In short. Select Sources below a Copilot Chat response to inspect the exact query sent to Bing.
Definition: In Microsoft Copilot Chat, select the Sources button below the response. The Sources view shows the exact query that Copilot sent to Bing and the sources used for the response.
Key facts
- Microsoft's web search help places the Sources button below a response when Copilot uses web search.
- Selecting Sources displays the exact query sent to Bing and the sources Copilot used.
- Copilot generates a short Bing query from a few words in the prompt or from an uploaded file.
- The full prompt or file is used as the query only when it is already very short, such as “New York City weather.”
- Microsoft Learn says the linked citation section shows exact web search queries derived from the user's prompt.
- Web search query citations are available only in Microsoft Copilot Chat, and the query remains in the chat thread for 24 hours.
Where is the query shown?
The inspection point is part of the response interface. After Copilot Chat returns an answer that used web search, look below the response for Sources and select it. Microsoft's web search documentation says that this control opens the exact Bing query together with the sources used. The display therefore exposes the query as Copilot sent it to Bing, rather than requiring a website owner to infer it from the answer or from a referral URL.
Microsoft Learn calls the same UI area the linked citation section. Its documentation says the section shows the exact web search queries derived from the user's prompt and the sites searched. The visible query is therefore a record of the web-search request associated with that response.
What does Copilot send to Bing?
Copilot uses a short search query. The support page says it generates the query from a few words in the prompt or any uploaded file. It also gives the exception that the full prompt or file is not used as the query unless it is already very short, with “New York City weather” as its example.
Microsoft Learn describes the preceding step as parsing the prompt, identifying terms for which web information may improve the response, and generating a query sent to the Bing search service. The same page states that the generated query differs from the original prompt and contains a few words informed by it. This makes the Sources display useful for checking the wording that reached Bing, while the original prompt remains a separate input.
Which Copilot surface keeps the display?
Microsoft Learn documents web search query citations as available only in Microsoft Copilot Chat. It says that citations are unavailable in the Copilot pane inside a Microsoft 365 app, with Word and PowerPoint as examples. The web search queries remain available in the chat thread for 24 hours.
The documentation also separates user inspection from administrator review. Microsoft says web search query logging lets administrators perform search, audit, and eDiscovery on the exact queries derived from a user's prompt. A website owner can inspect the user-facing Sources view when it is present; the administrator logging path belongs to the tenant's Microsoft 365 controls.
Related terms
- Microsoft Copilot
- Copilot Search in Bing
- Does Copilot Chat send the full prompt or file to Bing search?
FAQ
Does the Sources panel show the complete Copilot prompt?
No. Microsoft documents a short Bing query generated from a few words in the prompt or an uploaded file. The full prompt or file is used as the query only when it is already very short.
Can the query be inspected in Word or PowerPoint's Copilot pane?
Microsoft Learn says web search query citations are unavailable in the Copilot pane within a Microsoft 365 app, including Word or PowerPoint. The documented user-facing display is in Microsoft Copilot Chat.
How long is the query visible in the chat thread?
Microsoft says the web search queries are available in the chat thread for 24 hours. The same documentation separately describes administrator query logging for search, audit, and eDiscovery.
Sources
- Microsoft Support, “How web search works in Microsoft Copilot Chat and agents”, 1 October 2026
- Microsoft Learn, “Data, privacy, and security for web search in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Chat”, 18 August 2026
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