Bing tests calling its Copilot Search tab AI Mode

Bing is testing the label AI Mode on the search tab that normally reads Copilot Search. Sachin Patel posted two screenshots on X on 25 September 2026, and Search Engine Roundtable reported the test the same day. Microsoft has not commented, so treat it as an experiment.

What does the test show?#

Patel’s screenshots show a Bing results page for the query “Seo tools”. Between the All and Images tabs sits a tab labelled AI MODE, with a small icon beside it. Search Engine Roundtable published the version most users see, where the same tab reads Copilot Search.

Why does the name matter?#

AI Mode is the name Google uses for its conversational search experience. This is the second time in a month Bing has tested one of Google’s labels. On 27 August 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported Bing testing AI Overviews, Google’s name for its AI answers, on the Copilot answer box at the top of results. Patel spotted that one too.

Neither report includes an explanation from Microsoft. One reading is that Microsoft is testing whether names searchers already know from Google get more clicks than its own brand. Nothing published confirms that.

What should site owners do?#

Nothing changes in how Bing’s AI answers pick or cite sources, as far as either report shows. The useful step is the one available already. Bing Webmaster Tools’ AI Performance report, in public preview since February 2026, counts how often Copilot and Bing AI answers cite your pages and shows the queries behind them. Our breakdown of that report covers what each metric means. If Bing does rename the tab, the report is where any change in citations would show first.

Why we care#

Labels shape where searchers click, and a tab named after Google’s feature is an admission of where attention has settled. For SEOs the test is a signal, not an action item. Follow AI search for whether either name ships, and see Google’s own AI Mode button test in the search bar for the other side of the same contest.