What is schema markup?

Schema markup is structured data, usually written in JSON-LD with the schema.org vocabulary, that labels what a page contains, such as a product, its price or an author. Google uses it for rich results, but says it is not required for AI Overviews or AI Mode, and an Ahrefs study found no citation gain.

Also called: Structured data

Why schema markup gets credit it hasn't earned

Schema markup is one of the most repeated tips in AI search advice, because pages cited by AI often carry it. Ahrefs found that AI-cited pages were almost three times more likely to have JSON-LD than pages that weren't cited. Then it tested cause and effect: it tracked 1,885 pages that added JSON-LD between August 2025 and March 2026 against 4,000 matched control pages.

Citations didn't rise on any platform. The change was +2.4% in Google AI Mode and +2.2% in ChatGPT, both statistically indistinguishable from zero, and −4.6% in AI Overviews, a small drop Ahrefs warns against reading as harm. Google's own guide points the same way: structured data "isn't required for generative AI search."

How schema markup works

Schema markup sits in the page's code, most often as a JSON-LD script, and describes the content in a shared vocabulary from schema.org: this is a Product, its price is 19 USD, this is its rating. Google reads it to understand the page and, for supported types, to show rich results, such as an enhanced listing for a recipe. Google recommends JSON-LD and sets one firm rule: markup must describe what users can see. Don't mark up information that isn't visible on the page. Its checklist for AI features repeats it: make sure structured data "matches the visible text on the page."

FAQ schema

FAQ schema is FAQPage markup that lists the questions and answers on a page. For years it could earn an expandable FAQ rich result in Google. Google deprecated that feature: FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search on May 7, 2026, and Google removed their documentation in June 2026. FAQPage remains a valid schema.org type, and the questions on the page can still help readers. But the markup no longer changes how Google displays the page, and Ahrefs' test found no citation gain from adding schema.

Example: a pricing question in AI Mode

A buyer asks Google AI Mode: "How much does Acme Invoice Pro cost per month?" The pricing page carries Product and Offer markup with the price. For AI Mode, that markup is optional: Google only requires the page to be indexed and eligible for a snippet. And because the markup must match the visible text, the price has to be written on the page anyway. If a price change updates the page but not the markup, the two disagree, which Google's guidelines rule out.

How to use schema markup now

Keep schema markup where it earns rich results, keep it accurate, and check it with Google's Rich Results Test. Don't add FAQ markup in the hope of AI citations, and don't expect markup alone to make engines cite you. Put that effort into access and content: pages that crawlers can reach and that answer the question in plain text, ideally with answer-first formatting. Hawkscan's action plan starts there, with fixes such as an AI crawler your site blocks or a page that cites your competitors but not you. Before markup, check that the content isn't hidden behind JavaScript rendering.