The short answer: Google stopped showing FAQ rich results in Search in May 2026, and later removed the corresponding documentation. Pages marked up with FAQPage structured data no longer earn the expandable question-and-answer display under a search listing. If an agency is still selling you “FAQ schema” with the promise of extra search real estate, that promise is now out of date. But — and this matters — the FAQ content itself is worth more than the rich result ever was. Here is what to change, and what to keep.
What actually happened
FAQ rich results had been on borrowed time for years. In August 2023 Google restricted them to a small set of authoritative government and health websites, which meant the vast majority of local businesses had already stopped receiving the display. In May 2026 Google retired the feature entirely and subsequently removed the FAQ structured-data documentation from its Search Central documentation. The practical effect for a local business: FAQPage markup no longer produces any special appearance in Google Search, for anyone.
If your Search Console account once showed an “FAQ” enhancement report that has gone quiet or disappeared, that is this change — not something breaking on your website.
What to change
Stop buying the rich result. Any proposal that lists “FAQ schema implementation” as a way to win extra space on the results page is describing a feature that no longer exists. Ask what else the fee covers.
Reset your expectations of the markup. FAQPage structured data can still express question-and-answer content semantically — it is a legitimate way to describe what is on the page. But it should now be treated as optional description, not as an investment with a visible return in Google Search. If it is already implemented and accurate, there is no urgency to remove it. If it is not implemented, there are better places to spend implementation effort: Organization, LocalBusiness and Service markup that disambiguates who you are, where you are and what you offer.
Check nothing on your site depended on it. Some page builders and SEO plugins bundled FAQ markup with layout components. The layout still works; only the search feature is gone. No action needed beyond knowing that.
What to keep — the part most businesses get wrong
Do not delete your FAQ content. The questions customers actually ask — what does it cost, how long does it take, do I need a referral, is there parking — are exactly the material that earns long-tail searches, answers objections before they become abandoned enquiries, and gives search engines and AI assistants clear, quotable statements about your business. That value never came from the rich result. It comes from the answers being present, specific and readable in the page itself.
A good FAQ section in 2026 is written for a person about to make a decision: real questions in the customer’s words, direct answers in the first sentence, specifics rather than reassurance. That content works in ordinary rankings, in AI-generated answers that draw on your pages, and on the page itself at the moment someone decides whether to contact you.
The wider lesson
Search features come and go — FAQ rich results, HowTo displays before them, and whatever is next. Work that only made sense because of a display feature dies with the feature. Work that makes your business clearer — accurate entity markup, real answers to real questions, consistent business information — keeps paying regardless of which features Google runs this year. When you evaluate any visibility proposal, ask which of the two you are buying.
Next step: if this raised questions about your own visibility, there are three honest ways to answer them. The free snapshot gives you three verified findings from your own site. The Website Revenue Audit (£295) gives you the full evidenced picture. And if you would rather not do the fixing yourself, the Repair Sprint (£795) implements the fixes for you. Or simply ask us directly.