FAQ Schema in 2026: What FAQPage Markup Still Does and Does Not Do

For years, adding FAQ schema to a page was one of the most popular structured data tricks: mark up your questions and answers, and Google might show them as expandable boxes under your search result. That has ended. This guide explains exactly what changed, what Google's own pages say (and do not say) about it, and what you should do with FAQ markup you already have.

It is for site owners, SEO leads and developers who run pages with FAQ sections or who still follow older advice about FAQ rich results. You will finish knowing what the markup can and cannot do today, how to decide whether to keep it, and how to write the on-page FAQ section itself, which is still valuable to readers.

Before you begin

You need a list of pages that currently carry FAQPage markup (view source and search for FAQPage, or check your SEO plugin settings) and edit access to the templates or plugin that outputs it. You do not need to change anything in a hurry. Nothing about this change is an emergency, and Google's changelog does not describe the old markup as harmful.

Take a copy of any template before editing. If you manage many pages, decide per template rather than page by page.

What changed, with dates

The following comes from Google Search Central's documentation changelog:

September 14, 2023: Google updated the FAQ structured data documentation to say the FAQ rich result was only shown for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. From then on, most sites no longer qualified for it.
May 8, 2026: Google added a deprecation notice to the FAQ rich result documentation: "This feature will no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026."
June 15, 2026: Google removed the FAQ rich result documentation, explaining that the feature is no longer shown in Google Search results.

So as of today, adding FAQPage markup does not earn an FAQ rich result in Google Search on any site. Google's general structured data gallery also no longer lists an FAQ feature.

Two things the changelog does not say. It does not tell site owners what to do with existing FAQPage markup, and it does not state whether the markup is harmful. Some third-party articles discuss follow-up changes to Search Console reports and tools, but we could not confirm those on a Google page, so we do not describe them here. Check Search Console and the current Google documentation for the exact state of any report you rely on.

What FAQPage markup still is

Schema.org still defines FAQPage as a type: a web page that presents frequently asked questions. It is a subtype of WebPage, and its entry points to QAPage as a related type. Schema.org is a shared vocabulary used by more than one consumer, so the type exists regardless of what Google shows.

What the markup can still be, in principle, is a machine-readable description of content that is visible on the page. Google's general structured data page says Google uses structured data to understand the content on the page. It does not say that FAQ markup specifically helps understanding now, and nothing we fetched promises any benefit from it. Treat any claim that FAQ schema increases rankings, traffic or visibility in AI features as unverified.

FAQPage is not QAPage

Google's QAPage documentation is still published and covers a different case: a page focused on a single question where users can submit their own answers, such as a forum thread. The page says FAQ pages do not qualify, that site-written FAQs with no way for users to submit alternative answers are an invalid use, and that pages with multiple questions are ineligible. If your page has a list of questions written by your own team, QAPage is not the replacement.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Inventory where FAQ markup exists

Why: you cannot decide what to do without knowing the scope. Search your templates, your SEO plugin or tag manager, and a crawl of your site for FAQPage. Note which page types output it, whether the markup is generated automatically from an FAQ block, and whether the questions are visible to users.

How to confirm: you have a list of templates or plugins that produce FAQ markup and a count of pages affected.

Step 2: Check that every marked-up question is visible on the page

Why: Google's structured data guidelines say not to mark up content that is not visible to readers, and to make the markup a true representation of the page. That rule applies whether or not a rich result exists. Markup describing questions that users cannot see is a policy problem, not a harmless leftover.

Open a sample page. Compare each Question and Answer in the JSON-LD with the visible text. If the markup contains answers that are hidden, truncated differently, or out of date, fix or remove them.

How to confirm: every question and answer in the markup appears in the visible page text with the same meaning.

Step 3: Decide: keep, simplify or remove

Why: the practical question is cost versus benefit. Here is how we would think about it; this is our reading of the situation, not a Google instruction.

