Does adding Structured Data help AIO rankings? (Case Study)

What Are AI Overviews, Structured Data, and the new kid on the block, AI Mode?

AI Overviews (AIOs) are auto-generated AI summaries in response to certain queries. Long tail queries (searches over 4 words) in particular seem to trigger AI overviews more frequently than shorter, more broad searches. These AI summaries pull information from a range of sources supported with links for further research if the user desires.

AI Mode is the newest update to AI search from Google as they push towards a more personalised search experience. This more personalised experience feels similar to using a chat bot like Gemini or ChatGPT, with information pulled from sources into one place, with the ability to then refine and follow-up with further searches within the search window. Currently this is only available to US users but its likely Google will look to roll this out to further countries in the near future. 

Structured Data (or Schema Markup) is quite simply a way of putting information in code that Google can clearly and easily understand. This code usually is a piece of JSON code placed in the head of the HTML. The code wont have an impact on how users see on page content, but can make a difference to how they see your results in the SERP if Google uses your schema. This code is a really clear way of presenting information to search engines, for example, you can use it to explicitly tell Google, "This string of numbers is a phone number," or "This text is a review for this specific product."

The Theory: Why Would Structured Data Help you to rank in AI Overviews?

Google's official documentation states that AIOs pull information from the web and its Knowledge Graph. Structured data is a key way for Google to populate and understand the entities and information within that Knowledge Graph. Therefore, the logic dictates that by providing clear, information in the format Google likes, you make it easier for Google's AI models to pull your content as an authoritative, contextually accurate, and, quick source.

While Google says no special action is needed to be eligible for AIOs beyond general SEO best practices, their guidelines consistently emphasise the importance of structured data for helping them understand page content. So one of the key thoughts is, what do you have to lose? Google are stating within their best practices that structured data is useful, helps them to understand your content, and is currently utilised for rich results. As AIOs are an extension of Google’s understanding, improving that understanding by following best practice and utilising schema should only bring benefits.

What Schema Types help with AIO Visibility?

The long and short is, all schema will be beneficial provided you have the supporting content for it, following Google guidance. However, based on our experience with clients there are a few types that have generated stronger results thus far. Particularly relating to foundational business and service information:

• Organization / LocalBusiness: This has appeared really crucial to driving appearances. It establishes your brand as a distinct entity, specifying your name, logo, address, contact details, and social profiles. This helps Google verify who you are which is key to the E-E-A-T framework as Google can recognise you as experts with experience and the authority to discuss the topics you create (provided you are that is).
• Service & Review: This schema allows you to detail the specific services you offer, including descriptions, pricing and reviews. This provides clear, direct information that can be used to answer service-related queries. It also allows you to set yourself apart from competitors, calling out USPs and showing how your customers rate your service.
• Article & BlogPosting: Article schema and BlogPosting schema are more relevant for editorial content. The focus being on helping search engines to understand the longer form content and clearly defining key properties such as Author, datePublished, and Headline. These properties strengthen E-E-A-T signals as the content has clearly defined aspects outlining why the content can be trusted and is written by experts. Additionally, from Googles own guidance these schema types can help your content to appear in rich results and SERP features, the logic would then track that this translates to AI search too.
• FAQ: Lastly, FAQ schema. Now for immediate clarity, Google updated their terms a while ago saying FAQ schema will not show your content in featured snippets unless you are a healthcare or government business. However, that doesn’t mean its useless. FAQ schema still structures your content in the way search engines like and can clearly understand. This can help search engines better understand the queries your page answers, which may assist in your content being used to inform AI Overviews and other search features, even without the direct rich result benefit.

Our Results: Structured Data Implementation has a Clear Impact on AIO Visibility

We put this theory to the test with a client of ours. Our primary objective was to increase their visibility in search, specifically by targeting featured snippets and the new AI Overviews. As discussed in my previous blog, we also saw clients having incorrect information presented in AIOs, which structured data helped to fix. So for all of our clients we’re getting ahead and pushing for schema implementation to bolster information accuracy and help AIO visibility.

The Process: We identified and implemented core pieces of structured data relevant to our clients brand and services, including Organization, LocalBusiness, Breadcrumbs, Service, Article (blogPosting) and FAQ schema. The entire process, from proposal and testing to full implementation, was completed within a matter of weeks.

The Results: The impact on their AI Overview visibility was both rapid and significant, as shown in the data below.

As you can see from the graph, AIO visibility for tracked keywords rose from 0% before implementation to a peak of over 40% within weeks.

Success was defined by two key metrics:

• 100+ AIOs Triggered Daily: A substantial increase in the volume of AI-powered results.
• +6.5% Average Daily AIO Visibility: A sustained and meaningful improvement in their presence within AIOs across their keyword set which continues to trend upwards as we go.

Next Steps and Actions

The evidence that we’re seeing strongly suggests that a proactive approach to structured data is essential for modern SEO, so the steps we recommend are:

1. Audit Your Current Schema: Use Google Search Console to see what structured data Google can already detect on your site and if there are any errors. If errors are present, whether they’re warnings or full issues, take action to resolve these otherwise your schema wont be helping how you want! Use schema.org or Google’s Rich Results test to help diagnose and resolve any issues.
2. Identify Opportunities: Review your key pages—homepage, service pages, product pages, and articles. Identify which schema types are most relevant to the content on those pages.
3. Implement and Validate: Add the appropriate schema markup to your pages. Be sure to validate your code before and after deployment to ensure it's error-free and valid!
4. Monitor Performance: This is where certain tools may be required as GSC doesn’t currently report on AIO visibility! We’re using SEOmonitor as our primary tool to track AIO visibility, which also provides us with evidence for the AIO you’ve been featured in for deeper dives. 

Conclusion

While Google's algorithms remain a complex "black box" in many ways, the signals are clear from Google documentation and our experience: providing explicit, structured information about your content helps search engines understand it. Our case study results demonstrate a direct and positive link between the implementation of core schema markup and a significant increase in visibility within Google's AI Overviews.



As AI becomes more integrated into search, taking steps to make your website as machine-readable as possible is no longer just a best practice, it's a necessity to capture share of search in the ever changing landscape.