On which date did Google stop showing FAQ results?

Google's documentation changelog, in an entry dated 8 May 2026, says the FAQ rich result will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026. A second entry, dated 15 June 2026, removed the FAQ documentation because the feature is no longer shown. Before that, from 14 September 2023, Google showed FAQ results only for well-known government and health websites.

Will my FAQ page still appear in Google Search?

It can, as an ordinary result, like any other page Google has stored in its records. Only the special FAQ display under the link has ended. Google can still quote the text of the page in a snippet or a featured snippet, the box with the answer shown first, and Bing says FAQ sections help its AI systems reference content accurately.

Can an answer on my FAQ page become a featured snippet?

It can, like any passage on any page, though nobody can choose it. Google's featured snippet guide says that to the question of how to mark a page as a featured snippet the answer is: you can't; Google's systems decide. A question as a heading with a complete answer in the first sentence below it gives Google a clear passage to use.

Are accordions bad for my FAQ page?

Accordions are allowed: Google's spam policies say content that opens and closes this way does not violate its policies. But Google's snippet guide says content should be immediately visible for "Read more" links, and Microsoft warns that AI systems may not render hidden content. Keep each question and its first sentence visible, and use the accordion only for longer detail.

How long should each answer on an FAQ page be?

Start with one or two sentences that answer the question completely, then add detail only if the reader needs it. Microsoft's October 2025 post lists one to two sentence answers that directly address a question among the things that make content eligible for featured snippets. Google sets no length; its guides say there is no ideal page length and no magic word count.

Does Bing still use FAQ sections?

Bing's Webmaster Blog post of 10 February 2026 says that clear headings, tables, and FAQ sections make content easier for AI systems to reference accurately, and lists them under its advice to improve structure and clarity. That post introduced the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools, Microsoft's free service for site owners, which shows how often a site's pages are cited in Copilot and in Bing's AI summaries.

What happened to How-to results on Google?

Google removed How-to results in 2023. Its changelog entry of 14 September 2023 says it removed the How-to structured data documentation, as this rich result is no longer shown in search results, on both desktop and mobile devices. Step by step instructions on a page remain ordinary text, and Google can quote them in a snippet like any other passage.

Where did Google's FAQ documentation go?

Google removed it on 15 June 2026. The old address of the FAQ structured data guide now forwards visitors to the changelog entry about the removal; we checked this on 16 October 2026. The old How-to guide address forwards to the How-to entry in the same way. The general structured data guidelines remain online and still apply to any markup.

Should every service page have its own questions section?

Give each service page the questions that belong to that service, as headed sections with the answer in the first sentence. Keep general questions, such as payment and cancellation, on the main FAQ page. Write each full answer once and link to it from other pages, because Google's starter guide asks that each piece of content be reachable at one address.

Where should the questions on my FAQ page come from?

From real customers: phone calls, emails, chat messages and the questions asked at the counter, written down for two weeks. Search Console, Google's free service for site owners, shows the searches that bring people to your site, and Bing's AI Performance report shows a sample of the phrases its AI used when it cited your pages.

How should a small business build its FAQ page now that Google no longer shows FAQ results?

What Google's changelog says, word for word, about the end of FAQ results, which questions the page should hold, where the short answer goes, what to do with accordions and with old FAQ markup, and how to keep the page current.

See if customers can find you

Build the FAQ page for readers and for answer engines that quote plain text: real customer questions as headings, a short answer of one or two sentences visible under each one, then any detail, and a link from each answer to the page that covers the topic in full. Google's documentation changelog, in an entry dated 8 May 2026, says the FAQ rich result "will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026", so FAQ structured data (labels in the page code, also called markup, that mark questions and answers) no longer changes how the page looks in Google.

What exactly did Google say about FAQ results, and when?

The FAQ rich result was a special display in Google: when a page carried FAQ structured data, some of its questions could open under the site's link in the results. A rich result is any Google result with extra display of this kind, such as stars or prices. Google retired the FAQ display in steps, and each step is written in Google's documentation changelog, the public list of changes to its guides. The table gives every entry that concerns FAQ and How-to results, in Google's own words.