Keep it if it is accurate, visible, automatically generated and costs you nothing to maintain. It is valid schema.org and Google has not said it is harmful.
Simplify it if the markup is large or fragile. Fewer moving parts means fewer ways for it to drift away from the page.
Remove it if it is hand-maintained and often wrong, or if it exists only because of the old rich result. Removing dead weight is reasonable.

Whichever you choose, do it by template, not page by page, and record the decision.

How to confirm: each template has a documented decision.

Step 4: Keep the on-page FAQ section

Why: the real value of a good FAQ is for readers. An FAQ section answers the questions people actually ask, shortens support contact, and gives your page useful, scannable content. The loss of a rich result does not change that.

Write each question the way a person would ask it, and answer it directly in the first sentence. Keep answers accurate and current, and link to deeper pages. If you also want to understand intent behind questions, see how to match pages to what searchers want in Write SEO Title Tags and Meta Descriptions That Match Search Intent.

How to confirm: each FAQ answer stands on its own and links to a more detailed page where relevant.

Step 5: If you keep markup, use valid structure

Why: invalid markup is just noise. This is the schema.org structure for questions and answers, with FAQPage as the page type and each Question listed under mainEntity:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How long does shipping take?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Orders ship within two working days and usually arrive in three to five."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Can I return an item?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes. You can return unused items within 30 days of delivery."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Place this JSON inside a script element with the type application/ld+json.

Use a JSON encoder in your template so quotation marks inside answers are escaped. Make sure the text in the markup matches the visible answer. Confirm that the JSON parses by testing a page with a validator. See JSON-LD Validation: Test and Debug Structured Data.

How to confirm: the JSON-LD parses, mainEntity contains each question, and each answer has text.

Step 6: Stop promising the rich result internally

Why: old internal documents, SEO plugin descriptions and agency reports may still say FAQ markup "gets rich results". Update them so nobody builds a plan on a feature that no longer shows. If a report counts FAQ rich result impressions, treat them as historical.

How to confirm: your internal guidelines no longer list FAQ rich results as a goal.

Final verification checklist

You know which templates and plugins output FAQPage markup.
Every question and answer in the markup is visible on the page with the same meaning.
You have recorded a keep, simplify or remove decision per template.
Any markup you keep is valid JSON-LD with FAQPage, mainEntity, Question and Answer.
You are not using QAPage for an FAQ written by your own team.
The visible FAQ section gives direct, accurate answers with links to deeper pages.
Internal documents no longer promise FAQ rich results.

Common mistakes to avoid

Expecting expandable FAQ results in Google. The feature no longer appears.
Hiding answers from users but marking them up. Markup must match visible content.
Switching to QAPage to get a rich result back. It is for single-question pages with user-submitted answers.
Deleting the FAQ content along with the markup. The on-page questions still help readers.
Leaving outdated answers in markup. Out-of-date markup misrepresents the page.
Hand-writing JSON with unescaped quotes. Generate it with an encoder.
Treating FAQ schema as an AI visibility trick. We found no Google documentation making that claim.

Frequently asked questions

Does Google still show FAQ rich results?

No. Google's changelog says the feature no longer appears in Google Search starting May 7, 2026, and that the documentation was removed on June 15, 2026.

Should I remove my existing FAQPage markup?

Google's changelog does not tell site owners what to do. If the markup is accurate and visible on the page, keeping it is low risk. If it is costly to maintain or often wrong, removing it is reasonable.

Is FAQPage still valid schema.org?

Yes. Schema.org still defines FAQPage as a type. Validity in the vocabulary is separate from whether Google shows a feature for it.

Will FAQ schema help my rankings?

We found no Google documentation saying it does. Do not expect it to.

Should I still write an FAQ section?

Yes, if it answers real questions. It helps readers and reduces repeat questions. Keep it accurate and link to deeper pages.

Can I use QAPage markup for my FAQ?

Not for a team-written FAQ. Google's QAPage page is for a page with one question and user-submitted answers.

Official references

Next step: See how Crawvix checks a website and capture a baseline once scanning opens. This guide provides technical information, not a guarantee of rankings, traffic or index inclusion.