At Microsoft, we’ve been steadily advancing grounding technology for a while, building on decades of operating large‑scale search and information systems through Bing and focusing on scale, reliability, and trust. 

And today, Microsoft grounding powers nearly every major AI assistant in the market. 

While much of our work happens behind the scenes, it plays an essential and profound role in today’s AI ecosystem, providing users with answers that are fluent, factually correct, and genuinely helpful. 

Since the early days of the Internet, users have been browsing with typical patterns: typing queries, clicking on results, and selecting content that best shapes their needs. However, as AI assistants do more of the work, it’s the agents doing the browsing – and with far more precision – acting more as retrievers, drawn to structured, verifiable, and applicable content. This changes the needs of the web’s infrastructure, and therefore the infrastructure it’s built on. Enter grounding.

This is driving the emergence of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): the practice of understanding how content participates in AI-driven experiences. In an AI‑first world, visibility is no longer defined only by rankings or clicks. It’s about how content contributes to answers, citations, reasoning, and ultimately, outcomes. 

To help content owners navigate this shift, we are introducing new visibility through updates to Bing Webmaster Tools. These capabilities provide early insight into how content contributes to AI-generated experiences, including citation and grounding signals. Think of this as a first window into a broader GEO toolset, one that will continue to evolve as AI becomes a more central interface to information.  

This moment matters because it sets the context. Grounding is becoming a foundational layer of the AI ecosystem – the connective tissue between generative models and the world’s information.  As that layer becomes more important, transparency and collaboration with the web community matter more, not less. 

Our goal is to keep strengthening this infrastructure while giving publishers clearer insight into how their content participates in AI-driven experiences, and how they can benefit from it.  

There is much more coming in the months ahead. Stay tuned. 

Jordi Ribas
Corporate Vice President, Search & AI

• We need to make Bing Places for Business more discoverable to help business owners to claim their business in Bing
• The portal needs to be simplified and built with the same design principles as the rest of our products.
• Importing should be seamless. Business owners wanted to seamlessly import all their businesses to Bing without spending a lot of time by claiming or adding their business manually.

We took these insights to heart and rebuilt the experience from the ground up.

A Unified Experience Under Bing.com
One of the most significant changes is the migration of the entire business owner’s experience into the Bing.com domain. This move simplifies access, improves trust, and aligns Bing Places with the broader Bing ecosystem. Whether you're claiming a listing, updating business hours, or uploading photos, everything now lives in one cohesive space.

As part of this transition, the domain will change from www.bingplaces.com to www.bing.com/forbusiness, making it easier for business owners to find and manage their listings directly within the Bing experience.

The new experience is now live and will continue adding further features in the following months to ensure a complete and polished rollout. Our current users and their business listings will be automatically migrated to the new account and current users will be redirected to this brand-new experience when they login with their Bing Places for Business credentials.

Smarter Imports, Smoother Management
We’ve made major improvements to how business owners import listings from Google. The new import flow is faster, more reliable, and better at preserving key attributes like business name, hours, and contact details. Once imported, managing listings is easier than ever—with intuitive dashboards, bulk editing tools, and real-time status updates.

Introducing the Recommendation Tool
Launching alongside the new experience is our Recommendation Tool, designed to help new business owners enrich their listings with high-impact information that can help drive more engagement with your listing. Using listing health signals and the segment of the business, the tool suggests business owners:

• Add Photos that attract attention
• Add key missing Business details that drive engagement like website link, hours of operations, social media links
• Segment specific suggestions like adding a menu link or online order link for restaurants

This feature is especially helpful for owners who are new to local SEO and want to stand out in Bing search results.

What’s Next
This launch is just the beginning. We are continuing to invest in features that make Bing Places for Business more powerful and accessible—from deeper integrations with Bing Maps and Copilot to expanded support for agencies and other partners.

We invite all business owners to explore the new Bing Places for Business and see how easy it is to claim, manage, and grow your presence on Bing.

👉 https://www.bing.com/forbusiness

Please use our support channels to share your feedback. It will help us plan and prioritize future features and enhancements.

How Do You Enter?
Every member can claim one free entry from the Sweepstakes landing page at aka.ms/win-promo. To redeem your free entry via the landing page, you will need to log into your Microsoft account or create a new one, then you will be prompted to enter additional information via the entry page. The Microsoft Rewards Ultimate Giveaway features two chances to win:

• Daily Instant Win:** Complete one (1) search in the Bing app each day during the promotion period for a chance to win one of 650 daily cash prizes, valued from $500 to $5,000. Each day, perform at least 1 search in the Bing app. Then, tap “Check if you’re a winner” to use that day’s chance. Unused chances do not carry over to future days.
• Sweepstakes:*** The Sweepstakes will award ONE grand prize of $1,000,000 USD. Members will receive a free entry once completing the entry form. You can boost your chances and earn up to 340 bonus entries for completing various activities. These activities can be found on the Sweepstakes Entry Dashboard.

Track your entries
You can track all your entries by logging into your Microsoft account and visiting your entry tracker. Or you can sign into the Rewards page with your Microsoft account, select “Redeem” and then select "Order history.” On the Order history page, find your order and then look under “Status.” It can take up to 72 hours for entries to post.

Also, you can share your entry link with friends to earn up to 20 extra entries if it’s their first time entering the sweepstakes. For each person you refer to who enters the Sweepstakes, you will receive 5 entries. Terms apply, see terms here.

Need help?
If you encounter issues submitting your entry or your entry hasn’t posted after 72 hours, contact Rewards customer service. Once you’ve submitted the form, a member of the support team will contact you within 24 hours.

Why Join Microsoft Rewards?

• Earn points doing things you already enjoy, like searching, gaming, and shopping.
• Redeem points for gift cards, subscriptions, and charitable donations.
• And now, with this sweepstakes, you can even win cash prizes!

Start entering now—the Instant Win and Sweepstakes end on October 17, 2025.



A huge congratulations to Nate from the USA, who walked away with the life-changing grand prize of $1,000,000 USD in our last major sweepstakes! We were excited to welcome Nate to tour the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA and personally present him the check. As Nate said, “I would give it a try. You’re not losing anything, you’re only gaining from using Microsoft Rewards.”

In addition to the grand prize, several lucky participants won $10,000 USD each in the weekly drawings.

The Microsoft Rewards Ultimate Giveaway is your chance to win big while enjoying everything you already love about Microsoft Rewards. Don’t miss out—claim your free entry, complete daily activities, and invite friends to increase your chances. Every entry brings you closer to becoming our next millionaire. Start participating today and let the excitement begin!

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Instant Win and Sweepstakes: Ends 10/17/25 at 11:59:59 PM PT. Must be age of majority. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions, see Rules: https://aka.ms/win-IW-Rules (Instant Win) and https://aka.ms/win-Sweeps-Rules (Sweepstakes). Connect time charges may apply. Canadian and Mexican residents: Skill-testing question applies. Void where prohibited.

**Instant Win: Open to U.S. + D.C./P.R., CA, UK, FR, DE, NL, IE, NO, AT, ES, MX, NZ, JP, SG, KR, and CN.

***Sweepstakes: Open to U.S. + D.C./P.R., CA, UK, FR, DE, IE, NO, AT, ES, MX, NZ, JP, and SG. Sweepstakes Grand Prize: one (1) prize of $1,000,000.00 USD in cash (equivalent to approximately $1,368,780.00 CAD / £741,440.00 GBP / €856,200.00 EUR / kr10,139,100.00 NOK / $18,643,500.00 MXN / $1,662,780.00 NZD / ¥147,325,000.00 JPY / $1,280,150.00 SGD). Grand Prize will be awarded in USD dollars. Free Entries into the Grand Prize Draw with Microsoft Rewards Account: print full name, address, phone number (with area code), date of birth, and email address on a 3 x 5-inch card and mail it to “Microsoft Rewards Ultimate Giveaway Sweepstakes, Free to Enter” at the address corresponding to your country of residence in the Official Rules. Requests must be postmarked by 10/17/25 and received by 10/24/25. Additional Sweepstakes entry opportunities will be available, see terms here. These additional entry methods are subject to the Official Rules for the Sweepstakes including (but not limited to) any and all eligibility and registration requirements, as well as any limitation on the total number of entries which may be earned across all entry methods.

