What changed with Google's FAQ rich results
In 2023, Google announced a significant reduction in FAQ rich results on traditional search results pages. Previously, FAQ schema on a page would display expandable question-and-answer dropdowns beneath the blue link in SERP. Google reduced this to only appear for a small number of authoritative sites.
This change affected what users see on the traditional SERP. It did not change how FAQ schema is used for AI engine knowledge and entity signals.
Why FAQ schema still matters
AI Overview sourcing
Google AI Overviews draw on structured data — including FAQPage schema — when composing answers. A page with FAQPage schema on a relevant question is more likely to be cited in an AI Overview than the same page without schema, because the structured data gives Google explicit, machine-readable Q&A pairs to use as source material.
ChatGPT and Perplexity
ChatGPT (with Browse) and Perplexity both crawl web content and read structured data. FAQPage schema on your pages provides these engines with explicitly declared question-answer pairs — exactly the format they synthesize when generating their own responses. A business with FAQPage schema on relevant questions is a higher-probability citation source than one requiring the engine to extract Q&A from unstructured prose.
Topical authority signals
FAQPage schema is also a topical coverage signal — it tells engines that your site addresses specific questions in your category, contributing to the broader topical authority assessment.
The practical recommendation
Continue implementing FAQPage schema on your FAQ pages and any page with significant question-and-answer content. The benefit for AI engine citation is substantial and growing as AI Overviews expand. The loss of SERP FAQ rich results is a minor reduction in a secondary benefit — it does not change the schema's value for GEO.
