schema markup
Structured data embedded in a page (usually as JSON-LD) that describes what the page is about in a machine-readable vocabulary defined at schema.org.
Schema markup uses the vocabulary maintained at schema.org — a joint project of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex since 2011 — to declare the type and properties of a page's content. A product page can declare itself a `Product`, with `name`, `price`, `Review` objects, and an `AggregateRating`. A FAQ page can declare itself a `FAQPage` with `Question` / `Answer` pairs.
The three schemas that matter most for AI citations in 2026 are `FAQPage`, `Product` (with `Review` / `AggregateRating`), and `HowTo`. These are the types LLMs are most reliably trained to read and reproduce. Other types (Article, Organization, BreadcrumbList) help but with smaller lift.
Schema is delivered as a JSON-LD block inside the page's `<head>` or inline in the body. Validity matters: a broken schema block is ignored wholesale. Always test with the Google Rich Results Test and the Schema.org validator before shipping.
In AIRRNK
AIRRNK detects schema on every scanned page, grades it for validity and completeness, and ships an auto-injection feature via the WordPress plugin and Shopify app that can generate missing schema from your existing content.
- FAQPage Schema
A specific schema.org type that declares a page contains a list of question-and-answer pairs, optimized for structured ingestion by search and AI systems.
- Generative Engine Optimization
The practice of making a website more likely to be cited by AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Mode) rather than simply ranked on a traditional search results page.
- AI Score
AIRRNK's 0–100 grade for how likely a site is to be cited by a language model, calculated from 47 weighted checks across four pillars.
Written by
The AIRank Editorial Team
Research & editorial, AIRank
The AIRank editorial team runs the 47-point scanner, the Observer pings, and the GEO research programme every week. Writing is reviewed by the core engineers who build the Injector, Blaster, and Surgeon agents.
About the team →