Schema Markup for AI Search: The 7 Types That Drive AI Citations
FAQPage, LocalBusiness, Organization, Article, HowTo, AggregateRating and Product — the JSON-LD types that turn your content into AI-citable facts.
Why is schema the AI's cheat sheet?
JSON-LD turns your content into structured facts an AI can ingest without guessing. These seven types cover the vast majority of citation triggers.
The critical three
FAQPage marks Q&A for direct extraction. LocalBusiness defines a place. Organization establishes the brand entity and knowledge-graph node.
The high-impact four
Article/BlogPosting (author + date editorial signals), HowTo (step-by-step AEO magnet), AggregateRating (trust), and Product (e-commerce recommendations).
Validate everything
Run your markup through Google's Rich Results Test before shipping — malformed JSON-LD is worse than none.
Schema types by GEO impact
| Type | Impact | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| FAQPage | Critical | Marks Q&A for AI extraction |
| LocalBusiness | Critical | Defines a local entity / place |
| Organization | High | Brand entity + knowledge graph |
| Article | High | Editorial signal (author + date) |
| HowTo | High | Step-by-step AEO content |
| AggregateRating | High | Star ratings in AI recommendations |
| Product | Medium | E-commerce AI recommendations |
Frequently asked questions
Which schema type drives the most AI citations?⌄
FAQPage, because it explicitly maps questions to answers in a format AI lifts directly. LocalBusiness and Organization are close behind for entity definition.
Can I use multiple schema types on one page?⌄
Yes. Combine them in an @graph — for example Organization + FAQPage + BreadcrumbList on a homepage.
Does invalid schema hurt me?⌄
Malformed JSON-LD can be ignored or flagged. Always validate with Google's Rich Results Test before publishing.
