*(…even though it’s not a “real” API)*
When people talk about AI search, they often jump straight to prompts, copy and “brand voice”.
Under the hood, something much quieter is doing a lot of the work:
> The way your website is **labelled** for machines.
That labelling lives in a small block of code on your pages called **JSON-LD**, and it usually follows a shared rulebook called **Schema.org**.
JSON-LD is *not* a real API in the developer sense. There’s no endpoint to call, no tokens, no requests.
But for search engines and AI models, it *behaves a lot like one*:
* It tells them what is on the page
* It tells them how things link together
* It gives them a clean, structured view of your brand and products
That’s why getting it right really matters.
**Step 1: What is JSON-LD in plain English?**
Forget the name for a second.
JSON-LD is basically:
> A little “info box” you hide in the code of your page that explains, in very clear terms, what the page is about.
Humans see the nice design, images, layout.
Machines prefer something simpler. JSON-LD gives them that:
* “This page is a **Product**.”
* “The product is called **XYZ Magnesium Sleep Drink**.”
* “It is made by **Your Brand**.”
* “It costs **£19.99** and is **in stock**.”
* “These are the **ingredients**, **flavours**, **sizes** and **benefits**.”
* “Here are some **questions and answers** people ask about it.”
You put this in a `