Is FAQ Schema Still Relevant Now FAQ Rich Results Have Ended?

What Google changed, and when

Google wound down FAQ rich results in two stages, and then removed the tools that went with them:

• August 2023: FAQ rich results, the expandable questions under a listing, were limited to well-known, authoritative government and health websites. HowTo rich results ended in the same year. See HowTo schema for what that means.
• 7 May 2026: FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search for all sites, including the government and health sites that had kept them.
• June 2026: Google said it would drop the FAQ search appearance, the FAQ rich result report in Search Console and FAQ support in the Rich Results Test.
• August 2026: Google said Search Console API support for FAQ data would go as well.

What did not change matters just as much. FAQPage is still a valid Schema.org type and has not been deprecated. Google says it may still use structured data to understand a page, and leaving FAQ markup in place does no harm. There is no requirement to remove it.

So the question has changed. FAQ schema is no longer about winning extra space in Google results, because that space no longer exists for anyone. It is about what the markup, and the content behind it, still do elsewhere.

What value FAQ schema still has

With no Google rich result at all, the remaining value is quieter and harder to measure, so be wary of anyone who promises big numbers in either direction.

Machine understanding

A FAQPage block tells a machine exactly which text is a question and which text answers it, without relying on headings, accordions or JavaScript. Google says it may still use structured data to understand pages, and that clarity costs nothing once the markup is in place.

Other search engines and AI answer engines

Google is not the only reader. Other search engines, AI crawlers and answer engines may still read FAQ markup when they process a page. None of them publish FAQPage as a ranking or citation factor, so treat this as a modest benefit, not a strategy. Our guide to schema for answer engines covers which types are worth the effort.

On-page FAQ content for visitors

The biggest value was never the markup itself. A visible FAQ section built from questions real customers ask, each with one complete answer, helps visitors decide, cuts support emails and produces text that is easy to quote. That is the part answer engines reward, with or without markup. The answer engine optimisation schema guide explains how markup and content work together.

What FAQ schema no longer does

• It will not enlarge your listing in Google, for any site. Government and health sites lost the display on 7 May 2026 along with everyone else.
• It does not lift rankings. Structured data helps search engines understand a page; it is not a ranking boost, and that was true before either change.
• It does not make thin content useful. Five generic questions added to every product page in the hope of a rich result now give you nothing but maintenance.
• It does not guarantee a featured snippet or an AI Overview citation. Those are chosen from the page content. See getting cited in AI Overviews.

If your Search Console Performance report shows a fall in clicks on pages that used to carry FAQ results, match the date to the change. Most sites lost the display around August and September 2023. Government and health sites that kept it until 2026 will see the drop from 7 May 2026. In both cases, compare impressions and positions over the same period: if positions held steady while clicks fell, you lost the extra space, not your rankings.

To check this, open the Performance report, compare the three months before and after the relevant date, and filter by page to the URLs that carried FAQ markup. Do not rely on the FAQ search appearance filter, because Google said it would remove it in June 2026. Switch on the average position and click-through rate lines. A falling click-through rate with a flat position is the signature of a lost rich result. A falling position points to something else, such as a core update or a content change, and needs a different fix.

Keep, add or remove: a simple decision table

In short: keep honest FAQ markup, add it only where it costs almost nothing, and remove it where it describes content visitors cannot see, repeats across the site or has drifted out of date. Put most of your effort into the visible questions and answers.

Correct FAQPage markup, for when you keep it

If you keep or add FAQ schema, make it correct. A minimal valid block looks like this:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Do you deliver on Sundays?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes. We deliver within 10 miles of Exampletown from 9am to 1pm on Sundays."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Can I order a cake for collection?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes. Call +44 1632 960961 at least 48 hours ahead and collect from the shop."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

The rules that matter:

• Every question and its full answer should be visible on the page. Text inside a closed accordion is fine, as long as a visitor can open it.
• The text in the markup should match the visible text. Keep both generated from the same source.
• Answers may contain simple HTML such as links and lists, but keep it light.
• Use one FAQPage per page. If a plugin and your theme both output one, remove one. See multiple schema blocks.

To check the syntax, use the Schema Markup Validator, which reads any Schema.org type. Google said FAQ support in the Rich Results Test would end in June 2026, so an FAQ item missing there is not a fault in your markup. The full property reference is in the FAQ schema guide, and the schema testing guide covers both tools.

Platform notes

• WordPress: Yoast adds FAQPage markup through its FAQ block in the block editor, and Rank Math offers its own FAQ block. Accordion plugins may add a second copy. View the source and search for FAQPage; if it appears twice, switch off the markup option in one of them.
• Shopify: FAQ markup usually comes from a theme section or an app. A theme section that repeats the same questions on every product page is a common source of duplicated markup, so limit it to a dedicated FAQ page.
• Hand-coded and headless sites: build the JSON-LD from the same array that renders the visible questions, so they can never drift apart.
• Page builders: many accordion and toggle widgets have a schema switch in their settings. Check whether it is on before adding markup another way, and switch it off on pages where the questions are generic.

The fix, step by step

Edge cases worth knowing

• Valid markup, nothing in search. That is now the expected result for every site, not a bug.
• The Search Console FAQ report. Google said it would remove the FAQ rich result report in June 2026 and API support in August 2026. Do not build checks or client reports around it; use your own crawl and the Schema Markup Validator instead.
• Dashboards keyed to the FAQ appearance. Any report that filtered clicks by the FAQ search appearance will go blank. Switch it to filter by page.
• Translated pages. Each language version should mark up its own visible questions in its own language.
• FAQ sections on service pages. These are fine and often useful to visitors. Keep them unique to the page rather than pasting one generic set everywhere.
• Old HowTo markup. HowTo rich results ended in 2023. Accurate markup can stay, but it is not worth adding to new pages for search.

Keeping FAQ content worth having

The value of an FAQ section now comes almost entirely from the questions and answers themselves. Keep them that way:

• Base questions on what customers actually ask: support emails, phone calls and the queries in your Search Console Performance report.
• Answer in the first sentence, then add detail. Short, direct answers are the ones that get quoted.
• Review answers when prices, times or policies change, and update the markup in the same edit.
• Re-validate after plugin or theme updates and check that only one FAQPage block is output per page.