Short answer: Microsoft documents Bing search-history collection, but it does not publish a separate, AI Mode-specific retention schedule or complete inventory of data for Bing AI Mode. Its general Bing policy says searches can include the terms you enter, IP address, location, cookie identifiers, date and time, and browser configuration. When you use Bing while signed in to a personal Microsoft account, associated activity can appear in the Microsoft privacy dashboard.
You can review and clear account-linked activity in Privacy dashboard > Browsing and search. On Bing’s Search History page, the Show new searches here switch stops new entries from being added, but it does not erase existing history. Existing records must be cleared separately. Signed-out searches and work or school accounts follow different paths.
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Microsoft’s published time periods—18 months for using identifiable cookies and other identifiers in personalized search, and up to five years for authenticated search data used to improve products and services—are general Bing search-policy statements, not confirmed Bing AI Mode-only guarantees.
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Search terms and technical context
Microsoft Support’s current article, How Microsoft stores and maintains your search history, says Bing collects the search terms you provide together with other information. The categories named by Microsoft are:
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- Your search terms.
- Your IP address.
- Your location.
- Unique identifiers contained in cookies.
- The date and time of the search.
- Your browser configuration.
Microsoft says this information is used to improve the user experience and its products and services. Those statements describe Bing search generally. They do not, by themselves, establish that every prompt entered in Bing AI Mode is stored, trained on, or retained for a particular number of days.
Why AI Mode needs a careful qualification
Bing AI Mode is presented inside Bing, so its activity may involve ordinary Bing search systems. However, the Microsoft documentation reviewed for this article does not provide a separate page that enumerates exactly what AI Mode stores, how each prompt is classified, or how long AI Mode-specific records remain. The safest interpretation is therefore:
- Use Microsoft’s general Bing search-history controls for Bing activity that is associated with your account or device.
- Do not treat a general Bing retention statement as a feature-specific promise for AI Mode.
- Do not assume that a Copilot setting automatically changes Bing AI Mode history.
This distinction matters if you are deciding whether a sensitive question should be typed into AI Mode. Microsoft has published clearer, separate controls for consumer Copilot, but the reviewed Copilot pages do not say that those controls govern Bing AI Mode.
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Which history controls apply to your situation?
Your sign-in state and account type determine where you manage Bing activity. Use this table before following any deletion instructions.
| Situation | Where to manage activity | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Microsoft account | Microsoft Privacy dashboard, under Browsing and search or Search history; Bing’s Search History page for the new-entry switch | Turning off new entries does not erase old entries. Clear existing history separately. |
| Signed out | Bing’s Search History page and the device’s local or signed-out history controls | Privacy-dashboard deletion does not reach searches that were never associated with the account. |
| Work or school account | Bing Search History page, using Manage or clear your search history and Clear all | Organizational administration and audit rules differ from consumer-account instructions. |
A private-browser window does not change these account rules. If you sign in, Microsoft or your organization can still associate searches with that account; private browsing mainly limits what the browser keeps locally.
Manage Bing history with a personal Microsoft account
Review activity on the privacy dashboard
- Sign in to the personal Microsoft account you used while searching.
- Open the Microsoft Privacy dashboard.
- Choose Browsing and search or the dashboard’s Search history category.
- Review the searches and clicked results that Microsoft has associated with that account.
Microsoft says signed-in Bing searches can appear on this dashboard. The dashboard is the account-level view, so it is the appropriate place to check whether activity is tied to your personal account rather than merely stored in the current browser.
Clear existing account-linked history
- In the dashboard’s Browsing and search area, open Search history.
- Select the available option to clear the listed activity, then confirm.
- Refresh the page or return later to verify that the account view no longer lists the entries.
Clearing starts removal from the account. Microsoft cautions: When you clear your search history, some copies may be retained within Microsoft’s backup systems for a limited time.
That means a successful clear should not be described as instantaneous destruction of every backup copy.
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- Open a Bing.com page while signed in.
- Open the menu and choose History.
- Turn Show new searches here off.