Two details are useful to know. The old address of Google's FAQ documentation still answers, but it now forwards the visitor to the changelog entry about its removal; we checked this on 16 October 2026, and the old How-to address does the same. And Google's list of supported structured data features, updated on 16 October 2026, names 25 features, among them Q&A, Review snippet and Product, with no FAQ and no How-to. Our main guide to AEO tells the story of the change in short; this page is about what to do with your own FAQ page.

Google's changes to FAQ and How-to results, by date. Source: Google Search Central, Latest Google Search documentation updates, accessed 16 October 2026; quotations copied from the entries.
Date of entry	What Google changed	Reason Google gave
14 September 2023	Updated the FAQ documentation to state that the feature is only shown for well-known, authoritative government and health websites	Not stated in the entry
14 September 2023	Removed the How-to structured data documentation	This rich result is no longer shown in search results, on both desktop and mobile devices
8 May 2026	Added a deprecation notice to the FAQ rich result documentation	This feature will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026
15 June 2026	Removed documentation for the FAQ rich result feature	The FAQ rich result feature is no longer shown in Google Search results, as announced in the changelog entry in May 2026

Which questions belong on an FAQ page?

An FAQ page answers the small practical questions that people ask before they call or buy, the ones that do not need a whole page: do you take cards, is there parking, how far in advance should I book, what happens if I cancel, do you work on Saturdays. These are the questions a receptionist hears on the phone. Write them down for two weeks from calls, emails and messages, and the list for the page is ready.

The bigger questions belong elsewhere. "How much does a new roof cost?" needs a service page or a blog post, because the honest answer has several parts. On the FAQ page it gets a one sentence answer and a link to that page. Google's SEO Starter Guide gives the reason: it asks that each piece of content be reachable at one address, because two pages with the same information confuse people. The FAQ page holds the short version; the full version has one page of its own.

Use the customer's words in each question. Google's starter guide notes that some users might search for "charcuterie" while others search for "cheese board", and that writing with your readers in mind helps. If customers ask "do you do same day?", that is a better question for the page than "What is your service turnaround policy?".

Where should the short answer go, and can it sit in an accordion?

An accordion is a block of questions that opens to show each answer when someone clicks it. If your FAQ page uses one, read the sources side by side, because they stress different things. Google's spam policies, updated on 28 August 2026, say that accordion or tabbed content that toggles between hiding and showing additional content does not violate its policies. Google's helpful content page lists tabbed or expanded sections as part of a page's main content.

Two other sources add a caution for the most important text. Google's snippet guide, updated on 20 April 2026, says that to increase the chance of "Read more" links, the links inside a result that lead to one section of the page, content should be immediately visible on the page to a human and not hidden behind an expandable section or tabbed interface. Microsoft's post of 8 October 2025 on the Microsoft Advertising blog is direct: don't hide important answers in tabs or expandable menus, because AI systems may not render hidden content, so key details can be skipped.

The practical answer joins the two. Show each question and its first one or two sentences as plain visible text, and put only the longer detail inside an accordion if the page is long. A reader scanning the page, Google's snippet system and an AI assistant then all see the answer itself, and the page stays short to read.

How should each question and answer be written?

Each entry has three parts: the question as a heading, a first sentence that answers it completely, and then any condition or detail. Microsoft's October 2025 post gives a model pair: "Q: How loud is the dishwasher? A: It operates at 42 dB, which is quieter than most dishwashers on the market." The answer starts with the fact and gives a number. Bing's post of 10 February 2026 on its AI Performance report adds that clear headings, tables, and FAQ sections help make content easier for AI systems to reference accurately.

The table shows three entries before and after. In each "before" entry the reader has to keep reading, or call, to learn the answer; in each "after" entry the first words answer the question, and the link leads to the full page when there is more to say.

