Field note
Structured Data for AI Search: UK SME Guide
Structured data describes your business accurately; it is not a ticket into AI Overviews, and Google says no special schema is needed.
Structured data describes your business accurately; it is not a ticket into AI Overviews, and Google says no special schema is needed.
What Google actually says about AI features
Google's page on AI features in Search is direct. It states that there are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary". It adds that you do not need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup, and that "there's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add".
That settles one question. There is no secret AI schema. Pages appear in AI features on the same basis as in ordinary Search: they must be indexable, eligible for a snippet and useful. Structured data still helps Google understand who you are and what a page is about, and it remains the route to rich results such as logos and article details. Treat it as accurate labelling, not as an AI tactic.
Organization and LocalBusiness
Every SME site should describe the business once, clearly. Google recommends placing Organization markup on the home page or a single about page. Useful properties include name, alternateName, url, logo, address, telephone, email, contactPoint and description. Google also lists identifiers such as vatID and taxID, which help a UK firm show it is a real, registered business.
If you serve customers from a physical location, Google recommends using the most specific subtype of LocalBusiness, such as an accountancy firm or a plumber, with its own properties like opening hours. A consultancy that works remotely across the UK is usually better described as an Organization with a clear service area in the page copy.
Everything in the markup must match what is visible on the page and in your Google Business Profile. A different phone number or old address in the JSON-LD is worse than no markup.
Article markup for notes and guides
For blog posts, guides and news, Article markup tells Google the headline, author, publication date and last updated date. Keep the dates honest. If you change a date without changing the content, you create a mismatch between what the markup claims and what the page shows. Name a real author and link to an author or about page that explains their experience. That supports the same trust signals AI features draw on.
FAQ markup is no longer shown
If your site added FAQ markup to service pages over the past few years, it is time to review it. Google added a deprecation notice to its FAQ rich result documentation on 8 May 2026, stating the feature would no longer appear in Google Search from 7 May 2026, and removed the documentation on 15 June 2026.
The markup does no harm, but it no longer produces a rich result in Google Search. Keep genuine questions and answers on the page if they help customers, because clear question-and-answer text is easy for people and systems to read. Do not add FAQ blocks just to chase a feature that has gone. Our note on what content earns AI citations covers writing that works for both.
A practical checklist
- Use JSON-LD, which Google recommends as the easiest format to maintain.
- Add one Organization block, or the most specific LocalBusiness subtype, to the home or about page.
- Add Article markup to notes and guides, with real authors and accurate dates.
- Add BreadcrumbList if your site has a clear hierarchy.
- Make sure every value matches visible content, your Business Profile and Companies House details.
- Remove markup for features you do not qualify for, and review FAQ markup.
- Do not mark up content that is hidden from users.
- Record what markup each page template emits, so a redesign does not silently drop it.
Validation and monitoring
Test each template with Google's Rich Results Test before release. Google notes that you must include all required properties to be eligible for enhanced display, and that eligibility is not a guarantee. After deployment, watch the rich result status reports in Search Console for errors and sudden drops in valid items. The Schema Markup Validator is useful for checking general schema.org syntax beyond Google's supported features.
Retest after any theme update, plugin change or site migration. Content management systems and SEO plugins often generate their own markup, and two plugins can emit conflicting Organization blocks with different names or logos. Pick one source of truth for each type and switch the others off.
Then judge success by outcomes. Structured data should make your listings clearer and your business easier to identify; enquiries remain the measure that matters. For how to read the numbers, see our AI search visibility guide for UK SMEs.