Structured data is a standardised format for providing information about a web page and classifying its content; for Google Search it is mostly written in the Schema.org vocabulary.
According to Google's introduction to structured data, most markup for Google Search uses the vocabulary of Schema.org, which calls itself a collaborative, community activity with a mission to create, maintain and promote schemas for structured data on the internet. For Google Search, though, Google's documentation is definitive, not Schema.org's. It generally recommends the JSON-LD format, a separate code block, if the site's setup allows it.
The general structured data guidelines say content hidden from readers should not be marked up, and whatever the JSON-LD describes must also appear in the HTML body. Rich results are enhanced search listings, and even markup that passes the Rich Results Test is not guaranteed to show up in search results. One type has gone altogether: the FAQ rich result has not appeared in Google Search since 7 May 2026, as the documentation changelog records. Nor is structured data required for generative AI AI Artificial intelligence (AI) covers methods that let a computer perform tasks which would require intelligence if a person did them. Read in the glossary → search, the subject of GEO GEO GEO, or generative engine optimisation, means making content more likely to appear in the answers given by generative AI search. Read in the glossary → , and there is no special Schema.org markup for it.
Our case study 'The self-driving content machine' describes a client project as an example: a system that automatically generates, illustrates and translates guide articles for an online shop. For each product in an article it produces Schema.org JSON-LD describing the product box readers see, with price, availability, brand and GTIN SKU An SKU (stock keeping unit) is a code that a merchant chooses freely and uses internally to keep track of stock, unlike the GTIN, formerly EAN, which is issued by the GS1 organisation. Read in the glossary → (global trade item number).
Where the term appears
See also
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SEO
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the work of helping search engines understand a site's content and helping people find the site through search and decide whether to visit it.
E-commerce
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GEO
GEO, or generative engine optimisation, means making content more likely to appear in the answers given by generative AI search.
E-commerce
Sources
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Einführung in das Markup für strukturierte Daten in der Google Suche (opens in a new tab)
Google Search Central accessed
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About Schema.org (opens in a new tab)
Schema.org accessed
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Allgemeine Richtlinien für strukturierte Daten (opens in a new tab)
Google Search Central accessed
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Latest Google Search Documentation Updates (opens in a new tab)
Google Search Central accessed
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Leitfaden zur Optimierung für generative KI-Funktionen in der Google Suche (opens in a new tab)
Google Search Central accessed