# JSON-LD

> A JSON-based format for embedding Schema.org structured data in a page — the lingua franca that AI engines extract.

_The Agentic Web Lexicon · /glossary/json-ld · [JSON](/api/glossary/json-ld) · [all The Agentic Web Lexicon](/glossary)_

- **term:** JSON-LD
- **category:** protocols
- **short_def:** A JSON-based format for embedding Schema.org structured data in a page — the lingua franca that AI engines extract.
- **long_def:** JSON-LD 1.1 is a W3C Recommendation (2020). A single script tag with an @graph can describe a site, its pages, its author and its key entities in a way that Google, Bing, Perplexity and ChatGPT all parse. By 2026, engines cross-check schema claims against page content, so accuracy matters more than volume.
- **see_also:** grounding, geo, agentic-web
- **etymology_origin:** Developed at the W3C; JSON-LD 1.0 reached W3C Recommendation in 2014 and JSON-LD 1.1 in 2020. Manu Sporny (Digital Bazaar) was the original 1.0 editor/author; 1.1 editors include Gregg Kellogg, Pierre-Antoine Champin and Dave Longley.
- **related_to:** grounding, geo, agentic-web, nlweb
- **contrast_with:** Unlike microdata or RDFa, which inline structured data into HTML tags, JSON-LD lives in a self-contained script block — decoupled from markup and far easier for engines to extract.
- **example:** JSON-LD 1.1 became a W3C Recommendation in 2020; a single script tag with @graph lets Google, Bing, Perplexity and ChatGPT parse a page's entities.
- **source:** https://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld11/
- **status:** active
- **why_it_matters:** JSON-LD is the structured-data format AI engines extract first; correct, page-consistent JSON-LD is a primary lever for getting entities understood and cited.
- **sameAs:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON-LD, https://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld11/
- **bridge_entity:** geo
- **last_verified:** 2026-06-15
- **md_twin:** /glossary/json-ld.md