How to make your opening hours, menu, and prices machine-readable
September 4, 2026 · technical seo
Learn how to format your business data so AI agents, search engines, and scrapers can accurately index your services and availability without errors.
The shift from human-readable to machine-readable
For years, website design focused entirely on the human eye. You wanted a beautiful PDF menu and a stylish table for your opening hours. However, the rise of AI agents, voice assistants, and LLM-based search engines has changed the requirements. These systems do not "see" a PDF the way a person does. They parse code.
If your data is not machine-readable, AI tools may hallucinate your closing times or misquote your prices. To ensure accuracy across the digital ecosystem, you must implement structured data that bridges the gap between your visual design and the underlying code.
The role of Schema.org and JSON-LD
Schema.org is a collaborative, community-driven project that provides a shared vocabulary for structured data on the internet. For businesses, the most effective way to implement this is through JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data).
JSON-LD is a script block placed in your website's HTML that tells search engines exactly what they are looking at. Unlike older methods, it does not interfere with your site’s visual layout. It lives in the background, providing a clean map of your data for crawlers.
Formatting opening hours for AI agents
Standard text like "Open till late" or "Closed on holidays" is ambiguous for a machine. You need to use the ISO 8601 time format.
- Use the `openingHoursSpecification` property.
- Specify days of the week using standard values (e.g., Monday, Tuesday).
- Use a 24-hour clock format (HH:MM).
- Define special hours for holidays or seasonal changes using `validFrom` and `validThrough` dates.
By being explicit, you prevent AI assistants from telling a customer you are open when you are actually closed for a public holiday.
Making menus and services indexable
Many restaurants and service providers still rely on PDF menus. PDFs are difficult for AI to parse reliably and are often not mobile-friendly. A machine-readable menu uses the `MenuItem` and `MenuSection` types within your schema.
- Break down items by name, description, and price.
- Use the `offers` property to define the price and currency (e.g., USD, EUR).
- If you have dietary labels (Vegan, Gluten-Free), include these as attributes.
This allows Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) or Perplexity to display your specific dishes and prices directly in the search interface, rather than just linking to a document the user has to download.
Why price transparency matters for LLMs
Large Language Models (LLMs) prioritize structured data when answering comparative queries. If a user asks, "Which Italian restaurant nearby has pasta dishes under $20?", the AI will prioritize businesses that have explicitly tagged their prices in the code.
- Always include the `priceCurrency` attribute.
- Use `price` as a numerical value without symbols (e.g., "18.50" instead of "$18.50").
- If prices vary by size or option, use the `AggregateOffer` type to show a price range.
Technical implementation steps
1. Identify your core data: Gather your current hours, full menu, and price list.
2. Generate the JSON-LD script: Use a tool or write a custom script that follows Schema.org documentation for `LocalBusiness` or `Restaurant`.
3. Embed the code: Place the script in the `<head>` or at the end of the `<body>` of your website.
4. Validate the data: Use the Google Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator to ensure there are no syntax errors.
5. Monitor for changes: Whenever you change a price or a closing time, the code must be updated simultaneously with the visual text.
Building a machine-readable website is no longer an optional SEO tactic; it is a fundamental requirement for staying visible in an AI-driven market. When machines can read your data easily, they are more likely to recommend your business to humans.
If you want to ensure your business is fully optimized for AI discovery, contact WebOpen today to request a free visibility audit.