In 2023, Bing Image Creator brought the power of AI image generation to everyone, for free. It’s always been our mission to give you the tools to satisfy your curiosity.

That’s why starting today Bing Image Creator offers you the choice of two models to fit your needs: GPT-4o and DALL-E3. GPT-4o delivers a major leap in image generation quality, bringing users an upgraded experience with more creative and photorealistic visuals as well as a deeper understanding of detailed prompts – including improved rendering of text and fine details. Whether you’re crafting a mood board, visualizing a product idea, or simply exploring your imagination, GPT-4o brings your vision to life with richer image generation.

We recognize that creativity is nothing without freedom. That’s why now, with just a click, you can switch models to DALL-E3 to not only get quick AI image generation, but also more options to choose from – all with the same look and feel you’ve been accustomed to from Bing Image Creator.

Bing Image Creator is available on all platforms world-wide,*** including bing.com/create and within Copilot Search.





Bing Image Creator remains free to use with 15 fast creations available.*

Let your imagination run wild
We can’t wait to see what you create. To kickstart your imagination, check out two of our favorite examples below:

Prompt: A large koi fish swimming through the clouds with lanterns floating around and a crescent moon in the background – in dreamy pastel tones, realistic

Prompt: A beautiful, square, detailed, elegant, modern, scientific infographic titled “Phases of the Moon,” with illustrations for each phase, and a starry background

Try it today
Ready to create something amazing? Head to bing.com/create, open the Bing app, create directly in Copilot Search, or type directly in your Bing search bar or Edge address bar** to try Bing Image Creator.

*15 daily fast creations. Thereafter, fast creations will require 10 Rewards points per creation. Standard speed creations are unlimited.
**Bing as default search engine required
***Except Russia and China

Questions deserve answers, ideas beg for realization, and curiosity seeks satisfaction. Two years ago, we brought this belief forward with Bing Image Creator, helping users everywhere create whatever they can imagine through words—for free. Last month, we continued the next evolution of search with Copilot Search in Bing, blending the best of traditional and generative search to meet you where you are at in your discovery journey.

Today we're taking the next leap with Bing Video Creator, allowing you to turn your ideas into videos, for free. Powered by Sora, Bing Video Creator transforms your text prompts into short videos. Just describe what you want to see and watch your vision come to life. 


Bing, as your AI-powered search and answer engine, not only helps you find what you need, but gives you the freedom to create exactly what you’re looking for. 

Bing Video Creator is free and is rolling out starting today on the Bing Mobile App and coming soon to desktop and within Copilot Search. To get started, download the Bing Mobile app.

Bringing creation to your fingertips

Bing Video Creator represents our efforts to democratize the power of AI video generation. We believe creativity should be effortless and accessible to help you satisfy your answer-seeking process.

Whether you’re letting your imagination run wild, bringing a story to life, or looking for that perfect video to communicate what you’re thinking, Bing Video Creator puts the power of video creation at your fingertips. We’re excited to empower anyone to turn their words into wonder through an AI-generated video.

How to use Bing Video Creator

Getting started with Bing Video Creator is easy. Open Video Creator within the Bing Mobile app by clicking on the menu in the bottom right corner and selecting “Video Creator.” You can also type directly into the Bing mobile app search bar "Create a video of..." for quick access to video creation. Once Bing Video Creator becomes available on desktop, you can visit Bing.com/create.

Open the Bing app and click on the menu in the bottom right corner, then select "Video Creator."

Then, simply type in a description of the video you want to create in the prompt box. The best prompts provide additional context, description, and detail. Click “Create” and let AI generate your video. Feel free to continue dreaming up new videos – you’ll receive a notification when your video is ready to view. 

Check out this fun prompt below: “In a busy Italian pizza restaurant, a small otter works as a chef and wears a chef’s hat and an apron. He kneads the dough with his paws and is surrounded by other pizza ingredients."

Videos are 5 seconds long and can be created in 9:16 format with 16:9 format coming soon. You can also queue up to three video generations at a time. If all three slots are in use, you’ll need to wait for one to finish before starting another.

