Can a tool read your page dates?
It checks whether substantial pages carry a date in machine-readable markup.
What Check Engine measures
At least 4 indexable pages with at least 300 words each are needed. A page counts as dated when it has an article published or modified time in Open Graph, or a matching date in content JSON-LD. The JSON-LD date check excludes site-level types, accepts an ISO-shaped date prefix and stops walking beyond 8 nested levels. A finding appears when the dated share is below 0.3. For example, a 300-word article with a qualifying published date can count toward the dated share.
The sample is substantial indexable content. A date on a shared organisation or website node does not stand in for the date of the page being read.
How to read the result
The result is low severity. An Open Graph date counts when present. A JSON-LD date also needs the expected format. Review the date yourself to confirm when the content changed and whether it is current.
Why it matters
A date helps readers understand when an article was written or updated. Attach it to the content it describes. Change an update date when the work has actually changed.
How to fix it
Use the real publication date and change the modified date only after a meaningful edit. Add the matching article time or content schema field, then inspect the served HTML. Keep a visible date consistent with the markup. Do not update the date merely to remove the finding when the underlying page has not changed.
What we found in field audits
Problems in AI search visibility were found on 14 of the 14 sites we audited. These are area totals. Read the field-audit method.
Method note
backend/seo_engine/checks/ai_visibility.py, freshness_signal, revision 0bb8e8d3.
Common questions
Does a date on my website node count as an article date?
No. The date test excludes site-level types. A qualifying date must describe the content itself.
How much content is needed for the machine-readable date sample?
At least 4 indexable pages must each contain 300 words or more. Smaller samples do not reach the dated-share test.
How serious is missing readable date markup on substantial pages?
It is a low severity result. A detected date still needs review to confirm that it reflects the real work.