What you should stop doing is treating FAQ schema as a way to win extra space in the results, because that part is over. So before you brief a developer to tear it all out, it is worth understanding what actually changed.
What Google removed, and when
Google added a quiet notice to the top of its FAQ structured data documentation. No blog post, no explanation. The rollout comes in three stages. The expandable Q&A dropdowns vanished from search results in May, the Search Console report and Rich Results Test support follow in June 2026, and the Search Console API drops FAQ data in August 2026. If your dashboards pull FAQ figures through the API, they will start returning empty results after that, so it is worth tidying those reports up now. Our guide to making Search Console reports useful covers how to keep that reporting clean.
None of this is sudden. Google narrowed FAQ rich results to government and health sites back in 2023, retired HowTo results around the same time, then pruned several more structured data types in 2025. This is a pattern, not a surprise.
Should you keep the schema or remove it?
For most pages, keep it. Google has said unused structured data does not cause problems, and other crawlers and AI systems may still read it. One well-known test that removed FAQ schema found no statistically significant change in organic traffic, so a big clean-up project is rarely worth the developer hours. The exception is markup that no longer reflects the page. If you have templated FAQ blocks sitting on thousands of pages with no visible questions, or schema describing content that has since been deleted, that is worth removing or rewriting.
| Situation on the page | Keep or remove FAQ schema? |
|---|---|
| Schema matches visible, useful questions and answers | Keep |
| Markup validates and the section helps real users | Keep |
| Page has no visible FAQ section | Remove |
| Markup is stale or points to content that is gone | Remove |
| Thin, templated FAQs added only for the dropdown | Remove or rewrite |
If you are unsure what is sitting in your code, a quick schema markup audit will surface orphaned markup fast, and it pairs well with a broader look at your structured data at scale.
What this means for AI search
This is where the hot takes get carried away. FAQ schema is not an AI shortcut. Google’s own guidance says no special markup is needed for AI Overviews or AI Mode, only that any structured data should match the visible text on the page. AI systems pull from clear, question-led content whether the markup is there or not. The schema was never doing the heavy lifting. The content always was. That is why mapping search intent matters far more than chasing a markup tweak, and it is central to how a good generative engine optimisation agency approaches the work.
What to do instead
Treat your FAQ sections as content, not decoration. Picture a UK kitchen supplier whose product pages answer real questions about lead times, delivery, and installation. Those answers reduce friction and help people buy, and they earn a chance at appearing in AI Overviews too. That is worth keeping whether or not a dropdown ever shows. Mine People Also Ask and autocomplete for the questions your customers actually type, then answer them plainly in the first sentence.
From there, fold the work into your wider plan. Strong technical SEO support keeps your markup valid and your pages crawlable, while sharp on-page SEO for service pages turns those FAQs into genuine ranking and conversion assets. This is steady organic SEO rather than a quick trick, and where you need to protect visibility on competitive terms, paid media can cover the gap.
Frequently asked questions
Is FAQ schema dead?
No. FAQPage is still a valid Schema.org type. Only the visible rich result was retired, not the markup itself.
Should I remove FAQ schema from my site?
Generally no. Leave it where it matches visible, useful content. Remove it only if it is stale, references content that no longer exists, or was added purely for the dropdown.
Will FAQ schema help me show up in AI Overviews?
Not directly. AI features rely on the same fundamentals as search, and clear question-led content does the work rather than the markup.
Did losing FAQ rich results hurt my rankings?
No. This is a display change, not a ranking change. Click-through rate may dip on pages that previously showed the dropdowns, so check those in Search Console.
Not sure what is in your markup?
If you have years of FAQ schema scattered across your site, get clarity before you change anything. Book a website audit and our specialists will tell you exactly what to keep, what to rewrite, and where your FAQ content can earn visibility in both classic search and AI results. Arrange a free consultation and make the call with evidence, not guesswork.