What is Microsoft

What they do

Microsoft operates Bing and its webmaster tools, the Azure cloud platform, GitHub, LinkedIn and the Microsoft 365 suite. It also runs Microsoft Advertising, the ad network behind Bing search and its partner properties, which reuses much of the Google Ads campaign structure.

• Bing: the number-two general search index in most markets
• Copilot: AI assistant grounded partly in the Bing index
• Azure: cloud infrastructure and a primary host for AI workloads
• GitHub and LinkedIn: developer and professional platforms

Why they matter for your site

Bing's index feeds Copilot and other AI experiences, so Bing visibility and IndexNow submissions influence whether your pages show up in AI answers, not just classic search. Microsoft Advertising is also a lower-competition complement to Google Ads for many B2B and desktop-heavy audiences.

How REO Rank works with their platform

We verify sites in Bing Webmaster Tools, use IndexNow for fast indexing, and treat Bing coverage as a distinct signal for AI visibility. Where budget justifies it we run Microsoft Advertising alongside Google Ads, and for software projects we build and deploy on Azure.

Why it matters

Microsoft is one of the world's largest technology companies, and it matters to search and marketing through several channels: it owns Bing (the main alternative search engine to Google), LinkedIn (the dominant professional network and B2B advertising platform), and has made an aggressive, high-profile move into AI through its partnership with OpenAI, embedding AI (Copilot) across its products. As AI reshapes search and Bing feeds Microsoft Copilot's answers, Microsoft has become a more significant player in the discovery landscape than its search market share alone would suggest.

• A tech giant relevant to search via Bing, LinkedIn and its AI push
• Owns Bing (the main Google alternative) and LinkedIn (B2B advertising)
• Aggressive AI move (OpenAI partnership, Copilot) reshapes its search role

Its relevance to SEO and marketing

Bing, while far smaller than Google, still represents meaningful search volume, powers other surfaces, and — importantly — its index feeds Microsoft Copilot's AI answers, so Bing visibility has taken on new significance in the AI-search era. Bing Webmaster Tools is the equivalent of Search Console for Bing, and it supports IndexNow (a protocol for instantly notifying search engines of content changes). LinkedIn is central to B2B marketing and advertising, offering unmatched professional targeting. And Microsoft's deep OpenAI partnership means it is a major force in the AI tools reshaping how people search and work. For most SEO, Google remains the priority, but Microsoft's surfaces are a growing secondary consideration.

• Bing represents real volume and now feeds Microsoft Copilot's AI answers
• Bing Webmaster Tools (Search Console equivalent) and IndexNow support
• LinkedIn is central to B2B marketing and advertising
• Its OpenAI partnership makes it a major AI-tools force

In practice

For most SEO work Google is the priority, but Microsoft's surfaces warrant attention as AI search grows: verifying a site in Bing Webmaster Tools and using IndexNow is low-effort and increasingly worthwhile given that Bing feeds Copilot, and B2B marketers cannot ignore LinkedIn for its professional targeting. The practical stance is to treat Bing optimisation as a light-touch complement to Google-focused SEO (much of what helps one helps the other), to consider LinkedIn where B2B audiences justify it, and to watch Microsoft's AI moves as part of the broader shift toward AI-mediated discovery that is reshaping the whole search landscape.

• Verify in Bing Webmaster Tools and use IndexNow — low-effort, worthwhile for Copilot
• Google-focused SEO largely helps Bing too
• Consider LinkedIn where B2B audiences justify it
• Watch Microsoft's AI moves as part of the AI-search shift