This switch controls whether future searches appear in the Bing Search History view. It is not a deletion command. If older entries are already present, clear them through the privacy dashboard as a separate operation.
What to expect after clearing
Account-linked history can disappear from the dashboard while removal continues through Microsoft’s systems. A temporary delay or the existence of limited backup copies does not necessarily mean the clear action failed. If entries continue to appear as new searches, check that you changed the switch on the same signed-in account and that another browser or device is not using a different account.
Manage history when you are signed out
How signed-out history is treated
Microsoft says searches made while you are not signed in to a Microsoft account do not appear in that account’s privacy dashboard and are not affected by dashboard deletion. Bing provides device-level or signed-out controls on its Search History page instead.
- Open Bing’s Search History page on the device where the searches were made.
- Use the page’s available clear-history option to remove the signed-out or device-associated entries.
- If the browser itself has retained local records, clear its browsing history separately using that browser’s own settings.
Clearing browser history is not a substitute for clearing Microsoft account activity, and clearing account activity cannot remove searches that were never linked to the account. Treat them as two different storage locations.
Private browsing is not a Microsoft invisibility switch
Private or incognito mode can reduce local traces such as a browser history list, but it does not make a search invisible to Bing. If you authenticate during a private session, Microsoft’s work or school guidance indicates that the search can still be associated with that account. A private window therefore addresses local-device privacy, not Microsoft’s server-side records or an organization’s account controls.
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Clear history for a work or school account
Use the Bing Search History page
- Open Bing’s Search History page while using the work or school account.
- Find Manage or clear your search history.
- Choose Clear all and confirm the action.
Microsoft gives this route separately from the consumer privacy-dashboard instructions. Do not assume that a personal-account dashboard step will expose an organization’s Bing history.
Expect organization-specific rules
Work and school tenants can have their own administrative, audit, retention, and legal-hold requirements. The consumer Copilot activity-history article is explicitly for individual users and excludes organizational accounts. If a search remains visible or cannot be cleared, contact the organization’s administrator rather than repeatedly changing consumer settings.
How long does Microsoft keep Bing search data?
Microsoft’s current general Bing search-history article contains two time statements. They are policy periods for Bing search, not independent measurements of Bing AI Mode usage and not a separate AI Mode schedule.
| Published period | What Microsoft says | How to interpret it for AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| 18 months | For personalized search, Microsoft says it no longer uses identifiable cookies and other identifiers that could be linked to a specific account or device after 18 months. | This is a general personalized-search statement. It is not documented as an AI Mode-only deletion deadline. |
| Up to five years | Microsoft says authenticated-user search data may be retained for up to five years to improve products and services. Before retaining data longer, it says sensitive information will be removed and privacy safeguards applied. | This is the general authenticated Bing-search policy found in Microsoft’s article, not a confirmed retention promise for every AI Mode prompt. |
The figures are not user-behavior statistics
The 18-month and five-year numbers describe Microsoft’s stated handling periods. They do not say what percentage of people use AI Mode, how many users disable history, or how often a record is viewed. No named user-behavior study is established by the cited Microsoft material.
Deletion can involve backups
Microsoft says search data can be deleted at any time, while also warning that some copies may remain in backup systems for a limited time as removal proceeds. Do not promise immediate erasure from every backup, and do not infer that a visible dashboard entry is the only copy Microsoft may hold during that process.
Copilot privacy controls are a separate surface
Controls Microsoft documents for individual Copilot users
Microsoft’s article Microsoft Copilot for individuals: your privacy controls and choices lists settings for:
- Memory.
- Shared experiences.
- Chat history.
- Web search.
- Personalized advertising.
- Importing Edge browser data.
For a signed-in Copilot user, Microsoft describes the web-search path as Settings > Personalization > Web search. The personalized-advertising switch is separate from web search. These controls govern Microsoft Copilot as described on that page; it does not state that turning off Copilot web search stops Bing AI Mode from recording or displaying search history.
Copilot-generated web queries have their own documentation
Microsoft Learn says that web queries generated by Copilot and Copilot Chat are sent to Bing with user and tenant identifiers removed. It also says those generated queries are not used to improve Bing, build advertising profiles, track user behavior, or be shared with advertisers. That statement is expressly about Copilot-generated web-search queries. It should not be extended to manually entered Bing AI Mode searches without a Microsoft source that makes that connection.
