Google Removed FAQ Rich Results: What to Do With Your FAQ Markup

Google stopped showing FAQ rich results in Search from 7 May 2026 and has since removed the feature's documentation. FAQ sections are still worth having for visitors, and FAQPage markup is not harmful, but you should no longer expect expandable questions under your search listing. Here is what changed, what to do with existing markup and how to plan FAQ content now.

FAQ markup had a long run as one of the easiest ways to take up more space on the results page. If your site used it, you may have noticed the change in your listings. This article explains the timeline from Google's own documentation changelog, what it means for your pages and what we recommend you do next. For the general approach to answer-focused writing, see our answer engine optimization guide.

What changed, and when

Google's Search Central documentation changelog records the sequence.

Date	Change
8 May 2026 (changelog entry)	Google added a deprecation notice to the FAQ rich result documentation, stating that the feature would no longer appear in Google Search starting 7 May 2026
12 June 2026	Google removed the documentation for the FAQ rich result feature, because it is no longer shown in Search results

This was not a sudden surprise. Google had already restricted FAQ rich results in 2023 to well-known, authoritative government and health sites, which meant most businesses had stopped seeing them. The 2026 change ended the feature altogether. Source: Google Search Central, documentation updates.

What it means for your search listings

• No FAQ dropdowns. Your result will not show expandable questions beneath it, even if the page has valid FAQPage markup.
• Possible small changes in click-through rate. If you saw rich results before, your listing now takes less space. Check Search Console for pages whose click-through rate changed, and compare against similar pages without FAQ markup.
• Rankings are not affected by the change itself. Google described this as removing a display feature. It does not say pages with FAQ markup rank lower.
• Your visible FAQs still work for visitors. The content on the page is unchanged.

Should you remove your FAQ markup?

Not necessarily. There is no sign that valid FAQPage markup harms a page, and structured data can still help systems understand a page's content. But the main benefit, the rich result, is gone, so the decision is practical.

Situation	Recommendation
Markup is valid and matches the visible questions	Leave it. It does no harm, and removing it takes effort for no clear gain
Markup is broken, duplicated or does not match the page	Fix or remove it. Google's structured data policies require markup to match visible content
You added hidden FAQ markup for ranking	Remove it
A template adds FAQ markup to every page automatically	Limit it to pages that really have FAQs, and stop generating filler
You are building new pages	Do not add FAQ markup just for search. Write the FAQ for readers, and add markup only if it is easy and accurate

We have kept FAQPage markup on our own blog posts for the moment, because it matches the visible questions and costs nothing to maintain. We do not expect a rich result from it.

Do FAQ sections still have value?

Yes, for three reasons.

1. They help readers. A visitor with one specific doubt, such as "do you cover my area?", can find the answer without reading the whole page.
2. They match how people search. Questions are how people phrase searches, and a clear question with a direct answer is useful on its own.
3. They can support answer features. Writing a short, direct answer under a question gives search engines and AI tools a clean passage, although Google says you do not need to write in a special way for AI.

The difference is that FAQs are now a content tool, not a markup tactic. Put them where they help the reader, and make them real.

How to write an FAQ section that earns its place

1. Use real questions. Pull them from customer emails, sales calls, reviews and Search Console queries. Skip questions that nobody asks.
2. Answer first. Start with the direct answer in the first sentence, then add the condition or detail.
3. Keep answers short but complete. One to four sentences is usually right. Link to a fuller page where more depth helps.
4. Avoid "it depends" without saying on what. Name the factors.
5. Do not repeat the same answer in different words. Each question should cover something distinct.
6. Keep it honest and current. Update prices, dates and policies when they change.
7. Place it where people look. On a service page, put the questions that stop a purchase near the call to action. On a guide, put them at the end.
8. Do not stuff keywords. A question that reads as if written for a search engine will not help anyone.

What about structured data more widely?

The FAQ change is a reminder that structured data features come and go. Some points to keep in mind.

• Markup must match the visible page. Google's policies require it, and mismatches can cost you eligibility for rich features.
• Use markup for features that exist. Check Google's list of supported features before investing time.
• Do not chase every format. Focus on markup that clarifies who you are and what you offer, such as Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, Article and BreadcrumbList.
• Not required for AI features. Google says structured data is not required for its generative AI features and there is no special markup for them.

Our schema services follow this approach: add markup that is accurate, supported and useful, and remove what is not.

