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Writing an FAQ that still pays off in Google and in AI answers
The drop-down questions under your Google listing are gone. A good FAQ is still worth every line.
Since May 7, 2026, Google no longer shows FAQ rich results. An FAQ is still worth writing if it answers your customers' real questions in 2 to 4 precise sentences: those answers can become a Google snippet, a source for AI Overviews and ChatGPT, and they cut down on repeat phone calls.
In short
- FAQPage markup has produced no Google rich result since May 7, 2026.
- Your questions come from emails, calls and lost quotes, not from a keyword tool.
- Each answer: the answer first, then a number, a condition or an exception.
- Ten good questions beat fifty filler ones.
What changed for FAQs in Google in 2026?
On May 8, 2026, Google announced that the FAQ rich result no longer appears in Search as of May 7, 2026, and it removed the documentation on June 15, 2026.
It closes a long decline. Back in September 2023, Google had already limited this rich result to well-known government and health sites, and the same update retired the HowTo rich result [1]. A service business hadn't qualified for three years.
The FAQPage type still exists in the schema.org vocabulary [4], and other engines or tools may read it. But anyone selling "FAQ markup to stand out on Google" today is selling a feature that no longer exists.
| Where | Before | Since May 2026 | What matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google FAQ rich result | Expandable questions under the link | No longer shown [1] | Nothing to optimize |
| Google snippet | Possible | Still possible | A short, precise answer |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | — | Page indexed and snippet-eligible [5] | Helpful, non-commodity content [2] |
| ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity | — | Depends on their crawlers and search | Verifiable answers, search crawlers allowed |
| Your customers | Useful | Still useful | Fewer calls about the same things |
Why write an FAQ if it no longer shows as a rich result?
Because the rich result was never the real goal. A well-built FAQ answers the question at the moment a customer hesitates: "Do you come out to Lévis?", "How long does an inspection take?", "Do I need to be home?". Every clear answer is one less call to take and one customer who books sooner.
For Google, a well-answered question remains a snippet candidate. For AI Overviews, Google asks for no special markup; it asks for useful, original content that goes beyond common knowledge [2]. An answer with your real lead times, areas and conditions is exactly that kind of content.
Google also reminds site owners that content should be made for people, not to manipulate rankings [3]. Fifty invented questions written to place keywords is the opposite of what it recommends.
How do you find the questions customers actually ask?
Start from your own records: emails, call notes, lost quotes, Google reviews. Keyword tools come afterwards, to check wording.
- Your last 50 customer or prospect emails: write down every question, word for word.
- One week of front-desk notes: "someone asked whether…".
- Lost quotes: why didn't the customer sign? Price, timing, doubts about the warranty?
- Your Google reviews and your competitors': the same worries keep coming up.
- Google's "People also ask" box for your service and your city.
How do you write an FAQ in six steps?
- 1
Collect
Gather at least 30 real questions from emails, calls and quotes, without rewording them.
- 2
Group
Merge duplicates: "Do you go to Laval?" and "Do you cover the North Shore?" become one question about your service area.
- 3
Sort
Keep the questions that affect a buying decision or generate calls. Drop the ones with obvious answers.
- 4
Answer
Write 2 to 4 sentences: the answer first, then the useful detail (a lead time, a starting price, a condition, an exception). Never "it depends" without saying on what.
- 5
Place
Put each question on the page where it gets asked: the lead-time question belongs on the service page, not in a general FAQ nobody opens.
- 6
Review
Reread the answers every quarter. An outdated price or delay does more harm than a missing question.
What does a properly sorted FAQ look like?
Should you still mark up your FAQ with FAQPage?
It no longer earns a Google rich result. It does no harm either, as long as the markup matches the visible text exactly. Google says no special schema.org markup is needed for generative AI search [2]. Put your effort into the markup that describes your business: see structured data for small businesses.
The FAQ generator tool helps turn raw questions into 2 to 4 sentence answers, which you review before publishing.
Where does an FAQ fit in a visibility plan?
An FAQ is one piece among several: precise service pages, a complete Google profile, AI crawlers allowed, and monthly measurement. The pillar guide on getting found on Google and cited by AI ties them together. For crawler access, see showing up in ChatGPT and AI answers; to track results, measuring your AI visibility.
With Pilotiko, the content agent can draft answers from your real data, which you approve before anything goes live (content drafting). The Pilotiko-hosted site then publishes each question on the right page (SEO, AEO and GEO).
Frequently asked questions
Can FAQPage markup hurt my site?
Not if it faithfully matches the questions and answers visible on the page. It simply hasn't produced a Google rich result since May 2026. Markup that doesn't match the visible text is still something to avoid.
How many questions should an FAQ have?
There's no ideal number, and Google says there's no ideal page length either. Keep the questions customers really ask, often about ten per service. A question without a real answer weakens the page.
Separate FAQ page or questions on each page?
Both can work together. Service-specific questions do better on that service's page, where the customer is deciding. A general FAQ page can hold cross-cutting questions like payment or service area.
Will Google accept an FAQ written with AI?
Google accepts AI-assisted content when it's helpful and checked. It asks you to fact-check manually, because models can make things up. Start from real questions and review every answer.
Is Google's "People also ask" box enough?
It helps you find the words people use, but it's generic. Your own emails and calls reveal the questions that make your customers hesitate, and those are the ones that convert.
Does ChatGPT read FAQs?
ChatGPT can read your pages if OAI-SearchBot has access. A short, precise answer specific to your business is easier to quote than a long vague paragraph. Nothing ensures it will be cited, though.
Sources
- Google Search Central, Latest Google Search documentation updates (FAQ rich results removed, llms.txt clarification) (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Google Search Central, Optimizing for generative AI search (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Schema.org, FAQPage (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website (accessed on October 15, 2026).
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