Your Google traffic dropped 23% last quarter. You're not alone. But here's what most business owners don't know: Google isn't your only problem anymore.
ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are answering customer questions. They cite businesses in their responses. And right now, your competitors are getting those citations instead of you.
The reason? Schema markup. It's the language that tells AI systems who you are, where you are, and why someone should call you instead of the other guy.
We call this AEO—AI Engine Optimization. And it starts with five types of schema that actually move the needle for local businesses.
This is the bedrock. Local Business schema tells AI systems your name, phone number, address, hours, and what you do.
Most plumbing companies, dental offices, and HVAC contractors have Google My Business profiles. They think that's enough. It isn't.
Google My Business feeds Google Search. Schema markup feeds ChatGPT, Perplexity, and every AI search engine that's about to steal your lunch.
Here's what happens when you add Local Business schema to your website:
A dental office in Austin added Local Business schema last month. Within three weeks, they started appearing in Claude responses. One patient said "I found you because Claude recommended you." That's AEO working.
Local Business schema says you exist. Service schema says what you're good at.
A law firm that handles divorce, bankruptcy, and real estate looks identical to one that handles only bankruptcy in most schema setups. Service schema fixes that.
When you tag each service separately—with descriptions, pricing, and service area—AI systems understand your depth. They cite you for the right thing, to the right person.
Here's the difference:
Without Service schema: "I need a lawyer. Here's a local law firm."
With Service schema: "You need a divorce lawyer in Denver. Here's a firm that specializes in divorce, has handled 200+ cases, and serves the Denver metro area."
That second response gets you a client. The first one gets you a call from someone who needs bankruptcy help.
A Denver HVAC company tagged their emergency repair service separately from routine maintenance. Now when someone searches "emergency furnace repair" in Perplexity, that company shows up. The competitor who didn't tag services? They don't appear.
AI systems don't just cite you. They decide whether to cite you based on social proof.
Review schema tells ChatGPT how many stars you have and what customers actually said about you.
Here's the problem: 73% of local businesses with reviews on Google have zero review schema on their website. That means AI systems see your Google reviews—but they don't trust them the way they trust reviews marked up on your own site.
When you add Review schema (or AggregateRating schema if you have lots of reviews), you're saying "These reviews are real, customers left them, and here's proof."
A dental office in Phoenix had 4.8 stars on Google but wasn't getting cited by AI. They added Review schema to their website. Within two weeks, Perplexity started citing them as "highly rated" in responses. The citation included their actual star rating.
Do this: Pull your top 5 Google reviews. Add them to your website with Review schema. It takes 10 minutes and changes how AI sees you.
When someone types into ChatGPT, they ask a question. AI systems search for pages with answers already marked up.
FAQPage schema is you raising your hand and saying "I have the answer."
A plumbing company gets the same five questions every week: "How much does a water heater replacement cost?" "What's the difference between a water softener and a filter?" "How often should I get my drains cleaned?"
Write those Q&As on your website. Mark them up with FAQPage schema. Now when someone asks those questions in Claude, your page is the source. You're not just cited—you're the cited expert.
A DTC brand selling skincare products added FAQPage schema for the 12 questions their support team answered most. Their organic traffic from AI search engines increased 156% in 60 days.
Not because they got more traffic from Google. Because they got traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Organization schema is bigger than Local Business schema. It tells AI systems your mission, your team, your social media, your awards.
Think of it like a business resume that AI systems actually read.
For a law firm, Organization schema includes bar admissions, years in practice, and areas of focus. For a DTC brand, it includes founders, funding stage, and what problem you solve.
AI systems use this to decide whether you're credible. A startup selling supplements with zero Organization schema gets cited as "a supplement brand." One with Organization schema, founder bios, and clinical study links gets cited as "a supplement company founded by a registered dietitian, backed by peer-reviewed research."
That second citation drives better customers. People who actually want what you're selling.
An HVAC contractor added Organization schema that highlighted their technician certifications, years in business, and service area. When Perplexity cited them, it included "EPA certified technicians" and "serving the metro area for 18 years." The competitor without schema was just "an HVAC company."
That's the difference between being a commodity and being a choice.
Google is still important. You shouldn't ignore SEO.
But here's what's happening right now: Every month, more people use ChatGPT to answer business questions instead of Google. They ask "who's a good dentist near me?" instead of typing it.
If your website has no schema, you don't exist in those answers. Your competitor does.
This isn't a maybe. It's not a trend. According to Search Engine Journal, 58% of internet users now start their research with AI instead of Google.
Schema markup is how you get cited.
Most small businesses haven't touched schema. They're still fighting over Google rankings while the game changed.
You don't have to be one of them.
You don't need a developer or a $5,000 agency project. Run your free AEO audit at citeddigital.co/audit. You'll see which schema types your site is missing and exactly how much traffic you're losing to competitors who already have them.
Imagine checking your analytics next month and seeing organic traffic climbing for the first time in a year. That's not a lucky break. That's schema working.
```Questions? Contact Connor