Dofollow Digest #18: Schema markup's role in AI-enhanced search

Hey, it's Eric 👋

If you've been wondering whether structured data still matters in an AI-driven world, I've got news for you: it might be more important than ever.

Microsoft just dropped some fascinating insights about how Bing and Copilot use schema markup. The TL;DR? AI needs structured data to understand your content just as much as traditional search does (maybe even more). We'll dive into what this means for your SaaS company's SEO strategy below.

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🔍 DEEP DIVE: Schema Markup's Role in AI-Enhanced Search

Microsoft recently highlighted something interesting about structured data that SaaS marketers should note: schema markup continues to be valuable, even as search becomes more AI-driven.

In a conversation reported by Search Engine Roundtable, Microsoft's Fabrice Canel explained that Bing and Microsoft Copilot use schema markup to better understand content. "When we process a page, we need to understand what this page is about," Canel noted, adding that schema helps them "extract all these signals."

This makes sense when you think about it:

Schema markup has always been a useful tool for helping search engines understand content context. As search evolves beyond keywords toward semantic understanding, providing clear structure to your content remains valuable. Even advanced AI needs reliable signals about content meaning and purpose.

What's worth considering is how Canel specifically mentioned schema's usefulness for AI systems. While traditional search algorithms have gotten better at inferring content meaning from text alone, AI systems like Copilot can better use the explicit relationships and content types that schema provides.

This timing is particularly relevant as we see more traffic from LLM-powered search interfaces. Several of our SaaS clients have reported increasing referrals from Bing Copilot and similar AI services over the past quarter. It's not replacing traditional search traffic yet, but it's becoming a meaningful channel worth optimizing for.

This suggests several practical considerations for SaaS companies:

1. Competitive context: Many SaaS websites haven't fully implemented schema markup. Taking the time to add proper structured data could help differentiate your content in both traditional and AI-powered search results.

2. Better visibility in results: Well-structured content with appropriate schema has a better chance of being featured in snippets and AI-generated summaries, especially for specific product information.

3. Long-term content organization: As search becomes more conversational, clearly defining the relationships between your content pieces becomes increasingly important.

Here's what tends to work well for SaaS companies:

The usual schema types (Organization, WebPage) are important baseline implementations, but more specific types can add additional context. SoftwareApplication schema for your product pages, FAQ schema for support content, and HowTo schema for tutorials can all help search engines better categorize and present your content.

Several of our clients have seen improvements in how their content appears in search results after implementing more detailed schema for their product features and pricing information.

Our Take:

Let's be honest – we're all still figuring out exactly how LLMs are reshaping search. These AI-powered interfaces represent a fundamentally new channel, and best practices are still emerging.

What's encouraging about Microsoft's comments is that they confirm at least some foundational SEO elements like schema markup remain relevant in this new landscape. While we don't have all the answers yet, it suggests that creating well-structured, clearly marked-up content continues to be valuable regardless of whether a human or AI is interpreting your page.

As we navigate this evolving terrain together, focusing on content clarity and structure seems like a reasonable approach while we learn more about LLM-specific optimization.

🔗 LINK ROUNDUP

• Schema Markup Is Important For LLMs, Copilot & Bing Says Microsoft

• Google March 2025 Core Update: What We Know So Far

• The Death of Traffic? Not Quite (New Data)

• 5 SaaS Companies Winning at Content Despite AI Search

• Webmasters Still Reporting Ranking Volatility Post-March Update

Til next time,

Eric