The plugin your web person installed shows a green tick beside the word Schema. You search your company on Google. Same blue link, same map listing, nothing new.
A week later an email says your site is missing schema and offers a package that will get you cited by ChatGPT. The tick says it's done. The email says it isn't.
Before paying for more, here's what Google, Bing and OpenAI say on their own pages.
What is schema markup, in plain words?
It's a label for software. Your page already tells visitors your name, phone number and hours. Schema markup repeats those facts in a block of code visitors never see, so a program doesn't have to guess which number is the phone.
The labels come from a shared dictionary called schema.org, which Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex founded.[1] Google calls the same thing structured data and recommends writing it in a format called JSON-LD.[2]
The block behind a roofing company's homepage
- {
- "@context": "https://schema.org",
- "@type": "RoofingContractor",
- "name": "Example Roofing Co.",
- "url": "https://www.example.com/",
- "telephone": "+1-214-555-0142",
- "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "123 Example Street", "addressLocality": "Frisco", "addressRegion": "TX", "postalCode": "75034" }
- }
Illustrative example
What does Google do with it?
Google says markup gives it explicit clues about what a page means, and can enable results it calls rich results.[2] But markup only makes a page eligible. Correct markup is no promise a result will show, and a page missing a required field isn't eligible for that result.[3] Markup isn't among the technical requirements for appearing in search, which Google says costs nothing.[4]
Two of the types Google supports fit a contractor. Local business covers details Google can show in a knowledge panel, such as open hours and directions. Organization covers your logo and contact details.[5] For the map, Google's page on local ranking lists relevance, distance and prominence, and never mentions markup.[6]
Will schema markup get you named by ChatGPT or Google's AI?
None of Google, Bing or OpenAI says it will. Google's page on AI features says there's no special schema.org structured data to add.[7] Its guide to generative AI features adds that structured data isn't required, though it's still a good idea for rich results.[8]
Bing's guidelines say structured data may help its AI answers draw on a page more clearly, with no promise of visibility, and that misleading markup may be ignored.[9] OpenAI's crawler page recommends allowing its search crawler and never mentions schema.[10]
A May 2026 Ahrefs study found markup is much more common on pages AI answers cite. Ahrefs then followed 1,885 pages that added markup and compared them with similar pages that didn't. Citations in Google's AI Mode and ChatGPT didn't move, and AI Overviews dipped slightly for a reason the study couldn't pin on markup.[11] All of those pages were already cited often, so it says nothing about a page AI has never cited.
So when a pitch promises citations from markup, I'd ask which Google, Bing or OpenAI page says so. Google says it doesn't evaluate SEO services, so be wary of any that claim its approval.[12] If the pitch calls it AEO, see which AEO offers you can skip.
If your plugin already adds an accurate block, I'd leave it. I wouldn't pay a monthly fee for more of it. For where AI answers do get their facts, read why ChatGPT names your competitors instead of you. For Google's side, see how to show up in Google AI Overviews.
Which schema markup is worth adding to a contractor website?
One block that describes your business, on a page that already shows your name, phone number and hours. Google says LocalBusiness markup can go on any page, though a page about your business makes more sense.[13]
Pick the most specific type that fits. Schema.org lists Electrician, GeneralContractor, HVACBusiness, HousePainter, Locksmith, MovingCompany, Plumber and RoofingContractor under HomeAndConstructionBusiness, which covers services around homes and buildings.[14] Google asks for the most specific type too, and accepts a list if you work in several trades.[13]
The fields that do the work:
- Your business name, the same one that's on your sign and your Google profile.[15]
- Your website address and your phone number, with country code and area code.[13]
- Your logo and links to your other profiles.[16]
- A street address and opening hours, only if your page shows them and you'll keep them current. Google says not to mark up what visitors can't see, even when it's accurate.[2]
If you work from home and keep your address off your site, I'd use plain Organization instead: Google's local business page requires an address, and Organization has no required fields.[13][16]
Schema.org also has a Service type for each job you do.[14] Google's list of supported markup has no entry for services, so I'd treat it as optional.[5]
What should you skip, even if a plugin offers it?
Two things, even when a plugin has a switch for them:
- Star ratings from your own reviews. Google says a business that controls the reviews about itself isn't eligible for star results on pages using LocalBusiness or Organization markup, whether the reviews sit in the markup or arrive through a Google or Facebook widget.[17]
- FAQ markup. Google's updates log says the FAQ rich result stopped appearing on May 7, 2026.[18] The entry doesn't say to remove old markup, so I'd leave an accurate block alone and not pay for a new one.
How can you see what your site already says about you?
Start with these free checks:
- Google's Rich Results Test. Paste your homepage address and it shows which Google rich results the markup could produce.[19]
- The Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org. It checks all schema.org markup, without Google's feature-specific warnings.[19]
- Your browser's page source. Right-click your homepage, choose View page source and search for ld+json to see whether a block is already there.
Then compare the name, phone number, address and hours in the block with your page and your Google profile. Google says profile details are compiled from several sources, including crawled content from a business's official website, so all three should agree.[20] Our 20-minute profile check covers the profile side.
One Round Rock HVAC company, three versions of its hours
- Website footer: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Markup block, written by a plugin two years ago: opens 8 a.m., closes 6 p.m.
- Google profile: Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Decide which one is true, then change the other two.
Illustrative example
Your site may already have a block. Google says a CMS may have a settings page for one, or a plugin can add it.[2] Wix builds one for your homepage from the name and address in your Business Info.[21] Rank Math, a WordPress plugin, asks for business type, address, opening hours and phone number in its local settings.[22] The green tick means a block was written, not that the details are current.
If the results look wrong and your web person is hard to reach, our website visibility audit checks your site for Google, Maps and AI answers in one report, structured data included. The Expert Action Plan ($149) is the complete report plus a 30-minute consultation.
What a valid block still can't do
A passing test means the syntax is right. Google says its quality rules for markup can't easily be checked by a tool, and breaking one can stop correct-looking markup from showing.[3] And nobody outside Google, Bing or OpenAI can say how much weight any one block gets on any one page.
Checking for a block is one item of twelve in our website audit checklist.