A checklist for your FAQ content and markup

Check	Why
List pages that carry FAQPage markup	Know what you have before deciding anything
Confirm each question and answer is visible on the page	Required by Google's structured data policies
Remove markup on pages where the FAQ is hidden, duplicated or empty	Avoids policy problems
Check Search Console for pages whose click-through rate changed	See whether the change affected you
Rewrite thin or repetitive FAQs	Make them useful to readers
Add FAQs to pages where visitors have clear questions	Support conversions
Update the date and facts when policies or prices change	Keep answers trustworthy

Measuring the effect on your own site

1. In Search Console, open the Performance report and filter by pages that had FAQ markup.
2. Compare click-through rate and clicks for the weeks before 7 May 2026 and the weeks after, taking account of seasonality and ranking changes.
3. Compare against pages without FAQ markup to separate the effect of the feature's removal from general trends.
4. Check whether impressions or positions moved. If they did not, the change is probably about display, not ranking.

Look at conversions as well as clicks. A page that loses a few clicks but converts better because it is clearer may be doing well overall.

FAQ content and AI answers

Because AI answers draw on passages from pages, clear question-and-answer sections can supply passages that are easy to use. Google's guide to its generative AI features says you do not need to write in a special way for AI, chunk your content or rely on special markup. It also says to focus on unique, non-commodity content. So an FAQ that simply restates common knowledge adds little. An FAQ that shares your real experience, such as the actual timeline and costs of your work, adds more. See our guide to Google AI Overviews optimization for details.

Mistakes to avoid after the change

• Deleting all your FAQs because the rich result is gone.
• Keeping markup that no longer matches the page after you edit the visible text.
• Generating dozens of low-quality questions per page.
• Assuming your rankings fell because of the markup, without checking other causes.
• Paying for a tool or service that sells "FAQ schema" as a ranking fix.

A worked example: auditing FAQ markup on a 200-page site

This is an invented example. A Leeds software company added FAQPage markup to 80 pages in 2023, hoping for rich results. After the May 2026 change, it wants to know what to do.

Step 1: Find the pages

It crawls the site with a crawler configured to extract JSON-LD, and exports a list of pages that contain FAQPage markup, with the number of questions in each.

Step 2: Compare markup with visible text

For each page, a team member checks that every question and answer in the markup appears visibly on the page, in the same words. The check finds three problems: 12 pages where the visible FAQ was edited but the markup was not, 9 pages where a template generated the same five questions regardless of the topic, and 4 pages where the FAQ was hidden in a collapsed section that loaded only after a click.

Step 3: Decide page by page

Group	Pages	Decision
Valid markup, matches visible text, real questions	55	Leave
Markup out of date compared with visible text	12	Update the markup, or generate it from the same source as the visible text
Template FAQs that repeat across unrelated pages	9	Remove the markup, and rewrite or delete the generic questions
Hidden or click-only FAQ content	4	Make the text visible or remove the markup

Step 4: Check performance

In Search Console, the team compares click-through rate for the 80 pages in the eight weeks before and after 7 May 2026, against 80 similar pages without markup. Click-through rate falls slightly on the marked-up pages, but impressions and positions are unchanged. The team concludes it is a display change, and moves on to improving the questions themselves.

Step 5: Improve the content

For the ten most visited pages, the team interviews support staff, replaces generic questions with real ones from tickets and adds direct answers with links to documentation. Support tickets about those topics fall over the next quarter, which is a more valuable result than a rich result would have been.

FAQ patterns that help, and patterns that hurt

Helpful	Unhelpful
Questions taken from real customers	Questions invented to include keywords
Direct answer in the first sentence	Long preamble before the answer
Short answers that link to deeper pages	Walls of text hidden in accordions
Different questions that cover different doubts	The same question phrased five ways
Facts with dates and sources	Vague claims with no support
Placed near the decision point	Dumped at the bottom of every page
Updated when facts change	Left unchanged for years

Which structured data is worth the effort now

Google's documentation lists the structured data features it supports and the policies behind them. The FAQ change is a good moment to review what you use and why.

Type	Typical use	Worth it when
Organization	Describes your business, logo and profiles	Always, on the home page, if details are accurate. See our entity SEO guide
LocalBusiness	Name, address, phone and hours for a physical business	You serve a location. See our local SEO checklist
Product and Offer	Product details, price and availability	You sell products and want eligibility for product features
Article	Headline, author and dates for articles	You publish editorial content and want to give clear authorship and date signals
BreadcrumbList	Shows page hierarchy	Your site has a clear hierarchy
VideoObject	Describes videos on your pages	You host videos and want them found. See our YouTube SEO guide
Review snippets	Ratings from genuine reviews	You have real reviews and follow Google's review guidelines, including the July 2026 guideline on fake and undisclosed incentivised reviews

For every type, the markup must match the visible page. If you are not sure, validate with Google's Rich Results Test, and remember that it only tests whether markup is valid, not whether it will earn a feature.

FAQ pages versus FAQ sections

Some sites built a single large FAQ page. That can help people who search for a question, but there is a risk: a page covering dozens of unrelated questions rarely matches a single search intent well. Often it is better to place each question on the page that owns its topic, and link to it from a short central index if you want one. Questions about pricing belong on the pricing page, questions about delivery on the delivery page. This also avoids two pages answering the same question, which causes cannibalization. See our keyword research guide.