FAQ entries before and after: written by Licheo on 17 October 2026 as an illustration. The business, its rules and its prices are invented.
Question	Before	After
Do you take credit cards?	We aim to make payment as easy as possible for every customer.	Yes. We take Visa, Mastercard, debit and cash, and we send the receipt by email.
What if I need to cancel?	Please contact our office to discuss your situation.	You can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the visit; after that we charge a call-out fee of $40.
How much does a roof repair cost?	Every roof is different, so prices vary.	Most leak repairs cost between $350 and $900, depending on the roof's height, slope and material; see our roof repair page for what changes the price.

What should you do with the FAQ structured data already on your page?

Your site may still carry FAQ structured data from the years when it made questions open under the link. Since 7 May 2026, Google says, that display does not appear at all. The code itself is described by Schema.org, the shared vocabulary of structured data types, which still defines the type: a FAQPage is a WebPage presenting one or more "Frequently asked questions". Microsoft's October 2025 post says that schema can label your content as a product, review, FAQ, or event, without saying what Bing does with each type.

So the choice is yours, with one firm rule. If you keep the code, Google's general structured data guidelines still apply: don't mark up content that is not visible to readers of the page, and the markup must be a true representation of the page content. FAQ code that lists questions the page no longer shows, or answers written differently from the visible ones, should be fixed or removed. If you remove it, nothing changes in Google's display, because Google no longer shows it. Our guide to structured data explains the choice for the whole site.

One mistake to avoid: do not switch the page to QAPage markup to get a display back. Google's Q&A guide lists an FAQ page written by the site itself with no way for users to submit alternative answers among its invalid use cases, and says don't use QAPage markup for FAQ pages or pages where there are multiple questions per page.

Should questions live on one FAQ page or on each service page?

Both, with a clear division. Questions that apply to the whole business, such as payment, cancellation, areas and opening hours, go on the FAQ page. Questions about one service go on that service page, as headed sections, because a person reading about gutter cleaning wants the gutter answers there and then. The FAQ page can then carry a short line about each service with a link to its page.

What to avoid is the same long answer copied onto ten pages. Google's starter guide says duplicate content can be a bad user experience, because people might wonder which version is right. Write each full answer once, on the page where it belongs, and link to it from the others. In the end, the reader should never find two answers to one question on your site that disagree.

How many questions should the page hold, and how do you keep it current?

Google gives no number. Its helpful content page warns against writing to a particular word count because you've heard that Google has a preferred one, and answers its own question: No, we don't. Hold as many questions as customers ask, and no invented ones.

Keep the answers true as the business changes. Google's starter guide asks owners to check in on previously published content and update it as needed, or even delete it when it no longer applies. Bing's February 2026 post says regular updates help ensure AI systems reference the most current version of your content. A wrong answer about hours or prices on an FAQ page can be repeated by an assistant to a customer, so review the page whenever a price, a rule or the hours change, and change the date on the page only when the content has changed, as Google's helpful content page asks.

What should an FAQ page avoid?

The faults below come from the Google and Microsoft sources on this page. Each one makes the page harder to quote or harder to trust.

Questions nobody asks, written to repeat a sales message.
Answers that only say "call us", which give a reader and an assistant nothing to use.
Answers hidden entirely inside closed accordions or tabs.
FAQ or QAPage markup that differs from the visible text, or that exists only to get a display Google no longer gives.
The same long answer copied onto many pages.
Old answers about prices, hours or rules that no longer apply.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of AEO page by page. The other parts:

