Structured data
Machine-readable markup, usually schema.org vocabulary in JSON-LD, that labels what a page is about: the organization, product, article, author or FAQ it describes.
Structured data tells machines explicitly what humans infer from context. This page is an Article, written by this Person, about this Product, published by this Organization. Search engines use it to understand pages and to power rich results. It's usually added as a JSON-LD script in the page's HTML.
What it does, and doesn't do, for AEO
Google says special schema isn't required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and it still recommends structured data for rich results. Other answer engines don't document how they use it. The defensible view: structured data won't get weak content cited, but it removes ambiguity about who you are and what you sell, which is exactly where engines go wrong.
Where to start
- Organization on the homepage, with your logo and
sameAslinks to official profiles. This anchors your entity. - Product, Service or SoftwareApplication for what you sell.
- Article with author and
dateModifiedon editorial pages. - BreadcrumbList on inner pages.
- FAQPage if you have a real FAQ, knowing Google no longer shows FAQ rich results.
Somewhere, right now, an AI is recommending your client's competitor.
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