JSON-LD
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a way to write facts as data that software can read, using JSON, a common web format. The W3C, the web's standards body, publishes it as an official standard. It can give each thing a web address as its ID and link to facts about it on other sites.
Source: W3C, JSON-LD 1.1 Recommendation, checked October 29, 2026
What JSON-LD means for your business
Schema.org is the list of words, like Restaurant or telephone. JSON-LD is the format you write them in. Schema markup is what you get when you put the two on a page. When someone says a site "has schema," this is usually the code they mean.
JSON-LD sits in its own block of code, apart from the words visitors read. That makes it easy to add and just as easy to forget. Nobody sees the old version, so we'd check it every time your hours, address or phone number change.
We care most about the "linked data" part. You can give your business one ID in the code, then point to the same business on your Google profile, your social accounts and Wikidata. If the code on your site still lists your old address or an old phone number, bringing it up to date is one of the first fixes we'd make.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. All terms
How AI answers it today
On October 29, 2026, Google's AI Overview cited the JSON-LD project's own site, an SEO tool's wiki, Stack Overflow, Reddit and YouTube. ChatGPT linked only two code-testing tools, and listed help with AI search as a benefit without a source for it.
Our run through ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, October 29, 2026. A sample, not what every buyer sees.
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