Microsoft Bing announced that it has added a beta version of a new feature, “Topics Portfolio,” to the “AI Performance” report in Bing Webmaster Tools. It groups the search terms used as the basis for AI answers (grounding queries) by topic, letting users assess a site’s presence, the size of a topic, how crowded the competition is, and room for growth. The feature is available when a site has sufficient data.
Reading a site’s presence through clusters of search terms
AI search uses multiple search terms behind the scenes to answer users’ questions. Sites selected as sources for those search terms are then shown as the basis for the answers. Topics Portfolio groups these “search terms used as the basis for answers” into broader topics such as soccer, taxes, and AI chatbots.
Until now, analysis has largely involved looking at search terms one by one. Many site operators have likely found that when faced with hundreds or thousands of terms, it is hard to see which areas their sites are strong or weak in. Grouping terms by topic brings the site’s overall profile into view, like a map.
The report appears only when enough data has accumulated for a site. It is natural to think of this as a feature that will initially be used by sites of a certain size.
Size, competition, and room for growth on one screen
The table displays several metrics. Topic Size is an estimate of the total number of citations across all sites for a topic, indicating the level of demand in AI search. Sites Cited is the number of sites appearing for that topic and serves as a measure of how crowded the field is. Queries is the number of search terms within the topic.
Topics with high demand and relatively few cited sites could be promising opportunities. Conversely, a topic with many cited sites can be seen as an already crowded market. It is similar to trade-area analysis for choosing a store location, where you assess both customer traffic and the number of competing stores.
Finding overlooked search terms with Opportunity Queries
Another dimension is “Top Opportunity Queries.” It lists search terms across topics for which other sites are cited but your own site does not appear. Citation counts are shown as ranges rather than exact figures.
The detail view for a specific topic shows the topic’s size, the number of citations for your site within that topic, and the number of search terms. The search terms are organized into two tables. The design lets users compare areas where their site is gaining ground with those where it is missing opportunities, all on one screen.
AI search analysis shifts from rankings to citations
Traditional web analytics focused on search rankings and clicks. This feature tracks how often a site was used as a source in AI answers. Rather than measuring views or visits, it measures the fact that a site was “selected,” shifting the evaluation criteria in a new direction.
For site operators, this provides more material for considering not only article-level traffic but also the topics in which their site is regarded as a reliable source. It could serve as a foundation for planning content by topic.
One point to keep in mind is that tracking citations and measuring their impact on traffic acquisition are different things. Click data is not included at this point, so other metrics are needed to determine how citations translate into actual traffic or results. The feature is still in beta, and its future expansion will be worth watching.
The Bing Webmaster Tools development team says that seeing a site’s strengths, the level of competition by topic, and room for growth together can help users understand their visibility in AI. Another distinguishing feature is that Opportunity Queries based on real data are presented in a personalized way for each site.
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