--- title: "Bing tests calling its Copilot Search tab AI Mode" url: https://seomadman.com/news/bing-ai-mode-search-tab-test section: news published: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z author: Adam Hafez topics: ["AI search", "SERP features"] --- # Bing tests calling its Copilot Search tab AI Mode ## The short answer Bing is testing a search tab labelled AI Mode in the place where it normally shows Copilot Search, per screenshots Sachin Patel posted on 25 September 2026. It follows an August test that renamed Bing's AI answer box AI Overviews. Both are Google's product names. Microsoft has not commented, so the test may not ship. ## Key takeaways - Sachin Patel posted screenshots on 25 September 2026 showing an AI MODE tab between All and Images on a Bing results page. - Outside the test, the same tab is labelled Copilot Search, according to Search Engine Roundtable's comparison. - In August 2026 Bing tested labelling its Copilot answer box AI Overviews, the name Google uses for its AI answers. - Microsoft has made no statement about either test, so neither name change is confirmed. - The practical measurement tool is unchanged, since Bing Webmaster Tools reports citations across Copilot and Bing AI answers. 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](/news/bing-ai-performance-citations) 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](/topics/ai-search) for whether either name ships, and see Google's own [AI Mode button test in the search bar](/news/google-search-bar-ai-mode-button-test) for the other side of the same contest. ## Frequently asked questions ### Has Bing replaced Copilot Search with AI Mode? No. It is a test seen by some users. Search Engine Roundtable reports the tab still reads Copilot Search outside the test, and Microsoft has not commented. ### Is this the first time Bing has tested a Google product name? No. In August 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported Bing testing the label AI Overviews on its Copilot answer box, with the Copilot logo kept alongside it. ### Does the name change affect how sites are cited in Bing's AI answers? Nothing reported suggests it does. The test changes a label on the tab. How Bing picks sources is not part of either report. ## Sources 1. [Bing tests AI Mode tab in its search menu](https://x.com/SachuPatel53124/status/2103416173127929938) - Sachin Patel on X (primary) 2. [Bing Tests Replacing Copilot With AI Mode In Search Tabs](https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-ai-mode-search-tabs-42165.html) - Search Engine Roundtable 3. [Microsoft Bing Testing Renaming Copilot Search Answer To AI Overviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-testing-copilot-search-ai-overviews-41953.html) - Search Engine Roundtable 4. [Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview](https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/February-2026/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview) - Bing Webmaster Blog (primary)