Once your video is done generating, you'll receive a convenient notification informing you your video is ready. You can choose to download the video, share it via email or via your favorite social media platforms, or copy and a share a direct link to the video.

Your creations are stored for up to 90 days, giving you plenty of time to download, share, or refine your prompts. 

Video creation is free to all users, with the ability to choose between Fast and Standard generation speeds. Start with 10 Fast creations to let your imagination come to life in seconds. After that, keep the creative juices flowing uninterrupted by redeeming 100 Microsoft Rewards points for each Fast creation or continue with Standard creation speeds.*

Bing Video Creator is rolling out starting today Worldwide (Excluding China and Russia).

Use cases and inspiration

Bing Video Creator is for anyone with a story to tell. Here are some ways you can use it:

1. Special moments: Need a quick, compelling visual to commemorate a special moment? Generate a short video that brings it to life!

2. Communication: Turn your idea into something easy to understand, a joke into a lasting memory, or add a customized experience to your everyday conversations. Or stand out in the scroll by sharing your creation to social media.

3. Discover: Brainstorming is now easier than ever with the ability to test creative directions, explore different styles, bring to life objects, build mood boards, and more. It's a great way to let your curiosity roam free and discover what you can imagine.

Tips and tricks

Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your AI-generated videos, these tips will help you unlock the full potential of Bing Video Creator.

1. Be Descriptive with Your Prompts 
The more vivid and specific your prompt, the better the results. Instead of “a person walking,” try “a young woman in a red coat walking through a snowy forest at sunrise.” The more detail, the better. Including camera angles and lighting also helps the model deliver what you are looking for.

2. Use Action-Oriented and Scene-setting Language 
Verbs like “dancing,” “exploring,” or “transforming” help the AI understand motion and intent, resulting in more dynamic visuals. Adjectives like “cinematic,” “sunny,” or “dreamy,” help craft the overall feeling of the video.

3. Experiment with Tone and Style 
Want something cinematic? Add “in the style of a movie trailer.” Looking for something playful? Try “animated like a cartoon.” Prompt modifiers can dramatically shift the aesthetic.

Responsible AI

At Microsoft, our teams are guided by our Responsible AI principles and the Responsible AI Standard to help them develop and deploy AI systems responsibly. To curb the potential misuse of Video Creator, we have utilized OpenAI’s existing Sora safeguards and incorporated additional protections to deliver an experience that encourages responsible use of Video Creator. For example, we have put controls in place that aim to limit the generation of harmful or unsafe videos. When our system detects that a potentially harmful video could be generated by a prompt, it blocks the prompt and warns the user. For each video created using Bing Video Creator we have implemented content credentials and provenance based on the C2PA standard to help users identify AI generated videos. 

Try Bing Video Creator today

We’re excited to see what you create with Bing Video Creator. We’re continuing to refine and evolve the experience as we bring video generation to more users. Try Bing Video Creator today: https://aka.ms/TryBingVideoCreator

The Bing team

*Up to 10 Fast creations per user. Thereafter, creations will be processed at the Standard speed. To continue using Fast creations, users may redeem 100 Microsoft Rewards points for each video. Learn more about earning Rewards points here.

Bringing you a better way to search

We've all been there – sifting through links trying to find the needle in a haystack, especially when we’re on a time crunch and need a reliable answer, now.

Copilot Search in Bing brings state-of-the-art Copilot's AI to search, so you can spend less time scrolling through pages and more time discovering. Depending on your query, you’ll get an easy-to-digest summary of the most critical points, a clear answer, or a smart layout of information to help you find what you are looking for. We’ve set out to deliver helpful, clearly cited sources, plus rich, relevant data, images and videos from your favorite publishers and content owners to inspire you to explore further. No more hunting for bits and pieces across the web to find what you need. With Copilot Search, you get the best of both a traditional search engine and generative AI chat all in one.

Discover with confidence

A clear answer is only the beginning. At Microsoft, we greatly value your trust in us and want to give you the confidence to validate and verify. That is why Copilot Search cites its sources prominently, so you know exactly where the information came from and can follow it for more context. With just a click, you can see a list of every link used to generate the curated answer.

