One Line of Code Could Be Your Secret to Bing AI Search Results
It sounds almost too simple to be true, but new information reported by Matt G. Southern shows this is exactly what’s happening. A key manager at Bing has practically spelled out how they choose fresh content for their AI tools, like Copilot.
The Magic Ingredient: The <lastmod> Tag
The magic ingredient is the <lastmod> tag. This is a simple timestamp in your website’s sitemap that tells search engines the exact date a page was last changed.
For a long time, this was just seen as a “nice-to-have” part of technical SEO. Now, Bing is calling it a “key requirement.” From my perspective as a consultant, this is a major shift.
Why This Matters for AI
AI needs the absolute freshest information to be useful, and this tag is the clearest signal you can send. When you update a page and your <lastmod> tag is correct, you’re essentially raising a flag for Bing that says, “Hey, look over here! I’ve got new, valuable stuff for your AI answers!”
This helps Bing work smarter, and more importantly, it helps you get your important updates seen and used by AI faster.
The Takeaway: Check Your Sitemaps
The takeaway is clear: check your sitemaps. Make sure you’re using the <lastmod> tag and that it’s always accurate. Don’t try to game the system by changing the date without updating the content, but when you do make changes, make sure this tag reflects it.
This is a simple change that could have a huge impact on your visibility in the new world of AI search. To see the full quotes and technical details, I strongly encourage you to read Matt G. Southern’s report on Bing’s new AI indexing recommendations.