Do your event pages give AI tools the date, location, and tickets in one block?
Confirms each event page emits Event structured data with start date, location, and ideally tickets and organiser.
What this signal tests
We check whether your event pages publish Event structured data with at least a name, a start date (in ISO 8601 with timezone), and a location (either a physical Place with address or a VirtualLocation with URL). Optionally we look for endDate, offers (ticket information), organizer, and eventAttendanceMode for online/offline/hybrid events.
Why it matters for your visibility in AI
AI agents that help users discover, recommend, or book events depend on this markup. When a user asks ChatGPT for tech conferences in Berlin in October, the AI extracts candidates from Event-tagged pages across the web. Sites without the markup are not in the candidate pool. The classic Google Events search panel also reads this exclusively; without Event schema, even Google cannot list you correctly. The attendance mode field has become important since the rise of hybrid events. eventAttendanceMode declares whether the event is in-person, online, or both, and AI agents use it to filter recommendations to what the user can actually attend. An event marked OnlineEventAttendanceMode appears for users anywhere in the world; one without that field defaults to in-person and may be skipped for remote audiences.
Pass criteria at a glance
| Criterion | Passes when |
|---|---|
| Event with name + startDate + location. |
How we test it
We crawl your event URLs and look for Event (or a specific subtype like Festival, Conference, SportsEvent, MusicEvent). We confirm name, startDate as ISO 8601 with timezone, and location as either a Place with PostalAddress or a VirtualLocation with a working URL. Bonus fields like offers (for tickets), organizer, eventAttendanceMode, and endDate improve completeness but are not required to pass.
Show technical detection method
@type Event/subtype with required fields.
If your site fails: how to fix it
- Identify your event template. Most ticketing platforms (Eventbrite, Universe, Hopin) emit Event schema automatically; sites that host event pages themselves need to add it manually.
- Use the most specific subtype that fits: Conference, Festival, ComedyEvent, SportsEvent, BusinessEvent, etc. Specific subtypes outperform generic Event in AI categorisation.
- Emit startDate in ISO 8601 with timezone offset (such as 2026-10-15T19:00:00-04:00). Naive dates without timezone fail and cause the event to be rejected from many AI flows.
- Add location as a Place with full PostalAddress for in-person events, or VirtualLocation with the join URL for online events. For hybrid events, set eventAttendanceMode to MixedEventAttendanceMode and include both location types.
- Include offers with price, priceCurrency, and url for ticketing. AI agents recommending events surface ticket links directly when they are available in the markup.
- Validate the URL in Google's Rich Results Test under the Event test type, which has strict requirements and will catch every missing field.
Quick facts
| Maturity | ESTABLISHED |
|---|---|
| Weight | medium |
| Category | Structured Data |
Primary sources
Related signals
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Event schema for free or invitation-only events?
Yes. Event schema applies to any scheduled gathering, paid or free. For free events, emit offers with price 0 to make that explicit. For invitation-only events, you can still emit the markup; just omit offers or set eventAttendanceMode appropriately and indicate registration is required via the eventStatus or audience fields.
What if my event is recurring (weekly, monthly)?
Schema.org supports recurring events through eventSchedule, but support across AI tools is uneven. The more reliable pattern is to emit one Event per occurrence. Many ticketing platforms do this automatically. If recurring volume is high, group by series with a parent Event and child subEvent entries.
How should I mark virtual events?
Set eventAttendanceMode to OnlineEventAttendanceMode and location to a VirtualLocation with the join URL. The URL can be a placeholder or registration page until ticket holders receive the real join link. AI tools surface virtual events to users without geographic filtering, which broadens your audience significantly.
Will Event schema put me in Google's events listings?
Yes. The events listing in Google search results pulls exclusively from Event-marked pages. Without the markup you are not eligible regardless of how relevant your event is. Adding the markup is necessary to appear; appearing is then ranked on the usual factors of relevance, recency, and organiser reputation.
Run your own scan
Run a free scan and see how your site grades across all 155 AI-readiness signals.