What is Schema Markup and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Schema Markup uses JSON-LD format to provide structured data that tells search engines and AI models exactly what your content is about. This includes Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Product, and other schema types that help machines understand your business context. Schema markup is the language AI models prefer for understanding structured information. FAQPage schema in particular has the highest citation rate in AI answers because it clearly formats questions and answers that AI can directly reference.

What is Content Structure and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Content Structure evaluates how well your content is organized for both humans and AI. This includes proper heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3), sufficient word count for depth, readability scores, meta descriptions, and the use of lists and formatting. AI models use heading structure to understand content hierarchy and topic relationships. ChatGPT specifically ranks content by readability scores. Well-structured content with clear sections is more likely to be cited.

What is Trust Signals and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Trust Signals are indicators that demonstrate your website and content are credible and trustworthy. This includes security (HTTPS), transparency (contact info, about page), author credentials, privacy policies, and professional presentation. AI models prioritize content from trustworthy sources. Google's E-E-A-T guidelines (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) directly influence which content AI systems consider reliable enough to cite.

What is AI Crawler Access and why does it matter for AI visibility?

AI Crawler Access checks your robots.txt file to see if you allow or block AI-specific crawlers. This includes GPTBot (OpenAI/ChatGPT), ClaudeBot (Anthropic/Claude), PerplexityBot, and other AI crawlers that index content for AI assistants. If you block AI crawlers in your robots.txt, AI assistants cannot learn about your content and will never recommend your site. Many sites accidentally block these crawlers without realizing it.

What is External Validation and why does it matter for AI visibility?

External Validation looks for signs that other people and organizations vouch for your business. This includes awards, certifications, client testimonials, media coverage, Wikipedia mentions, case studies, and partner logos. AI models use external validation as a signal of authority and trustworthiness. Businesses mentioned in Wikipedia are 10x more likely to be cited by AI. Testimonials and case studies provide social proof that AI considers when ranking sources.

What is Content Freshness and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Content Freshness evaluates when your content was last updated. This is determined by publication dates, modification dates, HTTP Last-Modified headers, and schema date properties. Fresh content signals relevance and accuracy. Research shows that 76.4% of ChatGPT citations come from pages updated within the last 30 days. Outdated content is rarely cited because AI models prioritize current, relevant information.

What is FAQ Content and why does it matter for AI visibility?

FAQ Content checks for question-and-answer formatted content and proper FAQPage schema markup. Q&A content is ideal for AI assistants because it directly mirrors how users ask questions and provides clear, quotable answers. FAQPage schema has the HIGHEST citation rate in AI answers. When users ask ChatGPT or Perplexity a question, content formatted as Q&A with proper schema is most likely to be quoted because it already matches the question-answer format.

What is Page Speed and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Page Speed measures technical performance including Time to First Byte (TTFB), total page size, and caching configuration. While less important than content quality for AI visibility, slow pages may not be fully crawled. While AI visibility focuses primarily on content quality, extremely slow pages may time out during crawling. Fast pages ensure AI crawlers can fully access and index your content without issues.

Documentation

AI Visibility Guide

Learn what each metric means, why it matters for AI search, and how to improve your score.

Your AI visibility score is calculated from 10 weighted categories. Click each category to learn more.

How clearly AI models can identify your business, services, and target audience.

What It Measures

Entity Clarity measures how well AI systems can understand WHO you are, WHAT you do, and WHO you serve. AI assistants need to clearly identify your business before they can recommend it to users. This includes your company name, core services, value proposition, and target audience.

Why It Matters for AI

AI assistants like ChatGPT need to clearly understand your business to recommend you. If your value proposition is unclear or buried, AI models will overlook your site when answering user questions.

How to Improve

1.Start with a clear value statement in your first paragraph
2.Use the formula: "We help [WHO] with [WHAT]"
3.Include your target audience explicitly
4.Make sure your H1 heading describes your core offering
5.Avoid jargon or vague marketing language

Structured data (JSON-LD) that helps AI understand your content in a machine-readable format.

What It Measures

Schema Markup uses JSON-LD format to provide structured data that tells search engines and AI models exactly what your content is about. This includes Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Product, and other schema types that help machines understand your business context.

Why It Matters for AI

Schema markup is the language AI models prefer for understanding structured information. FAQPage schema in particular has the highest citation rate in AI answers because it clearly formats questions and answers that AI can directly reference.

How to Improve

1.Add Organization or LocalBusiness schema with your business details
2.Implement FAQPage schema for any Q&A content
3.Use Product schema for e-commerce pages
4.Validate your schema with Google Rich Results Test
5.Include complete information: name, description, contact, location

Heading hierarchy, word count, readability, and overall content organization.

What It Measures

Content Structure evaluates how well your content is organized for both humans and AI. This includes proper heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3), sufficient word count for depth, readability scores, meta descriptions, and the use of lists and formatting.

Why It Matters for AI

AI models use heading structure to understand content hierarchy and topic relationships. ChatGPT specifically ranks content by readability scores. Well-structured content with clear sections is more likely to be cited.

