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AI search glossary

Organization schema and sameAs: tell engines exactly who you are

Organization schema is structured data using the schema.org Organization type to describe a company, nonprofit or other organization: its official name, website, logo, contact details, identifiers, and the other web pages (through sameAs) that describe the same organization.

Also called: Organization structured data, sameAs schema, organization markup

Why it matters for AI search

When an AI engine names a recommended brand, it has to resolve which company that name refers to. Organization markup with a stable @id and a sameAs list pointing to your official profiles gives engines a direct statement of your identity and links it to sources they already trust, such as Wikidata, LinkedIn or a Wikipedia article. That reduces mix-ups with similarly named companies and keeps facts like your logo and URL consistent.

What Organization schema contains

Schema.org defines Organization as an organization such as a school, NGO, corporation or club. It has more specific subtypes, including Corporation, LocalBusiness, OnlineBusiness, NGO and NewsMediaOrganization; use the most specific one that fits.

Google's Organization documentation has no required properties and recommends these:

  • name and alternateName: the same names you use as your site name.
  • url: your website, which Google says helps it uniquely identify your organization.
  • logo: at least 112 by 112 pixels, crawlable, and legible on a white background.
  • sameAs: other pages that describe your organization, such as social or review profiles.
  • legalName, address, contactPoint, telephone, email, foundingDate, numberOfEmployees.
  • Identifiers: Google prefers iso6523Code (for example a DUNS or LEI number with its ICD prefix) over the older duns and leiCode properties, plus vatID and taxID. Merchants can also add return policy and shipping details here.

A copy-ready example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "https://www.example.com/#org",
  "name": "Example Coffee Co.",
  "legalName": "Example Coffee Company LLC",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/logo-512.png",
  "foundingDate": "2019",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q00000000",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-coffee",
    "https://www.instagram.com/examplecoffee",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@examplecoffee"
  ]
}

Wrap it in a script tag with type="application/ld+json" on your home page. Reuse the @id from other pages (for example as a product's brand or an article's publisher) so every page points to the same entity.

Schema.org describes sameAs as the URL of a reference page that clearly establishes the item's identity, giving Wikipedia, Wikidata and an official site as examples. Good candidates:

  1. Your Wikidata item and Wikipedia article, if they exist.
  2. Official profiles you control: LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X, GitHub, app store listings.
  3. Established review or directory profiles that are clearly about you.

Leave out pages that merely mention you, and keep the list in sync when profiles change. A dead or wrong sameAs link adds confusion instead of removing it.

Why it matters beyond rich results

Google says these properties can influence visual elements in Search, including the logo shown and your knowledge panel. For AI engines the benefit is identity: a single, consistent statement of your name, site and profiles is the foundation of entity SEO. It works best when the same facts appear in your visible about page and on the profiles you list. See schema markup for the other types worth adding.

Questions

Where should Organization schema go?
Google recommends placing it on your home page or on one page that describes your organization, such as an about page. It does not need to be on every page.
What is sameAs in schema markup?
sameAs is a schema.org property that lists URLs of reference pages that unambiguously identify the same thing, such as your Wikipedia article, Wikidata item, official social profiles or review profiles. It links your markup to the wider web's description of you.
Which Organization properties are required?
Google lists no required properties for Organization markup. It recommends adding every property that applies, starting with name, url, logo and sameAs.
Can Organization schema get me a knowledge panel?
It can influence what appears, such as which logo Google shows, but Google does not guarantee a knowledge panel or any other feature from the markup.

Related terms

Sources