WE TRACKED 1,885 PAGES ADDING SCHEMA. AI CITATIONS BARELY MOVED

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Despite the claim that JSON-LD schema is a direct AI visibility lever, an analysis of 1,885 pages found that it doesn't increase AI citations in Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, or Google AI Overviews. The study found a 2.4% lift in AI Mode and 2.2% lift in ChatGPT, but both results fell within statistical noise, while AI Overview citations dropped 4.6% relative to control pages. Schema correlates with stronger SEO operations rather than causing AI citation growth on its own. Sites that already invest in authority, technical SEO, and content quality still win AI visibility, even without schema changes. Schema still supports rich results and knowledge graph visibility, but brands should not expect it to drive measurable AI citation gains on already indexed pages.