Microsoft Bing has rolled out a major update to its AI Performance reporting suite inside Bing Webmaster Tools (BWT). The new beta feature, titled Topics Portfolio, introduces high-level thematic clustering for grounding queries, helping site owners evaluate how their content is cited across Bing Copilot and generative search results.
Instead of forcing SEOs and webmasters to manually piece together fragmented, single-query data, Topics Portfolio groups AI grounding queries into overarching themes such as software, personal finance, travel, or AI chatbots.
"Today we are announcing a new beta feature inside the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. It is called Topics Portfolio, and it groups the grounding queries where your site appears into broader thematic clusters so you can see the shape of your presence across those clusters rather than one query at a time."
— Krishna Madhavan, Saral Nigam, and Vivek Jain (Microsoft Bing Team)
Key Metrics in the Topics Portfolio Dashboard
The new report organizes your generative search visibility into a multi-column thematic table:
- Topic: The broader thematic umbrella clustering related AI grounding queries where your domain has earned citations.
- Topic Size: The estimated aggregate citations across all competing websites for that theme during the selected timeframe. This acts as a reliable gauge of overall AI search demand.
- Sites Cited: The estimated number of unique domains being cited for queries within the topic, indicating competitive density and saturation.
Queries: The approximate count of distinct grounding queries associated with that specific cluster.
Uncovering Citation Gaps: Top Opportunity Queries
One of the most practical additions to the dashboard is the Top Opportunity Queries view. This module highlights queries across your entire portfolio where competing domains are being cited by Bing's AI, but your domain is currently missing.
Rather than guessing where your content falls short in generative answer engines, webmasters can use this data to target specific content gaps and entity associations. Note that citation volumes in the Opportunity Queries tab are presented as ranges rather than raw exact counts.
Granular Topic Deep Dives
Site owners can also click directly into any thematic cluster to view an expanded breakdown. This view details:
- Total market topic size vs. your website's exact citations within that topic.
- Total queries triggering citations.
- Two dedicated query tables segmenting where your site actively appears versus where competitor grounding dominates.
Data Requirements and Current Limitations
| Feature Aspect | Current Beta Status |
|---|---|
| Access Eligibility | Available in Bing Webmaster Tools only for sites with sufficient AI grounding query volume. |
| Click & Referral Data | Not available yet. The report currently tracks AI citations and presence metrics only. |
| Query Aggregation | Clustered dynamically by Microsoft's semantic topic modeling algorithms. |
Strategic Takeaways for Webmasters & SEOs
As search shifts toward answer engines and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), evaluating single keywords in isolation is no longer enough. Bing's Topics Portfolio provides a clear macro perspective on which content verticals hold authority in AI synthesis, where competitor sites are winning citations, and where targeted content updates can recapture generative search real estate.