Over the past two years, many advertisers have overlooked Bing, treating it as a low-priority channel with a small budget. But Microsoft’s latest earnings make it harder to ignore.
But Microsoft’s third-quarter fiscal 2026 results show how quickly its advertising business is gaining momentum:
- Search advertising revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, grew 12% year over year, up from 10% the prior quarter.
- Bing's monthly active users crossed 1 billion for the first time.
- Microsoft's AI business hit a $37 billion annual revenue run rate, up 123% year over year.
- LinkedIn revenue grew 12% year over year, with growth across all lines of business.
Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said the rebound in search advertising came from both higher volume and higher revenue per search on Edge and Bing.
This means both demand and results improved at the same time rather than one masking a decline in the other.
I work across paid media, Bing Ads, Google Ads, SEO, and AI search for a wide range of clients, and this is the kind of earnings report that should change how brands think about a channel they've likely been under-managing.
The pattern behind the numbers
For a long time, Bing was seen as a smaller, cheaper add-on to Google in most paid media strategies, often left on autopilot with little budget.
That view is now outdated.
Microsoft’s research shows Copilot gets 73% higher click-through rates and 16% better conversion rates than traditional search ads, and customers move from search to purchase more quickly.
With Bing reaching more than 1 billion monthly active users, advertisers have a stronger case for reassessing how much attention the platform receives in paid search plans.
Microsoft’s gains also extend to LinkedIn, where advertising revenue grew 12% year over year as the company continues investing in audience data and targeting capabilities.
Its Talent Solutions tools have reached a $450 million annual run rate, and the platform keeps improving identity resolution and audience targeting.
For B2B advertisers, this supports what I’ve told clients: LinkedIn still has real pricing power and is getting more precise as Microsoft invests in it.
This doesn’t mean you should stop using Google.
It’s a reminder that many media plans treat Microsoft’s search ecosystem as a minor detail, but the latest data shows it deserves more attention.
What I'd do if I were reviewing your account right no
Start by reviewing your budget split.
If you haven’t given Bing a real strategic review in the past two quarters, do it now.
Check actual performance data instead of relying on old assumptions, and ask whether your current budget matches Bing’s scale or whether it’s just based on old habits.
Second, check your technical setup.
Another area worth reviewing is Microsoft Advertising’s API transition.
The platform is moving new features to REST from October 1, 2026, before ending SOAP support on January 31, 2027.
Advertisers using external tools for campaign management or reporting should confirm those connections are ready for the change.
If they haven't, those integrations will break.
Then, look beyond the ad auction.
Copilot’s strong performance isn’t just a Microsoft story.
It also shows how AI is changing search behavior across the board.
Brands that rely only on keywords and bid strategies may miss opportunities as AI tools become part of more search experiences.
Search visibility now depends on how clearly a brand’s information is represented across both traditional search results and AI-generated answers.
The real question isn’t whether the data is accurate; it’s whether your current media plan takes it into account.