A simple template for each FAQ entry

Part	Guidance	Example
Question	The words a customer would use	Do you offer fixed-price quotes?
Direct answer	Yes or no, or the main fact, in the first sentence	Yes, for most projects under 20 days of work.
Condition	What changes the answer	Larger or less defined projects are quoted in stages.
Next step	A link or action	Request a quote using the form below.
Owner and date	Internal: who checks it and when	Sales lead, reviewed each January

A short history of FAQ rich results

Time	What happened
Around 2019	Google introduced FAQ rich results, which let sites with FAQPage markup show expandable questions under their listing
August 2023	Google reduced the feature so that FAQ rich results were shown mainly for well-known, authoritative government and health sites, as announced at the time
8 May 2026	Google's documentation added a deprecation notice. The feature stopped appearing from 7 May 2026
12 June 2026	The feature's documentation was removed

The 2019 and 2023 entries are from our memory of Google's public announcements at the time and are included for context. The 2026 entries come from the Search Central documentation changelog. For official details of any date, check Google's documentation.

FAQ questions that suit different types of page

Page type	Useful questions
Service page	How much does it cost? How long does it take? What do you need from me? What is included? What if I am not happy?
Product page	What size should I choose? Is it compatible with X? What is the delivery time? How do I return it? How do I care for it?
Location page	Do you cover my area? Where do I park? What are your opening hours? Do you offer evening appointments?
Pricing page	What is included in each plan? Can I change plans? Is there a contract? What are the extra costs?
Guide or article	Short follow-ups that readers often have after reading, such as what to do next or common mistakes
Software documentation	Troubleshooting questions, limits and how-to steps

Accessibility for FAQ sections

• If you use expandable sections, make sure they work with keyboard navigation and screen readers, and that the content is present in the page, not loaded only after a click.
• Use headings for questions so people can navigate by headings.
• Keep answers readable, with clear language.
• Avoid hiding essential information, such as pricing conditions, inside collapsed sections without a visible hint.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Rich result	A search listing enhanced with extra visual or interactive elements, powered by structured data
FAQPage	A schema.org type for a page of questions and answers. Google no longer shows an FAQ rich result
JSON-LD	A common format for adding structured data to a page
Deprecation	Announcing that a feature will stop being supported or shown
Rich Results Test	Google's tool for checking whether markup is valid and eligible for supported features
Changelog	The dated list of documentation updates published by Google Search Central

Checklist when Google changes a structured data feature

1. Read the changelog entry and the updated documentation, and note the dates.
2. List the pages that use the affected markup.
3. Check whether Search Console shows warnings or changes in related reports.
4. Compare performance for those pages before and after, against a similar group.
5. Decide whether to keep, fix or remove the markup, and record the reason.
6. Update your documentation and templates, so new pages follow the decision.

A story of an FAQ rewrite that helped customers

This is an invented composite. A Reading company that installs home electric vehicle chargers had a long FAQ page with 40 questions, most of them written years earlier to catch search traffic: "What is an EV charger?", "Why should I install an EV charger?", "EV charger installation Reading" and so on. When Google ended FAQ rich results, the marketing manager decided to review the page honestly, not just to leave it alone.

She exported the questions, then listened to recordings of customer calls and read the last 100 enquiry emails. The real questions were different: "Do I need permission from my landlord?", "Can I charge if I park on the street?", "How long does installation take?", "Is there a grant I can apply for?", "What happens if my fuse board is old?", "Do you handle the paperwork for the energy supplier?" Most of the old FAQ questions did not appear at all.

She rewrote the content in three steps. First, she deleted questions that no customer had asked and that merely restated obvious information. Second, she wrote direct answers to the real questions, checking each against official guidance and her installers' experience, and she linked to official sources where rules or grants were involved. Third, she moved each question to the page where it belonged. Information about grants went to the pricing page. Parking and landlord permission went to a page for people without a driveway. Fuse board issues went to the installation process page. She kept a short list of the five most common questions on the home page, with links to the full answers.

She kept FAQPage markup on pages where the questions and answers were visible and matched. She did not expect a rich result, since Google had ended the feature, but the markup was already generated from the same content, and she did not want to spend time removing it. She also set a review date for each page, because grants and rules change, and added the last-checked date to the visible text.

The effect on rankings was unclear and she did not claim any. What she could measure was the effect on customers: calls asking the questions now answered on the site fell, and the sales team reported that people arrived better informed. Enquiry quality improved, and the share of enquiries that became installations rose. The experience reinforced the point that FAQ content works best as a service to customers, built from their real questions, and not as a tactic for search features that can disappear.

Where we can help

We are a digital marketing agency in Manchester, UK and Mumbai, India. If you want your FAQ content and structured data reviewed, our SEO audit and schema services cover it. Contact us to talk about your site.