The
Journal.
Field notes from inside the AI search shift. What we're seeing in Brooklyn, what we publish for clients, and the experiments we're running in real time.
"Read by ChatGPT before it's read by you."
This week's issue.
Descriptive versus Prescriptive Prompts. Why AI Retrieval Works Differently for Each.
Descriptive prompts retrieve broader context. Prescriptive prompts retrieve named businesses. The difference changes which sites get cited.
How Retrieval-Augmented Generation Actually Selects a Local Source
RAG pulls from indexed pages, but citation ranking depends on markup quality and content structure. Here's what actually gets selected.
Recent posts.
Audit Your Structured Data in Ten Minutes With the Rich Results Test
Use Google's Rich Results Test to check your schema markup in under ten minutes. A step-by-step guide for independent businesses.
How to Write an FAQ Section That an Engine Can Lift Whole
FAQPage markup turns your answers into quotable facts. Here's the structure that makes engines cite you instead of assembling text.
The Six Google Business Profile Fields That Change Which Queries You're Eligible For
Six GBP fields determine whether your business appears in AI search results. Fill them wrong and you're invisible to entire query categories.
Reverse Engineer a Competitor's Citation Surface Without Paid Tools
Find which sources cite your competitor, how they structure their data, and what queries they rank forusing only free tools.
Build a Citation Network Through Hyperlocal Neighborhood Pages
Create separate landing pages for each neighborhood you serve. AI engines cite hyperlocal pages more often than borough-wide ones.
Organization schema hierarchy. What parent company markup actually declares.
Parent company markup tells AI which business entity owns a location. Get the hierarchy wrong and you're invisible to citations.
SameAs Is the Identity Graph Most Local Sites Never Fill In
SameAs markup tells AI engines which profiles and sites belong to the same business. Most local sites skip it. Here's why it matters.
Service Schema: Making Your Offering Visible to AI Search
Service schema tells AI engines what you offer separately from page text. Here's how to mark it up so Perplexity and ChatGPT cite you as a specific solution.
Service Area Radius in Schema.org. How to Declare It Without Diluting Citations Across Boroughs.
Service area markup without borders confuses AI search. Here's how to declare your radius so engines cite you locally, not citywide.
How to Mark Up Your Google Business Profile Hours in Schema.org
Schema.org openingHoursSpecification lets AI engines read your hours directly from your site. Here's how to mark them up correctly for local search.
Brooklyn BJJ Lessons: Cited First in ChatGPT in 41 Days. Here Is the Playbook.
Brooklyn BJJ Lessons ranked #1 in ChatGPT for 'BJJ private lessons Brooklyn' in 41 days. Here's the exact sequence that made it happen.
Crown Heights vs. Williamsburg: Why the Same Business Ranks Differently in Each Neighborhood
AI search answers at neighbourhood resolution, not city resolution. Why the depth of a neighbourhood's indexed coverage decides who gets cited.
The Death of Page Two: What Replaces It in AI Search
Page two of Google results is functionally dead in 2026. AI-generated answers now absorb the queries that used to drive clicks to positions 1120.
FAQPage Schema Is the Citation Cheat Code Nobody Is Using
FAQPage schema gets local business content pulled directly into ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Most Brooklyn sites have zero FAQ markup.
The Five-Step Schema Audit Every Brooklyn Local Business Can Do in an Afternoon
A five-step schema audit process for Brooklyn local businesses to improve AI search visibility, rich results, and citations in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
How AI Engines Decide Who to Cite: The Four Signals That Determine Local Rank
ChatGPT and Perplexity don't rank businesses by ad spend or page authority. They cite businesses that satisfy four specific retrieval signals. Here's what they are.
Local Search Prompt Vocabulary Changed Shape in 2026
Local search prompts shifted from location triggers to intent and quality signals. Here is the shape they took, and what it means for the pages you publish.
Why 'Near Me' Is Dying: The Prompt Patterns That Replaced It in AI Search
Near me' searches dropped 61% since 2023. AI search users now ask 'best for X in [neighborhood].' Here is what replaced it and how to rank.
How to Write a Neighborhood Landing Page That Gets Cited by AI
AI search cites neighbourhood pages that answer local queries with named entities, structured facts and retrieval-grade content. Here is the playbook.
The Neighborhood Landing Page Rebuilt for AI Retrieval
AI search answers at neighborhood resolution. Here is how to rebuild your location pages so ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google cite them first.
Nostrand Optical: From Zero Citations to Four Rich Results on Launch Day
Nostrand Optical launched with four valid Google rich results on day one. Here is what structured data, retrieval-grade content, and citation architecture produced.
Perplexity Is Becoming a Real Traffic Source for Brooklyn Businesses
Perplexity has grown into a real referral source for Brooklyn businesses that rank in AI answers. Here is what that traffic looks like and why it converts.
Four AI Engines, One Local Query: Why the Answers Don't Match
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini answer the same local question from different data. Here is how each one decides, and what that changes.
The Seven Schema Types Every Local Business Is Missing in 2026
Seven schema types most local businesses skip in 2026, and why each one determines whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews cites you first.
See if AI is missing your business.
20-minute live audit. I'll run your business through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, and Claude and show you exactly what AI says — and doesn't say — about you. Free. No pitch.