AEO.wikiThe AEO Reference

Structured data and schema for AEO

From AEO.wiki, the Answer Engine Optimization reference · Last reviewed · By · Published by Local Blitz · How we research

Structured data helps engines understand entities and makes pages eligible for rich results, but Google says there is no special schema for AI features and it is not required. FAQ rich results stopped showing in May 2026 and HowTo rich results were removed in 2023. Organization, Person, Article, LocalBusiness and Product markup remain useful when they match visible content.

What the engines say

Status of common types

TypeGoogle rich result statusAEO value
FAQPageDeprecated; not shown from May 7, 2026; docs removed June 15, 2026. Limited to government and health sites since August 2023.[5][6]Still valid schema.org vocabulary;[7] harmless if it mirrors a visible FAQ
HowToRestricted August 2023, then no longer shown; docs removed.[6]Low. Use ordered lists on the page instead
Article / BlogPostingSupported; helps with title, image and dates[8]Author, publisher and dateModified clarify who and when
OrganizationSupported; logo, contact, sameAs[9]High for entity clarity
Person / ProfilePageSupported via ProfilePage[10]High for author identity
LocalBusinessSupported[11]High for local AEO
ProductSupported (snippets and merchant listings)[12]High for commerce answers
DefinedTermNo rich resultMarks up glossaries[13]
SpeakableBeta; news; Google Assistant[14]Niche

Google also retired several other rich result types in 2025, including course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement and vehicle listing.[5] Check the search gallery for the current list.[15]

sameAs: connecting your entity

sameAs lists URLs that unambiguously identify the same entity: official social profiles, Wikidata, Wikipedia, directory listings.[16] Google’s Organization documentation includes it.[9] Only list profiles you control or that are clearly about you. Vendor-documented

Use stable @id values

Give each entity a permanent @id URL (for example https://example.com/#org) and reuse it on every page, so author, publisher and worksFor all point at one node. This site uses https://simonwhite.wiki/#simon-white for its author across the Simon White and Local Blitz sites. Practitioner practice

Rules that matter

  1. Mark up only what is visible on the page.[3]
  2. Prefer JSON-LD; keep it valid (test in the Rich Results Test and the Schema.org validator).
  3. Keep facts consistent with your Business Profile, social profiles and directories.
  4. Don’t over-invest: Google lists over-focusing on structured data as a myth.[2]

Copy-ready code is on schema markup examples.

Frequently asked questions

Is FAQ schema still worth adding?

Google no longer shows FAQ rich results (since May 7, 2026). The markup is harmless if it mirrors a visible FAQ, but don't expect a visual benefit in Google.

Does schema help ChatGPT or Perplexity?

Neither OpenAI nor Perplexity documents using schema.org markup. Bing says structured data may support clearer grounding for Copilot.

Which schema types matter most for AEO?

Organization, Person, Article, LocalBusiness and Product, with consistent sameAs and @id values.

References

Pages accessed September 28, 2026 unless a date is given. See all sources and our editorial policy.

  1. ^ "AI features and your website". Google Search Central. Last updated December 10, 2025.
  2. ^ "Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search". Google Search Central. Added May 15, 2026; last updated July 10, 2026.
  3. ^ "General structured data guidelines". Google Search Central.
  4. ^ "Bing Webmaster Guidelines". Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools.
  5. ^ "Latest Google Search documentation updates (changelog)". Google Search Central. Entries for May–June 2026.
  6. ^ "Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results". Google Search Central Blog. Published August 8, 2023, with later updates.
  7. ^ "FAQPage type". Schema.org.
  8. ^ "Article structured data". Google Search Central.
  9. ^ "Organization structured data". Google Search Central.
  10. ^ "ProfilePage structured data". Google Search Central.
  11. ^ "Local business structured data". Google Search Central.
  12. ^ "Product structured data". Google Search Central.
  13. ^ "DefinedTerm and DefinedTermSet". Schema.org.
  14. ^ "Speakable (Article, WebPage) structured data (BETA)". Google Search Central.
  15. ^ "Structured data markup that Google Search supports". Google Search Central. Last updated June 15, 2026.
  16. ^ "sameAs property". Schema.org.
Categories: Content for answer engines