We've designed Copilot Search with publishers and content owners in mind to support a healthy web ecosystem. In addition to the citations within the generative responses, we inline link the entire sentence or passage within the responses so you can easily navigate to the sources. We also include easy access to cited sources and all relevant web results at the top and they’re also highlighted prominently at the bottom of the result. This allows you to be just a click away from your favorite publishers and content owners.

Helping you explore deeper

Copilot Search in Bing is designed to meet you where you’re at in your discovery journey. Maybe you’re looking for a straightforward answer to a question, which then prompts an unexpected idea or thought. Maybe a simple topic leads to a delightful rabbit hole. That’s why we’ve made it easier for you to kickstart your next discovery, find new angles for your search, and unlock the possibilities of where your curiosity can take you. Each Copilot Search result will have suggestions on related subjects. These clickable topics help you uncover new information and make deeper exploration easier than ever – all without losing context in a multi-turn experience.

Once you click a topic, results are quickly summarized, and additional follow-up searches will be suggested so you can continue exploring. Plus, in Copilot Search, your previous result is accessible from the same results page, making it simple to compile information around a single topic in context. You no longer have to stop at the first answer and start a new search – the next one is waiting for you.

Half the battle of searching the web is figuring out where to start. You need both a blank canvas and a lens to new possibilities. The new Copilot Search homepage is designed to help you start your search journey: Perfect for when you want to go heads-down to write a paper, learn something new, explore a passion project, or simply let your curiosity wander.

    

Satisfy your curiosity, anywhere

We know that a lot of thoughts, questions, and ideas come up while you’re on the go. Copilot Search in Bing is also available on your mobile device, including through the Bing mobile app, so you can get summarized answers and information on the go.

We carefully designed the mobile experience to balance the rich summaries and the smaller mobile screen. It is an intuitive and seamless experience to allow you to get more and find what you’re looking for – on the go.

Built for you, the forever curious

We’ve learned a lot since launching Bing Generative Search last year, and we believe this next phase truly reimagines search. Copilot Search in Bing is built to simplify the search process for you; seamlessly find a topic to explore within your everyday search flow or act on inspiration to search for not only what you want, but the depth you want.

We’re excited to see what you discover. Try Copilot Search now: aka.ms/CopilotSearchinBing. To learn more click here.

The Bing Team

*Available WW except Russia and China

• Grand Prize: One lucky winner will walk away with an incredible $1,000,000 USD in cash! 

• Weekly Prizes: Ten winners each week will win $10,000 USD. That’s 100 chances to win big! 

How Do You Enter? 
Every member can claim one free entry from the Sweepstakes landing page. To redeem your free entry via the landing page, you will need to log into your Microsoft account or create a new one, then you will be prompted to enter additional information via the entry page. 

1. Sign In or Sign Up: Make sure you have a Microsoft account and join Microsoft Rewards.

2. Search and Earn: Search on the Bing mobile app 3 days between Monday PT and Sunday PT to be eligible for a chance to win $10,000 (USD). Search every week for more chances to win. 

3. Boost Your Chances: Earn up to 240 entries by completing various tasks. Also, you can share your entry link with friends to earn up to 20 extra entries if it’s their first time entering the sweepstakes. 

Make an Impact While You Participate Microsoft is donating up to $500,000 USD to UNICEF and the World Wildlife Fund. For every Rewards member with 100+ entries, $5 will be donated to these nonprofits. So, your participation doesn't just benefit you—it benefits the planet, too. 

Track your entries 
You can track all your entries by logging into your Microsoft account and visiting your entry tracker. Or you can sign into the Rewards page with your Microsoft account, select “Redeem” and then select "Order history.” On the Order history page, find your order and then look under “Status.” It can take up to 72 hours for entries to post. Also, you can share your entry link with friends to earn up to 20 extra entries if it’s their first time entering the sweepstakes. 

Need help? 
If you encounter issues submitting your entry or your entry hasn’t posted after 72 hours, contact Rewards customer service. When submitting the form, choose “$2 Million Sweepstakes” from the drop-down options under “What would you like assistance with?” Once you’ve submitted the form, a member of the support team will contact you within 24 hours. 

Why Join Microsoft Rewards? 

• Earn points doing things you already enjoy, like searching, gaming, and shopping. 

