Markup should describe the article that is visibly present
Use markup that accurately represents the visible page and its real authorship and status. Markup cannot turn an unsupported claim into evidence or force an AI system to cite a page.
Structured data can communicate supported page facts in a machine-readable form. It must remain consistent with the visible article and the applicable search feature rules. Adding markup does not create expertise or guarantee a special result.
A worked example
A hypothetical draft contains a made-up author credential and a future publication date in its markup. The visible page does not support either. Correctness matters more than filling every available field.
How to apply it
- Use an appropriate article type and truthful headline, author and dates.
- Keep canonical URLs and image references consistent with the published destination.
- Validate syntax and feature eligibility without treating validation as a ranking guarantee.
What the result can establish
Do not add FAQ markup indiscriminately because an article contains questions. Google says AI search requires no special AI-specific schema. Useful content and technical eligibility remain separate from any promise of citation.
Reference: Google: article structured data.
Supporting documentation
Google: article structured dataGoogle: AI features and websitesGoogle: generative AI content guidanceGoogle: AI features and your website