to. OpenAI runs its own search index and uses other providers, and independent research in 2026 found ordinary ChatGPT answers drawing mostly on OpenAI's own index.^[12] We have found no evidence that Bing Places data reaches ChatGPT; the sources ChatGPT cites for apartments are mostly listing sites.

Get started

See where your community stands in AI search

HaloScore checks on every assessment whether Bing recognizes your community as a business, and tracks the sources the AI engines cite for your market each month, so you can see which listings carry the most weight where your renters search.

Get started with HaloScore

Useful? Share it with your team or your management company.

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Sources

1. Microsoft Bing, "Introducing the new Bing Places for Business" (October 3, 2025). blogs.bing.com
2. Microsoft, Bing Places for Business sign-up (read October 8, 2026). bing.com
3. Krishna Madhavan, Microsoft Bing, "Optimizing your content for inclusion in AI search answers" (October 2025). about.ads.microsoft.com
4. Microsoft Bing Webmaster Blog, "Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview" (February 10, 2026). blogs.bing.com
5. Menlo Ventures, "2026: The State of Consumer AI" (5,067 US adults surveyed with Morning Consult, July 2026; published September 16, 2026). menlovc.com
6. Statcounter, search engine market share in the United States (September 2026). gs.statcounter.com
7. Microsoft, "Microsoft Build brings AI tools to the forefront for developers" (May 23, 2023). blogs.microsoft.com
8. OpenAI, "Introducing ChatGPT search" (October 31, 2024). openai.com
9. OpenAI, "Overview of OpenAI crawlers" (OAI-SearchBot). developers.openai.com
10. Microsoft, Web IQ (read October 8, 2026). microsoft.com
11. Tomek Rudzki, Peec AI, "ChatGPT built its own search index" (September 4, 2026). peec.ai
12. RESONEO, "How ChatGPT retrieves the web" (about 1,249 ChatGPT answers captured in July 2026, updated August 2026); summarized by Search Engine Land (August 17, 2026). think.resoneo.com
13. Matt G. Southern, Search Engine Journal, on RESONEO's ChatGPT index data (August 11, 2026). searchenginejournal.com
14. Microsoft, Bing Webmaster Tools help: getting started checklist (read October 9, 2026). bing.com
15. Microsoft, Bing Webmaster Tools help: add and verify a site, including the Google Search Console import (read October 9, 2026). bing.com
16. Microsoft, Bing Webmaster Tools help: Site Explorer (read October 9, 2026). bing.com
17. Microsoft, Bing Webmaster Tools help: AI Performance (read October 9, 2026). bing.com
18. Bryan Becker, Cloudflare, "Have it both ways: stay discoverable in search while disallowing AI training" (September 15, 2026). blog.cloudflare.com
19. Microsoft, Bing Webmaster Guidelines (read October 9, 2026). bing.com

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