• Redeem points for gift cards, subscriptions, and charitable donations. 

• And now, with this sweepstakes, you can even win cash prizes! 

Don’t wait—start earning entries for the $1,000,000 USD grand prize today. The sweepstakes ends on May 25, 2025, so there’s no time to lose. 

Celebrating the Winners of the Ultimate Giveaway Sweepstakes! 
The results are in from our recent Ultimate Giveaway Sweepstakes, and it's time to celebrate the winners!



A huge congratulations to Ron G. from the USA, who walked away with the life-changing grand prize of $1,000,000 USD! Ron shared his thoughts on the program, saying, "Microsoft Rewards is just easier than other programs. I just wake up, use the Bing app, and I get my points. You don't have to go out of your way to do anything difficult!" His story is a testament to the spirit of Microsoft Rewards and how rewarding the program can be. 

In addition to the grand prize, several lucky participants won $10,000 USD each in the weekly drawings. These winners have shown that persistence and participation truly pay off. 

Microsoft Rewards members also made a significant impact! A big THANK YOU to Rewards members who earned over 50 entries. We will be donating $162,230 to two great nonprofit partners, UNICEF and the World Wildlife Fund. This generous donation is what the Microsoft Rewards community is all about. 

For those who didn’t win this time, don’t lose heart—our next $2,000,000 USD Sweepstakes features up to 240 chances to win! Microsoft Rewards offers daily opportunities to earn points through fun activities and special bonus offers. Head over to your Rewards dashboard to explore more ways to participate and win. Congratulations once again to all the winners and thank you to everyone who took part in making this sweepstakes a success. Here's to more exciting opportunities in the future! 

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, D.C. & P.R., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico. Must be a Microsoft Rewards member and at least 18 & age of majority in jurisdiction of residence. Ends 5/25/25 at 11:59:59 PM PT. Grand Prize: one (1) prize of $1,000,000.00 USD in cash (equivalent to approximately $1,433,935.00 CAD / £775,340.00 GBP / €926,381.00 EUR / ¥148,815,060.00 JPY / $20,384,035.00 MXD); Secondary Prizes (weekly entry deadlines apply): total of one hundred (100) prizes of $10,000.00 USD (equivalent to approximately $14,339.35 CAD / £7,753.40 GBP / €9,263.81 EUR / ¥1,488,150.60 JPY / $203,840.35 MXD each). All prizes will be awarded in USD dollars. Free Entries into the Grand Prize Draw with Microsoft Rewards Account: print full name, address, phone number (with area code), date of birth, and email address on a 3 x 5-inch card, and mail it to “Microsoft Rewards $2,000,000 USD Sweepstakes, Free to Enter” at the address corresponding to your country of residence in the Official Rules. Requests must be postmarked by 5/19/25 and received by 5/26/25. To enter and for Official Rules, including weekly entry deadlines, odds, and prize descriptions, visit https://aka.ms/win. Connect time charges may apply. Void where prohibited. Canadian and Mexican residents: Skill-testing question applies. Additional free entry opportunities will be available, see terms here. These additional entry methods are subject to the Official Rules for the Sweepstakes including (but not limited to) any and all eligibility and registration requirements, as well as any limitation on the total number of entries which may be earned across all entry methods.

We’re excited to introduce the ability to create images directly from the Bing search bar and even the Microsoft Edge address bar.*

                       

This makes it that much easier for you to generate stunning visuals in a flash without needing to navigate away from your current tasks. Images will appear on the search engine results page where you can recreate, share, or save your image for later. This functionality is available on both desktop and mobile.

*Bing as default serach engine required. 
 

An illustrative analysis of search data on EU elections

• Compiling a list of phrases and keywords related to the EU Parliament elections and extracting the queries that contained these terms.
• Identifying queries that led to clicks on the official EU voting information domain (https://elections.europa.eu/) and using similar methods to gather additional relevant queries.

What the analysis shows about search intent over time

Throughout the entire period, the two most searched categories by users are Candidates and Parties, along with Voting Information.

Bing is committed to continued engagement with the research society and welcomes eligible organizations’ requests to access available datasets under the Bing Qualified Researcher Program.