What distinguishes AI search from the search we know so far? LLM models don't look at the page like the Google algorithms we know. They don't index entire pages; they search for information from available sources in real time. This accessibility for AI models and agents will be crucial for your website's visibility. That's why you need structured data.
Tip: AI models attempt to "understand" page fragments and match the intent and context of the content to the user's query. Therefore, AI SEO will focus not so much on keywords or links, but rather on a clear structure and clear content purpose.
Learn more about AI positioning: AISO saint kitts and nevis cell phone database – visibility positioning of your brand in AI responses
AI positioning and standard SEO – is it necessary in both?
Yes. For SEO, this is an additional element that distinguishes your website, but with AI schema, it becomes even more important.
Structured data also helps with standard SEO. Google bots use it as interpretive elements, and it's also displayed in the results as rich snippets (e.g., star ratings for a product). This makes results visually distinctive and makes users more likely to click on them.
rich snippet on google
We've already mentioned that Google and AI have different ways of storing and indexing data. Google indexes the entire page code, so if necessary, it can interpret it even without structured data (although this is still recommended). For LLM models, a properly implemented schema is a real game changer.
AI models only scan the page's elements, trying to assess the context of the content as quickly as possible to use a specific fragment for their response. Therefore, using structured data such as Article provides an immediate signal that the models are dealing with an article, similar to a FAQPage, which clearly indicates the question and answer element on the page.
The importance of structured data in the context of AI positioning was also emphasized by John Muller during his presentation at the Google Search Central Live conference in Madrid: