How to Set Up and Run Ads on Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is the most underestimated GEA channel available right now. Unlike ChatGPT Ads — which are US-only, invite-only, and require a $200,000 minimum commitment — Copilot advertising is available to any Microsoft Advertising account, in any market, at any budget, today.

The performance data is already compelling: Microsoft’s own research shows 73% higher click-through rates than traditional search advertising, 16% stronger conversion rates, and 33% shorter customer journeys. Samsung attributed 143% year-over-year revenue growth to the channel.

Most advertisers are not doing anything differently for Copilot yet. This guide changes that.

What Microsoft Copilot Ads actually are

Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant, integrated across Bing, MSN, and Microsoft Edge. When a user asks Copilot a question, the AI generates a conversational answer — and your ads can appear within or alongside that answer.

Three formats are currently available:

• Conversational placements — text ads that appear within Copilot responses, served to users whose query intent matches your campaign targets. Clearly labelled as sponsored.
• Copilot Checkout — allows users to complete a purchase directly inside the Copilot conversation, without leaving the AI interface. No click to a landing page required. Available across Bing, MSN, and Edge.
• Brand Agents — AI-powered chat experiences trained on your product catalogue. Users can ask questions, compare options, and receive personalised recommendations without leaving Copilot. Currently rolling out for Shopify merchants.

No separate campaign type or platform access is required. If you are already running Search or Performance Max campaigns in Microsoft Advertising, you are automatically eligible for Copilot placements.

Step 1 — Verify your Microsoft Advertising account is ready

Before optimising for Copilot, confirm the basics are in place:

• Your Microsoft Advertising account is active and campaigns are live
• Conversion tracking is properly configured — auto-bidding strategies rely on this to optimise Copilot placements effectively
• Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are set up for your key ad groups — Copilot uses RSAs, not Expanded Text Ads
• Auto-bidding is enabled (Target CPA or Target ROAS) — manual bidding leaves Copilot optimisation to chance

Step 2 — Enable the Microsoft Audience Network

In your campaign settings, navigate to Network Settings and ensure the Microsoft Audience Network is enabled. This extends your campaign reach to include Copilot placements across Bing, MSN, and Edge — in addition to standard Bing search results.

If you prefer to isolate and measure Copilot performance separately from standard search, create a dedicated Microsoft Audience Network campaign. This gives you independent budget control and cleaner performance data.

Step 3 — Optimise your assets for conversational context

This is where most advertisers leave performance on the table. Copilot users are reading a synthesised AI answer when your ad appears — they are in a reading mindset, not a scanning mindset. Copy written for a standard search results page performs significantly worse in this context.

Changes to make across your RSA assets:

• Write headlines as complete, readable statements. Instead of “AI Visibility Services | Expert Agency”, try “GEAFirst builds AI advertising presence for brands ready to move early.” The difference is legibility in a conversational reading context.
• Use descriptions to answer “why you, why now”. The user has already received general information from the AI. Your description should add something specific — a differentiator, an outcome, a concrete fact — that earns the click.
• Add sitelink extensions that match consideration-stage intent. “How it works”, “See our approach”, “Read the guide” outperform “Contact us” and “Get a quote” in AI contexts where users are still forming their decision.
• Include image extensions. Image assets carry more weight in Copilot placements than in standard Bing search — the conversational interface gives them more visual prominence.

Step 4 — Set up Copilot Checkout for product advertisers

If you sell products, Copilot Checkout is the most significant GEA feature available today — and requires no separate activation beyond a complete Microsoft Merchant Center feed.

To enable Copilot Checkout:

1. Ensure your Microsoft Merchant Center feed is active and up to date — product name, price, availability, and image are all required fields
2. Run Shopping campaigns linked to your Merchant Center feed
3. Enable the Microsoft Audience Network in your Shopping campaign settings

Once these are in place, eligible products automatically appear in Copilot Checkout when the AI determines a user has strong purchase intent. The user can complete the transaction inside Copilot — no redirect to your site required.

Conversion tracking for in-conversation purchases requires the Microsoft Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag on your order confirmation page. Verify this is firing correctly before Checkout goes live.

Step 5 — Explore Brand Agents (Shopify merchants)

Brand Agents are a more advanced Copilot format, currently rolling out for Shopify merchants. A Brand Agent is an AI experience trained on your product catalogue — users can ask the agent questions, compare products, and receive personalised recommendations inside Copilot without ever leaving the conversation.

Microsoft reports that Brand Agent-assisted sessions deliver higher engagement and stronger conversion than standard Copilot placements. Access is through your Microsoft Advertising representative — contact Microsoft Advertising directly or through your agency to express interest and get on the rollout list.

Step 6 — Measure Copilot performance separately

By default, Copilot placements are reported alongside Microsoft Audience Network placements in your campaign data. To isolate Copilot performance:

• In Microsoft Advertising, navigate to Reports → Performance
• Add the Ad distribution column to segment results by placement type
• Filter by “Microsoft sites” vs “Audience network” to separate Copilot-eligible inventory from broader display placements

Key metrics to track:

• Impression share in Audience Network — how often you are eligible vs. appearing
• CTR by placement type — compare Copilot vs standard search CTR, understanding the different benchmarks for each
• Conversion rate and CPA by network — Copilot typically shows lower CTR but higher conversion quality; judge on cost per acquisition, not click volume

What not to do

Two common mistakes when starting with Copilot advertising:

Judging performance against Google Search benchmarks. Copilot is not Google Search. CTR will be lower. Conversion quality will be higher. The correct benchmark is not “does this outperform Google?” — it is “does the cost per acquisition justify the spend?” For most advertisers, the answer is yes, because Copilot users are further into the decision process when they click.

Letting Copilot spend cannibalise your search budget without visibility. If Copilot placements are competing for budget within the same campaign as your core search activity, you may be starving high-performing search terms to fund untested Copilot impressions. Create a dedicated Audience Network campaign with its own budget until you have enough data to understand the performance split.

The opportunity right now

Copilot advertising is the most accessible and most underutilised GEA channel available today. The combination of any-budget access, proven performance data, and low advertiser competition makes it the strongest starting point for brands building an AI advertising presence in 2026.

The brands activating now will build campaign history, creative learning, and Quality Score signals before competition increases. The window is open. The setup takes a working day.