CriticReview

CriticReview is a direct Review subtype for reviews written by a source recognised for its reviewing activities: a newspaper critic, a specialist publication, a recognised critics' organisation. It adds no properties of its own.

Use CriticReview to distinguish professional reviews from user-contributed ones (UserReview). Google's review rich result reads CriticReview and UserReview equivalently, but AI consumers and knowledge graphs use the distinction to weight reviews.

Full example of schema.org/CriticReview json-ld markup

The markup is verified as valid with Rich Results Test from Google.

schema.org/CriticReview

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "CriticReview",
  "itemReviewed": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "XooStructured Enterprise", "softwareVersion": "4.2" },
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Priya Chen", "jobTitle": "Senior reviewer", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Xoo Code Quarterly" } },
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Xoo Code Quarterly" },
  "datePublished": "2026-04-12",
  "reviewBody": "XooStructured 4.2 sets a new bar for JSON-LD validators: full schema.org pending coverage, sharp property-level diagnostics, and the best enum enforcement on the market.",
  "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 5, "bestRating": 5 }
}
</script>

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid CriticReview entity. Use it as the floor. Reach for the advanced example above when you want search engines and AI agents to understand more about your content.

schema.org/CriticReview (minimal)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "CriticReview",
  "itemReviewed": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "XooStructured Enterprise" },
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Priya Chen" },
  "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 5, "bestRating": 5 }
}
</script>

Google rich results this unlocks

CriticReview is a structural type. It does not produce a rich result on its own.

Its value comes from combining it with a primary type whose markup earns a rich result (Article, Product, Event, and so on). CriticReview becomes the trunk that the primary type branches off viamainEntityorbreadcrumb. Include it on every page as the backbone of your markup.

Common CriticReview mistakes

Mistakes that pass validation but silently fail to earn rich results or mislead consumers walking the graph. Avoid these and your markup will be ahead of most sites in the wild.

01
CriticReview on user reviews
Wrong
```
CriticReview on consumer-submitted reviews
```
Right
```
UserReview for end-user content; CriticReview for professional reviewers
```
The two types exist specifically to signal source quality; mixing them misrepresents the review's authority.

Schema properties in this example

CriticReview Review CreativeWork itemReviewed SoftwareApplication softwareVersion author Person jobTitle worksFor Organization publisher datePublished reviewBody reviewRating Rating ratingValue bestRating UserReview

Also mentioned in 1 other example

CriticReview also appears in UserReview. See the full CriticReview schema page for every reference.

About the example data

A fictional Xoo Code Quarterly critic review of XooStructured Enterprise 4.2.

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