Does schema markup directly cause AI engines to cite me?

No. Schema is a trust and parsing signal, not a citation trigger. The Ahrefs study of 1,885 pages (May 2026) found no immediate citation lift from adding schema to pages already receiving AI citations. Schema's impact is strongest for pages entering the citation pool for the first time, where entity recognition and content parseability are the bottleneck.

HowTo and FAQPage schema no longer produce rich results. Should I still implement them?

Yes. Google removed HowTo rich results in 2023 and FAQPage rich results on May 7, 2026. Neither schema type is deprecated. Both remain valid signals for AI retrieval systems that parse structured data independently of SERP display rules.

What is the most important schema type for AI visibility in 2026?

Organization schema with a properly populated sameAs array is the highest-leverage starting point. It resolves your brand as a distinct entity in knowledge graphs, which is the prerequisite for AI engines to confidently cite you in brand-related queries. Without entity resolution, every other schema type has reduced effectiveness.

How long does it take to see citation changes after implementing schema?

Expect 60-90 days before drawing conclusions, especially for pages not currently being cited. Knowledge graph updates are not immediate, and AI retrieval indexes recrawl and re-score on their own schedules. Track citation rates every two weeks using consistent test prompts across your target AI engines.

Should I include schema markup in my page or ?

Always in as a block. JSON-LD in the body is technically valid but harder for AI parsers to locate reliably. Keeping it in also ensures it is parsed before any body content rendering issues can interfere.

What external profiles should I link in sameAs?

In priority order: Wikidata (highest, feeds Google Knowledge Graph directly), Wikipedia (if applicable), LinkedIn Company page, Crunchbase, and GitHub (for tech companies). Every URL in sameAs must resolve cleanly and the destination page must name your entity accurately or the signal becomes a mismatch.

Can schema help on pages that are already ranking well?

The Ahrefs study suggests adding schema to already-cited pages produces minimal additional citation lift. Where schema remains valuable for high-ranking pages is in maintaining entity consistency (matching your brand name string across all schema), keeping dateModified current to signal freshness, and ensuring author entities remain resolvable as author profiles change.

How do I check if my schema is implemented correctly?

Use Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) to validate syntax and catch missing required fields. Cross-check with the Schema.org validator. Neither tool will tell you if your sameAs URLs resolve correctly, so manually verify each one. Then use Promptive's GEO audit tool to monitor whether citation rates shift after implementation.

How to Use Schema Markup to Win AI Citations (Implementation Guide)