How to Get Your Pages Linked in Google and Bing AI Answers

Google and Bing updated their advice on AI answers. Here is what is true now and what a small business can check this week.

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Google and Microsoft both updated their advice this year on how websites appear in AI answers. The main message is simple. Search engines link to clear, helpful pages they can find and read. This week, check that your key pages can be found, and make sure each one answers one topic plainly.

What changed this year

An AI Overview is a short summary, written by AI, at the top of some Google results. It includes links to websites. AI Mode is a chat-style search for harder questions and comparisons. Here are the recent updates:

• Google updated its guide to AI features on October 2, 2026.
• In May 2026, Google said AI answers will show more links. These include suggestions for where to go next and previews of perspectives from public discussions and social media.
• In February 2026, Microsoft rewrote the Bing Webmaster Guidelines to cover Copilot, its AI assistant, as Search Engine Journal reported.
• Microsoft also announced new AI settings for publishers. They take effect February 1, 2027.

What Google says is true now

Google says there are no extra technical requirements for AI Overviews or AI Mode. To be shown as a link, a page must be indexed. That means Google has stored it in its list of pages. The page must also be able to show with a snippet, which is a short text preview.

Google says the same basic search advice still applies. That means helpful, reliable content written for people first. Google also says AI answers may use a "query fan-out" method. This means the system runs several related searches on smaller parts of a question. Because of this, a wider set of pages can be linked.

A few more facts from Google:

• AI Overviews often do not show. They appear only when Google decides they add something to regular results.
• Visits from AI features count in the Performance report in Search Console, under the "Web" search type. Search Console is a free Google tool for site owners.
• Google says people who click from results with AI Overviews are more likely to spend more time on the site.
• Tags like nosnippet and noindex limit what Google shows. In its May 2025 advice, Google said tighter settings limit how your content appears in AI results.

Google's help page also notes that AI Overviews can make mistakes. Searchers cannot turn them off, but they can pick the Web filter to see only text links.

What Bing says is true now

Bing uses the word "grounding." Grounding means linking an AI answer to real web pages when the answer is created. Bing's guidelines now name Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. GEO means making content eligible to be used and cited in AI answers. Bing notes that GEO does not guarantee citations.

Bing's advice for being picked as a source:

• State facts directly. Do not just hint at them.
• Use clear, consistent names for your business and services.
• Keep each page focused on a single topic.
• Put the most important information near the top.

Bing's current guidelines say the NOARCHIVE tag keeps content out of Copilot answers. The NOCACHE tag limits Copilot to the page address, title and snippet. This is changing. Starting February 1, 2027, new AI Training and AI Grounding settings will replace NoArchive and NoCache for these uses. After March 1, 2027, Bing will no longer read those old tags as AI settings. Bing says blocking grounding reduces brand visibility in AI answers. It also says no setting guarantees inclusion, traffic or payment.

Bing has also added a beta tool called Topics Portfolio in Bing Webmaster Tools. It groups the AI queries where your site appears into topics. It also lists queries where other sites appear and yours does not. Bing says to treat its numbers as rough signals, not exact counts.

Steps to take this week

1. Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
2. Check access. Make sure Googlebot is not blocked and your pages load with a working status. Your web person can confirm this.
3. Fix one service page. Keep it to one topic. Put the main answer at the top. State plain facts. Use the same business name everywhere.
4. Look for limiting tags like nosnippet, noarchive or nocache. Remove any you did not mean to use. If you use NoArchive or NoCache, plan to switch before March 1, 2027.
5. Check structured data. This is code that describes your page to search engines. Google says it must match what visitors see, and you should test it.
6. Update your Business Profile and add clear photos and videos to key pages.
7. Measure more than clicks. Look at time on site and leads, too.

How I can help

I offer AI Visibility Optimization, starting price $2,497/mo. AppWT has built 600+ websites. AppWT has practiced since 1997 and has operated as AppWT since 2005. AppWT is based in Livonia, Michigan.

Have a question about anything here? Email me at sales@appwt.com or call (888) 565-0171, and I will answer it.

Sources

• AI Features and Your Website | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers, Google Search Central, 2026-10-02
• 5 new ways to explore the web with generative AI in Search, Google, 2026-05-06
• Bing Adds GEO To Official Guidelines, Expands AI Abuse Definitions, searchenginejournal.com, 2026-02-27
• Search, Bing Search Blog
• Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google's AI experiences on Search | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers, Google Search Central, 2025-05-21
• Find information in faster & easier ways with AI Overviews in Google Search - Computer - Google Search Help, Google Search Help, 2023-11-15
• Webmaster, blogs.bing.com
• AI Visibility Optimization at AppWT, AppWT