Can Traditional SEO Trackers Check Rankings in Bing and Brave, the Sources AI Engines Use?

Which AI engines draw on which search index?

The evidence for the Claude link is strong; for ChatGPT it is mixed. In a February 2025 study, Seer Interactive found that 87% or more of ChatGPT search citations matched Bing's top 20 results for the same question, against 56% for Google. But an Ahrefs study of 15,000 prompts in July 2025 found ChatGPT's citations overlapped Bing's and Google's top 10 about equally, around 8% each. A study of about 35,000 Claude citations, reported by MERJ, found 79.2% were in Brave's top 10 for the matching query, against 34% for Google's top 10.

Can traditional SEO trackers check Bing rankings?

Yes. Bing tracking is a standard feature in many rank trackers, usually with location and device options, and often at little or no extra cost. Microsoft retired its public Bing Search APIs in 2025. Do-it-yourself Bing checks therefore now rely on rank trackers, SERP data providers or manual searches rather than an official API. Bing Webmaster Tools also shows your own search performance on Bing. Its AI Performance report shows when your pages are cited in Copilot and Bing's AI answers.

Can they check Brave rankings?

Fewer tools support Brave, but the number is growing as its role in AI search becomes clearer. Three options:

1. A rank tracker with Brave support, if your tool offers it or you add one for Brave only.
2. The Brave Search API. It returns Brave's web results for a query. At $5 per 1,000 requests and $5 of free monthly credit, checking 200 questions weekly costs a few dollars a month. It needs a simple script.
3. Manual checks on search.brave.com for a small set of priority questions.

Brave's index is independent and discovers pages differently from Google, partly through anonymous data from Brave browser users who opt in. New or little-visited pages can take longer to appear there. Brave offers a form to request a re-fetch of a URL, but not a way to force indexing.

How can content ranking on Bing, Google, and Brave help AI visibility?

AI engines generally retrieve a set of candidate pages by searching, then choose passages from those pages to build the answer. A page that does not rank anywhere in the relevant index is rarely in that candidate pool. Ranking helps in three ways:

• Eligibility: pages must be indexed and reasonably placed to be retrieved.
• Coverage of narrower searches: AI engines split questions into several searches, so ranking for specific related questions matters as much as the headline keyword.
• Corroboration: pages that rank across indexes are more often found by several engines.

Ranking does not guarantee citation. Engines pick the passage that best answers each part of the question, so a lower-ranked page with a clearer answer can be chosen. To improve in each index:

What should you track in each index?

• Question-style searches your buyers use, not only short keywords.
• The narrower searches behind those questions, such as "[service] pricing", "[product] vs [competitor]" and "[service] for [audience]".
• Your key pages' positions, and which competitors' pages outrank them.
• Changes after major content updates, to see which index responds and how quickly.

Then compare rank data with citation data from the matching engine. Bing rankings pair with ChatGPT and Copilot citations, Brave rankings with Claude, and Google rankings with AI Overviews and AI Mode.

How do you set up combined tracking?

1. Pick 30–60 buyer questions and the narrower searches behind them.
2. Track Google and Bing positions in your rank tracker for the same list.
3. Add Brave through a supporting tool, the API or manual checks for the top 20.
4. Run the questions in the AI engines several times and record citations.
5. Build one table per question: Google, Bing and Brave position, and whether each engine cited you.
6. Look for mismatches: strong in Google but weak in Bing and absent from ChatGPT, for example, points to Bing indexing or ranking work.

Consider an illustrative project management tool that finds that its "Gantt chart software for construction" page ranks third in Google and appears in AI Overviews. But it ranks 41st in Bing and is missing from Brave's top 50. ChatGPT names three competitors for the question and never cites the page, and Claude does the same. Bing Webmaster Tools shows the page was discovered but not indexed for months, because the sitemap was never submitted there. After submitting the sitemap and enabling IndexNow, the page enters Bing's index within weeks; it reaches Brave's index later, once visitors and links make it discoverable. It starts appearing in ChatGPT and Claude citations the following month. Nothing about the content itself changed; only its presence in the indexes those assistants search.

What are the limits of rank data as a proxy?

• Engines rewrite queries, so the searches they run may not match your tracked keywords exactly.
• Answers blend sources, and some citations come from pages outside the top results.
• Personalisation and location change both rankings and answers.
• Model memory answers some questions without searching at all.

Rank data explains why a page could not be cited. Citation tracking shows whether it was. Why AI engines' rankings and Google's differ is covered in whether AI search engines rely on Google rankings.

What do people ask about Bing and Brave tracking?

Is Bing worth tracking if almost no one uses it directly?

Yes, for AI visibility. Its index feeds Copilot and is one of the indexes ChatGPT's search providers are thought to draw on, which reach far more people than Bing's own search page.

Does Brave matter outside Claude?

Brave's own search engine and its AI answers have their own users, and its API supplies results to various AI tools. Claude is the most prominent assistant using it.

Does Perplexity have a trackable index?

Yes, through its Search API. Perplexity's Search API, at $5 per 1,000 requests, returns ranked results from its own index, so a small script can check whether your pages appear for each question. Track Perplexity citations as well, because the answer engine rewrites queries and picks passages rather than whole rankings.

How often should Bing and Brave rankings be checked?

Weekly or monthly is enough for most sites, aligned with your AI citation checks so you can compare them.