Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing, and does Bing matter for a B2B firm?

When a buyer asks ChatGPT to suggest a supplier and it goes to the web for the answer, where do the results come from? Many founders assume Google, because that is where they look themselves. The honest answer is less tidy, and it changes what you should do about Bing.

OpenAI does not name a single search engine. Its help page says ChatGPT search "sometimes partners with other search providers" and, when it does, rewrites your question into one or more targeted queries and sends them to those providers. The privacy policies it points users to for those providers are Microsoft's and Shopify's (OpenAI Help Center). ChatGPT also runs its own search crawler, OAI-SearchBot.

The best outside evidence points to Bing. A small test by Seer Interactive in February 2025 found that 87% of ChatGPT search citations matched Bing's top results, against 56% for Google (Seer Interactive, February 2025). Microsoft Copilot, which many buyers use at work, grounds its web answers in Bing by design. So for a UK B2B firm, an afternoon spent getting Bing right is time well spent.

#What has OpenAI said about where ChatGPT search gets its results?

OpenAI has said three things in public, and left a good deal unsaid.

It uses search partners. The help page reads: "ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers. When it does, ChatGPT search typically rewrites your query into one or more targeted queries that it sends those providers." It adds that ChatGPT may share a general location with those providers, but not your IP address or account details, and it links to Microsoft's and Shopify's privacy policies for how the providers may process queries. When ChatGPT search launched in October 2024, Search Engine Land reported Microsoft's Bing as one of the providers.

It runs its own crawler. OpenAI's crawler page says OAI-SearchBot is "used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features", and that "sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers" (OpenAI, crawler overview). A change to your robots.txt can take about 24 hours to register. The help page adds that your host or content delivery network must allow traffic from OpenAI's published search crawler IP addresses.

It fetches pages on request. When a user asks ChatGPT to look at a page, the ChatGPT-User agent may visit it, and OpenAI says robots.txt rules may not apply to those visits.

What OpenAI has not published, in the pages we read: which provider handles which query, how much weight each gets, or whether the arrangement changes by country or over time. Treat any confident claim about a current contract with care.

#Is there evidence that ChatGPT's answers follow Bing?

Yes, from one small test. Seer Interactive asked ChatGPT about 100 questions, collected more than 500 citations, then ran the same questions in Google and Bing and matched the links. 87% of citations matched Bing's top results, most of them in Bing's top ten. 56% matched Google's results, and the Google matches sat at a median position of 17.

Read it as a signal. The test ran on SearchGPT, the early version of ChatGPT search, at one moment in time. The authors themselves list reasons the match was not 100%, including ChatGPT simplifying the query before it searches. It is still the clearest public evidence, and it agrees with what OpenAI's help page implies.

#Does ChatGPT use Google at all?

Not according to anything OpenAI publishes about search. ChatGPT also answers from memory, meaning what the model learned in training, and those answers only change when the model is retrained, which takes months. Our guide on how ChatGPT decides which firms to name explains the two routes.

In practice, the overlap is large. Strong pages tend to rank on both engines, which is why Seer still found a majority match with Google. SEO work for Google helps with Bing too. The gap is usually setup: sites that have never told Bing they exist.

#Which assistant searches which index?

Here is what each main assistant draws on for live web results, and which crawler has to reach your site.

Microsoft's documentation is the clearest of all. When web search is on, Copilot reads the user's prompt, picks out the terms where web information would help, and "generates a search query that it sends to the Bing search service asking for more information" (Microsoft Learn, updated August 2026). For the wider picture of how the assistants differ, see which AI assistants buyers actually use.

#Does Bing matter for a UK B2B firm?

Yes, for two reasons, and neither depends on anyone using Bing as a search engine. First, Copilot: Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats in July 2026 (Microsoft, July 2026), and its web answers come through Bing. Second, ChatGPT: the evidence above suggests Bing shapes at least part of what ChatGPT search finds.

The cost of acting is small. The setup below takes an afternoon and leaves your Google setup untouched.

#How do you get your site into Bing?

Six steps. Your developer can do most of them in one sitting, and the first three follow Microsoft's own getting-started guide (Bing Webmaster Blog, June 2025).

