Why Schema Markup matters in healthcare marketing for AI-powered search

The rapid rise of AI search tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience and Microsoft’s Copilot means search visibility is no longer just about ranking on page one. Increasingly, search engines are answering questions, rather than just pulling results, using AI to summarise content from across the web.

Due to this shift, Schema Markup and the use of structured data has become more important than ever, particularly for healthcare marketers, where trust, accuracy and authority are non-negotiable.

Schema Markup (also called structured data) is a type of code added to a webpage. It helps search engines understand the meaning and purpose of your content, not just the words on the page. For example, Schema can be used to label:

• Medical FAQs and dosage instructions

• Author credentials (e.g. written by a registered dietitian or medical reviewer)

• Clinical trial details

• Opening hours and locations of healthcare services

• Patient reviews and testimonials

By using Schema, you’re essentially speaking the same language as AI systems, making it far easier for your content to be referenced accurately in AI-generated answers.

In any industry, Schema can help improve visibility and clickthrough rates by supporting rich results and clearer search listings. But in healthcare and pharma marketing, its value runs deeper:

1. Trust is everything
   Patients, healthcare professionals and regulators all expect clarity, transparency and authority. Schema helps surface these trust signals, such as who authored the content, when it was last reviewed, and whether it meets medical information standards.
2. Accuracy in AI summaries
   AI-generated answers rely on structured, well-labelled content to avoid misinterpretation. When discussing health advice, misrepresentation can be risky—so Schema becomes a key safeguard in how your brand is represented in AI-driven SERPs.
3. Compliance and control
   In pharma marketing especially, staying compliant with industry codes and regulatory bodies (such as MHRA or ABPI in the UK) is paramount. Schema allows for a standardised way to represent medical information such as medications, conditions, treatments, and procedures, reducing ambiguity and errors, and can help to specify the target audience of a page (e.g. Clinicians) through properties such as medicalAudience.

To help healthcare marketers navigate and prioritise where to act, we’ve developed the Varn Health AI Visibility Framework: a practical tool that assesses how well your site is prepared for AI-driven search experiences. Schema Markup is a key part of this, but it’s only one element. We look at content structure, entity clarity, brand trust signals and more.

Here are some types of Schema Markup that are particularly useful in healthcare and life sciences, although there are many more relevant and helpful types:

• MedicalCondition, Drug, DoseSchedule – For labelling content about conditions, treatments or therapies
• MedicalWebPage, medicalAudience – To specify the purpose, content and audience of a page
• MedicalOrganization, MedicalBusiness, MedicalClinic – For organisation pages
  
• FAQPage – For patient education content in a Q&A form
  
• Review and AggregateRating – For service feedback or product reviews
• ScholarlyArticle, MedicalTrial – For clinical trial summaries or whitepapers

Implementing Schema doesn’t have to be complex. Start with the areas of your website that are most valuable or frequently searched, such as condition hubs, product pages or service locators. One implemented, use tools like Google’s Rich Results Test to check your markup, and monitor performance via Search Console.

At Varn Health, we support healthcare brands in making their content structured, discoverable and trusted, not just by people, but by machines. If your site isn’t already using Schema to enhance visibility in AI-powered search, now’s the time to begin.

Get in touch with our expert team to find out how to fix your Schema Markup and get visible in AI search.