How to Improve

1.Use exactly one H1 heading that describes the page topic
2.Organize content with H2 and H3 subheadings
3.Aim for 800+ words on important pages
4.Target a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70
5.Write a meta description between 120-160 characters

Credibility indicators: HTTPS, contact information, author bios, and credentials.

What It Measures

Trust Signals are indicators that demonstrate your website and content are credible and trustworthy. This includes security (HTTPS), transparency (contact info, about page), author credentials, privacy policies, and professional presentation.

Why It Matters for AI

AI models prioritize content from trustworthy sources. Google's E-E-A-T guidelines (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) directly influence which content AI systems consider reliable enough to cite.

How to Improve

1.Ensure your site uses HTTPS encryption
2.Add an About page with company background
3.Display clear contact information
4.Include author bios with credentials on articles
5.Add a privacy policy page

Facts, statistics, expert insights, and content that AI models might quote directly.

What It Measures

Citation Worthiness measures whether your content contains information worth citing. This includes specific statistics, original research, expert opinions, how-to instructions, comparisons, and unique insights that AI models would want to reference when answering questions.

Why It Matters for AI

AI assistants look for specific, factual content to cite in their responses. Pages with statistics, numbered lists, step-by-step instructions, and expert insights are far more likely to be quoted than generic marketing copy.

How to Improve

1.Include specific statistics and data points
2.Add numbered how-to instructions
3.Create comparison tables
4.Share original insights and expert opinions
5.Use phrases like "According to..." or "Research shows..."

Permissions in robots.txt that control which AI crawlers can access your content.

What It Measures

AI Crawler Access checks your robots.txt file to see if you allow or block AI-specific crawlers. This includes GPTBot (OpenAI/ChatGPT), ClaudeBot (Anthropic/Claude), PerplexityBot, and other AI crawlers that index content for AI assistants.

Why It Matters for AI

If you block AI crawlers in your robots.txt, AI assistants cannot learn about your content and will never recommend your site. Many sites accidentally block these crawlers without realizing it.

How to Improve

1.Review your robots.txt file for AI crawler blocks
2.Remove or modify rules that block GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot
3.Consider allowing AI crawlers while blocking others if needed
4.Test your robots.txt with Google Search Console
5.Monitor which crawlers are accessing your site

Third-party credibility: awards, testimonials, media mentions, and case studies.

What It Measures

External Validation looks for signs that other people and organizations vouch for your business. This includes awards, certifications, client testimonials, media coverage, Wikipedia mentions, case studies, and partner logos.

Why It Matters for AI

AI models use external validation as a signal of authority and trustworthiness. Businesses mentioned in Wikipedia are 10x more likely to be cited by AI. Testimonials and case studies provide social proof that AI considers when ranking sources.

How to Improve

1.Display client testimonials prominently
2.List awards and certifications
3.Add media mentions or press coverage
4.Create detailed case studies
5.Show partner or client logos

How recently your content was created or updated, based on dates and headers.

What It Measures

Content Freshness evaluates when your content was last updated. This is determined by publication dates, modification dates, HTTP Last-Modified headers, and schema date properties. Fresh content signals relevance and accuracy.

Why It Matters for AI

Research shows that 76.4% of ChatGPT citations come from pages updated within the last 30 days. Outdated content is rarely cited because AI models prioritize current, relevant information.

How to Improve

1.Add visible publication and modification dates to articles
2.Update content regularly with new information
3.Set the HTTP Last-Modified header on your server
4.Include datePublished and dateModified in your schema
5.Review and refresh older content quarterly

Question and answer pairs, FAQPage schema, and content formatted as Q&A.

What It Measures

FAQ Content checks for question-and-answer formatted content and proper FAQPage schema markup. Q&A content is ideal for AI assistants because it directly mirrors how users ask questions and provides clear, quotable answers.

Why It Matters for AI

FAQPage schema has the HIGHEST citation rate in AI answers. When users ask ChatGPT or Perplexity a question, content formatted as Q&A with proper schema is most likely to be quoted because it already matches the question-answer format.

How to Improve

1.Create an FAQ section addressing common customer questions
2.Format questions as actual questions (ending with ?)
3.Provide clear, concise answers under each question
4.Implement FAQPage schema markup
5.Aim for at least 5-10 frequently asked questions

Performance metrics: Time to First Byte (TTFB), page size, and caching headers.

What It Measures

Page Speed measures technical performance including Time to First Byte (TTFB), total page size, and caching configuration. While less important than content quality for AI visibility, slow pages may not be fully crawled.

Why It Matters for AI

While AI visibility focuses primarily on content quality, extremely slow pages may time out during crawling. Fast pages ensure AI crawlers can fully access and index your content without issues.

How to Improve

1.Optimize images and compress assets
2.Enable browser caching with proper headers
3.Use a CDN for faster global delivery
4.Minimize JavaScript and CSS files
5.Aim for TTFB under 200ms