#Step 1: Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools

Sign in at bing.com/webmasters with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account. If your site is already verified in Google Search Console, import it from there; that is the quickest route. Otherwise verify with a DNS record, a meta tag or an XML file.

#Step 2: Submit your sitemap

Add your XML sitemap under Sitemaps in Bing Webmaster Tools, or reference it in your robots.txt file.

#Step 3: Turn on IndexNow

IndexNow tells Bing and the other search engines that support it when you add, update or delete a page, so they do not wait for the next crawl. Microsoft recommends it to keep AI answers pointing at the current version of your pages.

#Step 4: Let the right crawlers in

Check that robots.txt allows Bingbot and OAI-SearchBot, and that your CDN or firewall does not block them. Blocking GPTBot, OpenAI's training crawler, does not remove you from ChatGPT search; blocking OAI-SearchBot does. Our guide to AI crawlers and robots.txt covers the settings in detail.

#Step 5: Check where you rank in Bing for buyer questions

Search Bing, in a private window, for ten questions your buyers ask. Note where you appear and which pages rank. Compare with Google. In our experience, a page that ranks on Google but not on Bing usually points to a setup problem.

#Step 6: Watch Bing's AI Performance report

Microsoft added an AI Performance report to Bing Webmaster Tools in public preview in February 2026. It shows how often your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot, Bing's AI summaries and "select partner integrations", which pages are cited, and the grounding queries used to find them. It does not show clicks (Bing Webmaster Blog, February 2026). Microsoft did not say which partners are included, so do not read it as a ChatGPT report.

#What is still not confirmed?

Four things, and a good adviser will say so plainly.

• OpenAI does not name Bing on its ChatGPT search help page. It refers to search providers and links to Microsoft's privacy policy.
• Nobody outside OpenAI knows how much of ChatGPT search relies on any one provider, or whether that varies by country or type of question.
• Microsoft has not said whether the "partner integrations" in its AI Performance report include ChatGPT.
• Seer's result comes from a small test of an early version in 2025. It may not hold today.

None of this changes the advice. Bing setup is cheap, it decides what Copilot can find of your site, and it probably helps with ChatGPT.

#What to do this month

1. Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, importing it from Google Search Console if you can.
2. Submit your sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools and ask your developer to turn on IndexNow.
3. Check that robots.txt and your CDN or firewall allow Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and Googlebot.
4. Search Bing and Google for ten buyer questions and list the pages that rank on one but not the other.
5. Open the AI Performance report once a month and note which pages Copilot cites.

#Frequently asked questions

#Does ChatGPT use Google search results?

OpenAI has not said so on its pages about ChatGPT search, which refer to third-party search providers and link to Microsoft's privacy policy. In Seer's small 2025 test, 56% of ChatGPT search citations matched Google's results, against 87% for Bing. Good pages often rank on both, so SEO work for Google still helps.

#If we block GPTBot, do we disappear from ChatGPT search?

No. OpenAI treats the two crawlers separately. GPTBot collects content that may be used to train its models; OAI-SearchBot finds pages for ChatGPT search. Only blocking OAI-SearchBot keeps you out of ChatGPT search answers.

#How quickly does a Bing fix show up in ChatGPT or Copilot?

Assistants that search the web live can reflect a new or fixed page within weeks. Answers drawn from a model's memory change only when the model is retrained, which takes months. IndexNow shortens the time it takes Bing to learn about a change.

#Does ranking first on Bing mean ChatGPT will name us?

No. Ranking helps but does not guarantee a mention. ChatGPT rewrites one question into one or more searches, so cover the follow-up questions a buyer would ask, and earn mentions on other sites that the assistants trust.

#Is Bing Places worth setting up for a B2B firm?

If clients visit you at an office, yes. In its AI Performance announcement, Microsoft suggests local businesses keep their details accurate through Bing Places for Business. Make the name, address, phone number and website match your own site exactly.

#Do we need to do anything different for Copilot?

The same Bing setup covers most of it. Copilot at work can also draw on the buyer's own Microsoft 365 files and email, so the documents you send matter as well as your website.

If you would like us to check how your site shows up in Bing, ChatGPT and Copilot, book a free Growth Review. Fixing the technical side is part of Website That Sells.

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