Structured Data Still Matters in Google’s AI Search Era – Here’s Why It Should Still Be a Priority

As Google continues to integrate AI into its search engine, many businesses and SEO professionals are wondering: Do we need to change how we optimize for search?

At the recent Google Search Central Live 2025 event in Madrid, the answer became clear:
You don’t need to completely change your SEO strategy, but structured data remains essential.

Here’s a clear and practical breakdown of what this means for your business and your website.

What Is Structured Data
(and Why Should You Care)?

Structured data is code that helps Google understand your website better.

For example:

•   If your page contains a recipe, you can use structured data to label the ingredients, cooking time, and steps.
•   If it’s a product page, structured data helps highlight the price, ratings, and availability.
•   For blogs, it can label FAQs, how-to guides, videos, and more.

Think of it as adding labels to your content so that search engines know exactly what it is and display it in enhanced formats like rich snippets, voice results, and AI summaries.

What Google Said:
No “AI SEO” Required - Yet

Google’s team, including John Mueller and others, clarified that there’s no need for new types of SEO or optimization to show up in AI-powered results. (Google Search Central documentation).

Key points:

•   No separate tags or formats are needed for AI features.
•   AI summaries (like Gemini or Overviews) pull from content that’s already well-optimized.
•   Structured data continues to improve your visibility, even in AI-generated answers.

So, if you’re following standard best practices, fast-loading pages, mobile-friendly design, quality content, and structured data, you’re already on the right path.

How AI-Powered Search Works (Simplified)

Google’s AI answers are powered by something called RAG: Retrieval Augmented Generation. Here’s how it works:

•   A user types a question in Google.
•   Google pulls the most relevant pages from the web.
•   That information is “fed” to the AI model.
•   The AI creates a clear answer, and shows where the information came from.

This means your website can be featured in AI answers if your content is relevant and easy for Google to understand, especially if you’re using structured data correctly. If you're aiming to get featured in Overviews, explore our blog on Ranking in Google AI Overviews for actionable steps.

Can You Control How Google AI Shows Your Content?

Yes, just like in traditional search results, you can control how much of your content appears.

You can use:

•   to stop content from being shown
•  
  to exclude specific sections
•   to limit preview length

This is especially useful if you want to protect certain types of content or control how your site appears in AI features.

Will You See AI Traffic in Google Search Console?

Not specifically, for now, AI-related traffic is grouped with all other search data in Search Console.

There are no separate filters or reports for AI Overviews or Gemini usage. Google says separating this data might create more confusion than clarity, but this could change in the future as usage grows.

What Is LLMs.txt and
Do You Need It?

There was some discussion around a proposed LLMs.txt file, a tool that might allow sites to control if and how their content is used in AI models (like Gemini or Vertex AI).

However, Google said this file may not be necessary right now. They already respect existing rules in robots.txt for AI training, and search rankings are not affected by whether your content is used for AI model training.

Your 2025 SEO Action Plan: What To Do Now

Google’s messaging is clear: SEO isn’t dead — it’s evolving. Below is your updated action plan to stay ahead:

Implement and
Maintain Structured Data

•   Use schema types like FAQPage, HowTo, Product, Review, and Speakable
•   Stick to JSON-LD format, preferred by Google.
•   Here’s a simple example of FAQPage schema in JSON-LD format:
  
  
•   Regularly audit schema using tools like Google’s Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator.
•   Set a reminder to review your schema every quarter to catch errors and maintain eligibility for rich results and AI summaries.

Optimize for AI Summaries

•   Write clearly and structure content with bullet points and FAQs
•   Use strong internal linking to guide AI through your content
•   Build content around user intent, not just keywords.

For a detailed walkthrough, check our Guide on optimizing content for AI summaries.

Focus on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

•   Add author bios and credentials.
•   Cite reliable sources
•   Include testimonials, reviews, and case studies

Want to understand how E-E-A-T directly affects your Google rankings? Here’s why it matters in 2025.

Leverage Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

•   Understand how AI like Gemini selects and summarizes content
•   Use concise, authoritative paragraphs to increase selection in AI-generated summaries
•   Track AI visibility through indirect signals like featured snippets and traffic spikes

Strengthen On-Page SEO Elements

•   Write compelling title tags and meta descriptions with your primary keywords. For better visibility, follow the recommended length for title tags and meta descriptions based on current SEO standards.
•   Optimize for Core Web Vitals (loading speed, interactivity, visual stability)
•   Ensure mobile-first design and test Voice search queries effectively using strategies tailored for conversational SEO.
•   Optimize images with descriptive alt text and relevant file names for visual search, and be sure to use the best image size for blog posts to ensure fast loading and consistent formatting across devices.
•   Write content in a conversational tone and include natural language questions and answers to boost voice search and AI Overview visibility. If you're new to this, our best image size for blog posts breaks it down clearly.

Refresh Existing Content

•   Update blogs with recent data and examples. If you're wondering how often to do this, here’s the ideal update frequency for SEO impact.
•   Add FAQs, new insights, or schema where relevant
•   Re-publish updated pages for better crawl frequency

Build a Logical Internal Linking Structure

•   Use clear anchor text (not just “click here”). For a step-by-step breakdown, check out our Internal linking guide for SEO success.
•   Link between related content pieces, especially blogs and service pages
•   Ensure crawl depth is no more than 3 clicks for core content

Embrace Content Personalization and Topic Clustering

AI-powered search rewards websites that cover topics comprehensively and serve user intent.

•   Add group related articles into topic clusters and use pillar pages to establish authority.
•   Personalize content where possible, using dynamic elements or tailored recommendations to increase engagement and relevance.

Final Thoughts: SEO Isn’t Going Away — It’s Evolving

This new era of AI-powered search doesn’t replace SEO, it highlights the value of doing it right.

Structured data isn’t just a technical add-on, it’s your website’s way of speaking Google’s language. And in a world where AI is summarizing answers and choosing sources more intelligently, giving clear signals matters more than ever.

Written by Viswanathan Ganesan Iyer