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Structured Data Still Essential in AI Search Era

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Google leaders shared new insights on AI in search and the future of SEO during this week’s Google Search Central Live conference in Madrid.

This report is based on the thorough coverage by Aleyda Solis, who attended the event and noted the main points.

The event featured talks from Google’s Search Relations team, including John Mueller, Daniel Weisberg, Moshe Samet, and Eric Barbera.

Google’s LLM Integration Architecture Revealed

Mueller explained how Google uses large language models (LLMs), a method called Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), and grounding to build AI-powered search answers.

According to Mueller’s slides, the process works in four steps:

A user enters a question.
The search engine finds the relevant information.
This information is used to “ground” the LLM.
The LLM creates an answer with supporting links.

This system is designed to keep answers accurate and tied to their sources, addressing concerns about AI-generated errors.

No Special Optimization Required for AI Features

Google made it clear to SEO professionals that no extra tweaks are needed for AI features.

Here are the key points:

AI tools are still new and will continue to change.
User behavior with AI search is still growing.
AI data appears with traditional search data in Search Console.
There is no separate breakdown, much like with featured snippets.

Google encourages reporting any unusual issues, but sticking to your current SEO best practices is enough for now.

Structured Data Remains Essential in an AI World

Despite advances in AI, structured data is important. During the conference, Google advised that you should:

Keep using supported structured data types.
Check Google’s documentation for the right schemas.
Understand that structured data makes it easier for computers to read and index your content.

Even though AI can work with unstructured data, using structured data gives you a clear advantage in search results.

Controlling AI-Driven Presentations of Content

For site owners who are cautious about how their content shows up in AI features, Google explained several ways to control it:

Use the robots nosnippet tag to opt out of AI Overviews.
Add a meta tag like .
Wrap certain content in a .
Limit the amount of text shown with .

These options work just like the controls for traditional search snippets.

Reporting & Analytics for AI Search

Google’s approach to reporting was also discussed.

According to Google’s slides shared by Solis:

AI search data is included with overall Search Console data.
There is no separate report just for AI features.
Breaking out AI data separately might cause more confusion for users.
There are no plans to report Gemini usage separately due to privacy issues, though this might change if new patterns are seen.

LLMs.txt and Future Standards

There was a discussion about a potential file called LLMs.txt, which would work like robots.txt but control AI usage. Mueller noted that this file “only makes sense if the system doesn’t know about your site.” (paraphrased)

The extra layer might be unnecessary since Google already has plenty of data about most sites. For Gemini and Vertex AI training, Google now uses a user-agent token in robots.txt, which does not affect search rankings.

SEO’s Continuing Relevance in an AI-Powered World

The conference made it clear that basic SEO work is still crucial. Key points include:

Core SEO tasks such as crawling, indexing, and content optimization remain.
AI tools add new capabilities to digital marketing rather than replacing old methods.
SEO professionals can use their skills in a changing landscape.

This message is reassuring: if you have strong SEO basics, you can adapt to new AI tools without completely overhauling your strategy.

Industry Implications

Solis’s coverage shows that Google focuses on user needs while adding new features. The big message is to keep delivering quality content and solid technical foundations. Although AI brings new challenges, the goal of serving users well does not change.

Some challenges remain, such as not having separate reports for AI features. However, as these features mature, more precise data may soon be available.

For now, SEOs should continue using structured data, following their proven SEO practices, and keeping up with new developments.

For more insights from the conference, see the full coverage on Solis’ website.

Featured Image: Below The Sky.Shutterstock





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