Home / Copilot findings
Case 2 · From our own audit · Run 9 Nov 2026
Does Microsoft Copilot recommend your firm? Here's what it said about ours.
This page shows how we measured Microsoft Copilot's answers for a small Ontario B2B service firm we own, who Copilot recommended instead, and the Copilot fixes we ranked first. Every audit we sell includes the same check.
Why would Copilot matter to a B2B firm?
Because some buyers already ask it for recommendations. That's how two buyers found our agency: both told us Copilot pointed them to it, and both came from companies that live in Microsoft 365.
The agency gets its leads through its website, so the next question was obvious. If Copilot sent us those two, what was it telling everyone else who asked the same kind of question?
There was a catch. We couldn't see it. Copilot visits usually arrive with no referrer and show up as Direct in analytics, so the only record we had was two people who happened to mention it.
How do you check Copilot without signing in?
The answer API we use for the other engines has no Copilot option, and copilot.microsoft.com needs a sign-in. So we went to Microsoft's own surfaces, in a browser, signed out.
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Bing web results for 19 searches
17 searches a buyer would type, plus 2 for the agency's name. We read page 1 of each and noted who held it.
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Bing AI Mode for all 27 questions
Bing AI Mode is Microsoft's Copilot-powered search answer. We asked it the same 27 questions as the other six engines.
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Every answer read by hand
Who was named, in what order, and the reason the answer gave.
The limit. A signed-in Copilot user can see different answers: a different model, their Microsoft 365 work data, personalisation. This is a repeatable proxy, not a copy of what your buyer sees. Local answers also lean toward wherever the browser appears to be.
What did Copilot say?
3 of 26
unbranded questions where Bing AI Mode named the agency. First each time, and each time for a question that described its exact tools.
0 of 8
questions shaped like the buyers Copilot had sent us named it. On every one, Copilot recommended someone else.
| Question, word for word (city removed) | Who Copilot recommended |
|---|---|
| Who can build AI agents that work with Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams for a company in [its city]? | Three Microsoft partners |
| Best AI consulting firms for small and mid-sized businesses in [its region] | Five firms, with publishing pricing or timelines given as a reason |
| Which companies in [its city] can build custom AI agents and automations for a mid-sized business? | Six other agencies |
| [its city] AI agency that can build a private AI assistant trained on our company documents | Five other firms |
| Find an AI automation firm in Ontario that will build our AI workflows and then hand full ownership of the code and systems to us. | Four other firms |
| Recommend an AI implementation partner in [its city] for a company that has never used AI before | Three other firms |
Asked about the agency by name, Bing AI Mode was accurate and called it a strong fit for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses. It just didn't bring it up unless the question described its tools.
What did Bing's first page show?
Bing's index is what Copilot reads, so this is where Copilot's raw material comes from.
| Search | On page 1? | Who held page 1 |
|---|---|---|
| ai consulting firm [its city] | No | Clutch and "best AI consultants" list pages |
| ai implementation partner [its city] | No | Clutch and list pages |
| ai automation consultant [its city] | No | Another agency, a list page, Clutch |
| ai automation agency [its city] | No | Other agencies |
| custom ai agents [its city] | No | Other agencies |
| ai agents for microsoft 365 [its city] | No | Almost entirely Microsoft's own pages |
| erp ai agents canada | No | ERP vendors and their blogs |
| private ai assistant trained on company documents [its city] | No | Other firms |
| A search naming its main tool | Yes, #1 | |
| Another search naming its main tool | Yes, #5 |
10 of the 17 buyer searches shown. On page 1 for 2 of 17 in total.
What were the engines looking for?
The OpenAI models in the same audit ran their own web searches while answering. Two of them read like a checklist: [its city] Microsoft Solutions Partner AI agents Microsoft 365 Teams Outlook consulting and Clutch [its city] AI consulting companies artificial intelligence.
Microsoft partner status and a Clutch profile were what the engines went looking for. A firm with neither starts behind on Microsoft 365 questions.
How do you get Copilot to recommend you? The fixes we ranked
- Bing Webmaster Tools.
Verify the site under your Microsoft account, submit a live sitemap, and turn on IndexNow so Bing hears about changes. Then check that your service pages are in the index.
- Bring back pages the engines still cite.
Two removed pages were the only ones that had won a mid-sized buyer's question, and buyers who clicked were landing on 404s.
- A Microsoft 365 page, from real work.
Write about the Outlook, Teams or SharePoint work you've actually done. Without it, only Microsoft partners answer those questions.
- Get onto the lists Bing ranks.
Clutch's page for the city was #1 on Bing for "ai consulting firm [its city]" and "ai implementation partner [its city]". A Clutch profile needs verified client reviews.
- A Bing Places listing and a Google Business Profile.
Set up as a service-area business. Bing Places feeds Bing and Copilot local answers.
- A starting price.
Bing AI Mode picked firms that state prices and timelines.
- Ask how people found you.
Add "Microsoft Copilot" and "ChatGPT" to your form's "how did you hear" list, and re-run the same questions monthly.
What have we done since?
On 9 November the two removed pages came back and a sitemap and robots.txt went live. Bing Webmaster Tools verification is waiting on the owner's Microsoft account. The Microsoft 365 page, Clutch, Bing Places and the price haven't started. We haven't re-run the questions yet, so there's no "after" to report.
What would this look like for my firm?
An IT provider in London, Ontario might be asked: Which managed IT providers in London support Microsoft 365 for a 40-person office? An accounting firm in Kingston: Recommend an accounting firm in Kingston that works with construction companies. Those are examples of how we'd write your questions, not results.
- We ask your questions in Bing AI Mode, signed out, and read every answer.
- We check Bing's first page for the searches your buyers type, and note who holds it.
- We list who Copilot names instead of you, and what they have that you don't.
- We rank the Microsoft-side fixes with the rest of your report.
It's part of the $499 audit, alongside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude. Walked through on a video call.
Copilot questions owners ask
Is Bing AI Mode the same as Microsoft 365 Copilot?
No. Bing AI Mode is Microsoft's Copilot-powered answer in Bing search. A signed-in Microsoft 365 Copilot user may get a different model and answers shaped by their work data. We use it because it's the closest repeatable view we can get without your buyer's login.
Why does Bing matter for Copilot?
Bing's index is what Copilot reads. If Bing doesn't hold your current pages, or still holds removed ones, Copilot works from that.
How do I know if Copilot is already sending us clients?
Ask them. Copilot and ChatGPT app visits usually arrive with no referrer and show as Direct in analytics, so add "Microsoft Copilot" and "ChatGPT" to your contact form's "how did you hear about us" list. Our own form has both.
Free 30-minute check
Find out what Copilot says when your buyers ask.
Book a free 30-minute check. We'll ask a few of your buyers' questions in Copilot and ChatGPT before the call and show you who came back. The full audit is $499.