Schema markup is being sold hard as the way to get into AI answers. Google's own documentation disagrees.
That doesn't make schema useless. It makes it useful for different reasons than you're being told. Here's the honest version, including which type just got switched off.
Not as a requirement. Google states that to be eligible for AI features a page needs to be indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet, that there are no additional technical requirements, and that structured data is not required (Google Search Central).
That's about as direct as Google gets. If someone is selling you schema as the AI visibility unlock, they're selling something Google says isn't needed.
Three real reasons.
Entity clarity. Schema states machine-readable facts about who you are, where you are, and what you do, without a system having to infer them from your prose. Google says adding Organization markup to your homepage "can help Google better understand your organization's administrative details and disambiguate your organization in search results" (Google).
Rich results in ordinary search. Some types still produce visible enhancements, and ordinary search is still where your clicks come from.
Cheap and durable. It's a one-time implementation that doesn't need feeding.
What it is not is a lever that moves AI citation rates. Set expectations accordingly.
1. Organization. On your homepage. Name, logo, address, contact points, social profiles. Google notes properties here can influence which logo is shown in Search results and the organization's knowledge panel (Google). There are no required properties, so add what genuinely applies.
2. LocalBusiness. If you have a physical location or defined service area, this is the more specific version. Google states that search results "may display a prominent Google knowledge panel with details about a business that matched the query," and that for category searches like "best NYC restaurants" users "may see a carousel of businesses" (Google). Only address and name are required, though include hours and coordinates.
3. BreadcrumbList. Unglamorous and genuinely supported. Google lists Breadcrumb as a current structured data feature showing "navigation that indicates the page's position in the site hierarchy" (Google). It clarifies site structure for both crawlers and models.
4. Article or BlogPosting. For every blog post. Google lists Article as a supported feature that can produce "the title of the article and larger-than-thumbnail images" (Google).
5. Person. For practitioners, attorneys, instructors, coaches. In service businesses the person often is the offer, and this connects a name to credentials and a role explicitly.
6. Event. Only if you genuinely run classes, workshops or webinars. Google lists Event as a supported feature producing "an interactive rich result that shows a list of organized events" (Google). For a studio running a workshop series this is one of the few types with obvious direct value.
FAQPage. It's over. Google's documentation now states "The FAQ rich result feature is no longer shown in Google Search results" and that "this feature will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026" (Google). Google had already narrowed it in September 2023 to "well-known, authoritative government and health websites."
Keep writing FAQ sections. They help readers and they're easy for models to extract. Just don't spend money marking them up.
Review and AggregateRating about yourself. This is the trap. Google states that if the reviewed entity controls the reviews about itself, "their pages that use LocalBusiness or any other type of Organization structured data are ineligible for star review feature" — including reviews placed via an embedded third-party widget (Google). Google also states aggregateRating is "only recommended for sites that capture reviews about other local businesses."
So the star ratings on your own testimonials page won't earn stars in search. Agencies still sell this.
Modest, and Google says so itself: it "does not guarantee that features consuming structured data will appear in Search results" (Google).
Treat schema as hygiene. It's the sort of thing you do once, correctly, and then stop thinking about. It is not a growth channel.
If you want the things that actually move AI visibility, our self-audit walkthrough covers them in order of impact, and GEO vs AEO vs SEO explains why the terminology is mostly marketing.
Most service businesses need an hour of work here, once. If a proposal quotes ongoing monthly schema management, ask what changes month to month.
Does schema markup help with ChatGPT or Perplexity visibility?
There's no evidence it's required. Google explicitly states structured data isn't needed for its own AI features. Schema helps machines read your facts unambiguously, which is worth something, but it isn't the lever.
Is FAQ schema still worth adding?
No. Google has stated the FAQ rich result is no longer shown and will not appear from May 7, 2026. Keep the FAQ content, drop the markup.
Can I add star ratings to my own site?
You can add the markup, but Google states pages where the entity controls reviews about itself are ineligible for the star review feature.
Do I need schema on every page?
No. Organization on the homepage, Article on posts, LocalBusiness on your location page, Breadcrumb site-wide. That's most of it.
What's the difference between schema, structured data and JSON-LD?
Schema.org is the vocabulary, structured data is the general concept, JSON-LD is the format. People use them interchangeably.
Implement Organization, LocalBusiness if relevant, Breadcrumb, Article and Person once, properly, and then forget about it. Add Event if you run classes.
Skip FAQ Page, skip self-referential review markup, and don't pay a monthly retainer for schema. Then put the saved money into pages that answer real questions, because that's what actually gets you cited.
If you want us to check what's already on your site, here's how we approach SEO and AI search.
Book a 30-minute intro call and we'll tell you honestly whether your schema needs work or your content does.