Questions people ask

On which date did Google stop showing FAQ results?: Google's documentation changelog, in an entry dated 8 May 2026, says the FAQ rich result will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026. A second entry, dated 15 June 2026, removed the FAQ documentation because the feature is no longer shown. Before that, from 14 September 2023, Google showed FAQ results only for well-known government and health websites.
Will my FAQ page still appear in Google Search?: It can, as an ordinary result, like any other page Google has stored in its records. Only the special FAQ display under the link has ended. Google can still quote the text of the page in a snippet or a featured snippet, the box with the answer shown first, and Bing says FAQ sections help its AI systems reference content accurately.
Can an answer on my FAQ page become a featured snippet?: It can, like any passage on any page, though nobody can choose it. Google's featured snippet guide says that to the question of how to mark a page as a featured snippet the answer is: you can't; Google's systems decide. A question as a heading with a complete answer in the first sentence below it gives Google a clear passage to use.
Are accordions bad for my FAQ page?: Accordions are allowed: Google's spam policies say content that opens and closes this way does not violate its policies. But Google's snippet guide says content should be immediately visible for "Read more" links, and Microsoft warns that AI systems may not render hidden content. Keep each question and its first sentence visible, and use the accordion only for longer detail.
How long should each answer on an FAQ page be?: Start with one or two sentences that answer the question completely, then add detail only if the reader needs it. Microsoft's October 2025 post lists one to two sentence answers that directly address a question among the things that make content eligible for featured snippets. Google sets no length; its guides say there is no ideal page length and no magic word count.
Does Bing still use FAQ sections?: Bing's Webmaster Blog post of 10 February 2026 says that clear headings, tables, and FAQ sections make content easier for AI systems to reference accurately, and lists them under its advice to improve structure and clarity. That post introduced the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools, Microsoft's free service for site owners, which shows how often a site's pages are cited in Copilot and in Bing's AI summaries.
What happened to How-to results on Google?: Google removed How-to results in 2023. Its changelog entry of 14 September 2023 says it removed the How-to structured data documentation, as this rich result is no longer shown in search results, on both desktop and mobile devices. Step by step instructions on a page remain ordinary text, and Google can quote them in a snippet like any other passage.
Where did Google's FAQ documentation go?: Google removed it on 15 June 2026. The old address of the FAQ structured data guide now forwards visitors to the changelog entry about the removal; we checked this on 16 October 2026. The old How-to guide address forwards to the How-to entry in the same way. The general structured data guidelines remain online and still apply to any markup.
Should every service page have its own questions section?: Give each service page the questions that belong to that service, as headed sections with the answer in the first sentence. Keep general questions, such as payment and cancellation, on the main FAQ page. Write each full answer once and link to it from other pages, because Google's starter guide asks that each piece of content be reachable at one address.
Where should the questions on my FAQ page come from?: From real customers: phone calls, emails, chat messages and the questions asked at the counter, written down for two weeks. Search Console, Google's free service for site owners, shows the searches that bring people to your site, and Bing's AI Performance report shows a sample of the phrases its AI used when it cited your pages.
Can I use QAPage markup on my FAQ page instead?: No. Google's Q&A structured data guide lists an FAQ page written by the site itself with no way for users to submit alternative answers among its invalid use cases, and says don't use QAPage markup for FAQ pages or pages where there are multiple questions per page. QAPage is meant for a page about one question where users post answers.

Sources

Latest Google Search documentation updates, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-10-16, accessed 16 October 2026.
Structured data markup that Google Search supports, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-10-16, accessed 16 October 2026.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide, Google Search Central. Updated 2025-12-10, accessed 16 October 2026.
Spam policies for Google web search, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-08-28, accessed 16 October 2026.
Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-10-05, accessed 16 October 2026.
Control your snippets in search results, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-04-20, accessed 16 October 2026.
Optimizing Your Content for Inclusion in AI Search Answers, Microsoft Advertising blog (Krishna Madhavan, Microsoft Bing). Posted 8 October 2025, accessed 17 October 2026.
Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview, Bing Webmaster Blog, Microsoft. Posted 10 February 2026, accessed 17 October 2026.
FAQPage, Schema.org. Accessed 17 October 2026.
General structured data guidelines, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-07-10, accessed 16 October 2026.
Q&A (QAPage) structured data, Google Search Central. Updated 2026-09-08, accessed 16 October 2026.
Featured snippets and your website, Google Search Central. Updated 2025-12-10, accessed 16 October 2026.

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