The individual-user Copilot activity-history guidance was updated in Microsoft’s app documentation on August 18, 2026, but its consumer scope still does not turn it into an organizational-account policy or a Bing AI Mode retention specification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Settings that do not manage search-history collection
SafeSearch
SafeSearch filters the kinds of results Bing displays. Microsoft documents it separately from history controls. Changing SafeSearch does not turn search history off, delete existing searches, or change the account association of a query.
Browser history and cookies
Deleting a browser’s local history can remove a local record, but it does not clear activity already associated with a Microsoft account. Conversely, clearing Microsoft account history does not necessarily remove every local browser record. Handle both surfaces if you share a device and need local as well as account privacy.
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Deleting Copilot chats or changing Copilot memory settings addresses the Copilot controls Microsoft documents. It is not evidence that Bing AI Mode searches have been deleted. Use Bing’s own history controls for Bing activity.
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A practical privacy routine for Bing AI Mode
- Identify the account state before searching. Decide whether the session uses a personal Microsoft account, a work or school account, or no account.
- Use the matching history surface. Personal accounts use the privacy dashboard; signed-out sessions use Bing’s Search History page and device controls; organizational accounts use the work or school clearing path.
- Disable future entries if desired. On Bing, open Menu > History and turn off Show new searches here.
- Clear old entries separately. Use the dashboard for personal accounts or Clear all on the work or school Search History page.
- Clean local traces. If the device is shared, clear the browser’s local history and review saved cookies according to the browser’s own controls.
- Review Copilot separately. If you also use Copilot, inspect its memory, chat-history, web-search, advertising, shared-experience, and Edge-import settings; do not assume they change Bing AI Mode.
- Allow for removal processing. Microsoft says limited backup copies can remain for a time after a clear request.
Troubleshooting common privacy-setting problems
Old searches remain after turning off the switch
That is expected behavior. Show new searches here controls future additions; it does not delete the existing list. Clear the old entries through the privacy dashboard or the account-specific Search History page.
The privacy dashboard shows no search activity
Check whether the searches were made while signed out, under another personal account, or under a work or school account. Microsoft says signed-out searches do not appear in the personal-account dashboard. Also verify that you are viewing Browsing and search, not a different privacy category.
Clearing one place does not clear another
Account history, signed-out device history, and browser-local history are separate surfaces. A dashboard deletion cannot remove an unassociated signed-out record, and browser deletion cannot erase a server-side account record. Clear the relevant surfaces individually.
A Copilot toggle did not change Bing AI Mode
That result is consistent with Microsoft’s documentation. Copilot settings are documented for Copilot, while Bing AI Mode uses Bing’s history controls. Return to Bing’s Search History page and the appropriate account dashboard.
An organization blocks deletion
Use the work or school Search History page’s Manage or clear your search history section. If Clear all is unavailable or records persist, organizational policy may control retention or audit access. A consumer Copilot help page cannot override those tenant rules.
What you can and cannot conclude about Bing AI Mode
- Established: Microsoft collects specified categories of Bing search data and provides account, device, and account-type-specific history controls.
- Established: Signed-in personal-account activity can appear on the privacy dashboard, and Microsoft publishes the 18-month and up-to-five-year general search-policy periods.
- Established: Turning off new history entries is different from clearing existing entries, and backup copies may remain temporarily after clearing.
- Not established by the current documentation: A distinct AI Mode-only retention schedule, a complete AI Mode data inventory, or a guarantee that Copilot’s privacy switches control Bing AI Mode.
For the strongest practical privacy protection, choose the correct account state before searching, turn off new Bing history if you do not want future entries displayed, clear existing activity through the matching Microsoft control, and treat Copilot settings as a separate set of choices. Avoid entering information into AI Mode that you would not want handled under Microsoft’s general Bing search policies, because Microsoft has not published a narrower AI Mode-specific retention promise in the documentation described here.
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