Got my first ChatGPT citation — here's what worked

Sharing this because I spent 3 months trying to figure out why my business wasn't appearing in ChatGPT responses, and I want to save others the same frustration. **My business:** Structural engineering consultancy, UK, 12 years trading. **What I tried that didn't work:** - Publishing more blog posts (no change) - Getting more backlinks (no change) - Updating my Google Business Profile (minor improvement) **What actually worked:** 1. Completed AI Verified Gold tier (company registration verified) 2. Added LocalBusiness schema to my homepage with the sameAs field pointing to my AI Verified passport 3. Created a dedicated "About" page that answered "What is [business name]?" in the first paragraph 4. Added FAQPage schema to my services page **Timeline:** 3 weeks from completing Gold tier to first ChatGPT citation. **The citation:** A user asked "structural engineering consultants in [my city]" and ChatGPT cited my business with a link to my website. Not a top result, but it was there. **What I'd do differently:** Start with the schema markup earlier. The AI Verified registration was the catalyst, but the schema markup was what made the citation happen.