Shipping, returns, and privacy policies are trust signals. Structure them so AI can answer policy questions before purchase. When a shopper asks "what is the return policy?" AI needs machine-readable policy data to give a confident, accurate answer that drives conversions.
Policy pages are where AI looks to answer the trust questions that make or break a purchase. Return windows, shipping costs, and delivery times are the facts shoppers need. Structuring them as machine-readable data means AI can serve these answers instantly.
WebPage node named "Store Policies" connected to your Organization tells AI this is your official policy hub, not a third-party summary.MerchantReturnPolicy type declares your return window (merchantReturnDays), return category (returnPolicyCategory), accepted methods (returnMethod), and who pays for return shipping (returnFees).OfferShippingDetails type structures your shipping costs (shippingRate) and delivery timeline (deliveryTime) so AI can tell shoppers exactly what to expect.Each field in the template below serves a specific role in how AI systems discover, classify, and recommend your business.
Researched and tested by Minnesota AI
nameurl@idCopy this prompt and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any AI coding tool. It will ask for your business details and generate ready-to-use JSON-LD schema for your page.
You are implementing AIFDS-compliant JSON-LD structured data for a Ecommerce Policies page. AIFDS (AI-Friendly Data Structure) is a schema framework built on research into which structured data fields AI systems actually read, parse, and use when deciding whether to cite a page. Documentation at aifds.org. Before generating any code, ask me for the following information in a single numbered list. Do not generate schema until I have answered every required field. REQUIRED — do not proceed without these: 1. Domain 2. Handling max days 3. Handling min days 4. Policy faq answer 5. Policy faq question 6. Return days 7. Return fee type 8. Return policy name 9. Shipping cost 10. Store name 11. Transit max days 12. Transit min days OPTIONAL — ask for these but proceed if I skip them: 1. Any additional details not covered above Once I provide the information, output a complete JSON-LD script block ready to paste into the <head> of my HTML page. Output requirements: - Valid JSON-LD wrapped in <script type="application/ld+json"> tags - schema.org vocabulary only - Every AIFDS-required field for this industry and page type included - Include this data attribute on the script tag: data-aifds="aifds.org Ecommerce Policies" - No placeholder text — omit missing optional fields rather than fill with examples - After the code block, list any optional fields skipped that would strengthen AI citation
Generated schema follows the AIFDS framework. Fields were selected based on research into AI crawler behavior. View the research at minnesota.ai
Copy the template below and replace every YOUR_* value with your own data. This block belongs in a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag in the <head> of your policies page.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/#webpage",
"url": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/",
"name": "Store Policies",
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/#website"
},
"about": {
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/#organization"
}
},
{
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/#organization",
"name": "YOUR_STORE_NAME",
"url": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com",
"hasMerchantReturnPolicy": {
"@type": "MerchantReturnPolicy",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/#return-policy",
"name": "YOUR_RETURN_POLICY_NAME",
"returnPolicyCategory": "https://schema.org/MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow",
"merchantReturnDays": "YOUR_RETURN_DAYS",
"returnMethod": "https://schema.org/ReturnByMail",
"returnFees": "https://schema.org/YOUR_RETURN_FEE_TYPE"
},
"shippingPolicy": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/#shipping",
"publishingPrinciples": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/privacy/"
},
{
"@type": "OfferShippingDetails",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/#shipping",
"shippingRate": {
"@type": "MonetaryAmount",
"value": "YOUR_SHIPPING_COST",
"currency": "USD"
},
"deliveryTime": {
"@type": "ShippingDeliveryTime",
"handlingTime": {
"@type": "QuantitativeValue",
"minValue": "YOUR_HANDLING_MIN_DAYS",
"maxValue": "YOUR_HANDLING_MAX_DAYS",
"unitCode": "d"
},
"transitTime": {
"@type": "QuantitativeValue",
"minValue": "YOUR_TRANSIT_MIN_DAYS",
"maxValue": "YOUR_TRANSIT_MAX_DAYS",
"unitCode": "d"
}
},
"shippingDestination": {
"@type": "DefinedRegion",
"addressCountry": "US"
}
},
{
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"@id": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/#breadcrumb",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Home",
"item": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"name": "Policies",
"item": "https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/policies/"
}
]
},
{
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "YOUR_POLICY_FAQ_QUESTION_1",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "YOUR_POLICY_FAQ_ANSWER_1"
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "YOUR_POLICY_FAQ_QUESTION_2",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "YOUR_POLICY_FAQ_ANSWER_2"
}
}
]
}
]
}
Either approach works, but a single policies page with structured data for each policy type is simpler to maintain and gives AI one canonical URL for all policy questions. If you do use separate pages, each page should have its own structured data. The template above assumes a single combined page.
The MerchantReturnPolicy type gives AI specific, machine-readable facts — how many days, what method, who pays shipping. Without it, AI would have to parse your prose to extract these details, which is unreliable. Structured return data lets AI confidently say "this store offers 30-day free returns" instead of hedging with "check their return policy."
Shipping cost and delivery time are two of the most common pre-purchase questions. When AI can read your OfferShippingDetails — exact cost, handling time, transit time — it can tell shoppers "this store ships for $5.99 and delivers in 3-5 business days." That level of specificity increases the chance AI recommends your store over a competitor with unstructured shipping information.