Google has made another quiet but useful reminder that search features are rented space, not permanent real estate. Its Search Central documentation now says that FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Google Search from 7 May 2026, with the FAQ search appearance, rich result report and Rich Results Test support due to be removed in June. Search Console API support is expected to follow in August.
For many local businesses this will not be a dramatic traffic event. Google had already narrowed FAQ rich result visibility heavily in recent years, mainly to well-known government and health sites. But it is still worth paying attention to, because plenty of business websites, plugins and older SEO checklists still treat FAQ schema as if it is a neat way to win extra space in the results.
The short version is simple: do not remove good FAQ content just because the rich result has gone. Do stop expecting FAQ markup to produce a visible dropdown in Google. The useful work now is less about chasing a disappearing display feature, and more about making sure your answers are genuinely helpful, easy to find, and connected to the right pages on your site.
What has changed
Google’s FAQ structured data documentation now carries a deprecation note. It says FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Search, and that related reporting and testing support will be dropped in stages. Search Engine Land also reported the change on 8 May, noting that the Search Console features will go away too.
This matters because FAQPage schema has had a long second life in marketing advice. At its best, it helped search engines understand a page of questions and answers. At its worst, it became a mechanical add-on: paste in a few generic questions, add JSON-LD, and hope for a larger search result. That second version was never a strong long-term strategy.
For businesses in Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire, Bristol, Dorset and Gloucestershire, the practical question is not “How do we replace this trick?” It is “Were our FAQs doing a real job for customers in the first place?”
Why useful FAQs still matter
A good FAQ section can still be valuable even without a special Google display. It can answer the questions that stop someone enquiring. It can reduce back-and-forth for service businesses. It can help visitors compare options, understand pricing factors, prepare for a call, or decide whether a service is right for them.
That is especially true for local businesses where customers often arrive with practical concerns. A homeowner looking for a contractor may want to know how quickly someone can visit. A clinic may need to explain what happens at a first appointment. A professional services firm may need to clarify who it helps, what information a client should bring, and how long a typical process takes.
Those answers can support search visibility because they make the page better. They can also help AI-driven systems understand your business more clearly. But the value is in the answer, not in the hope that a particular bit of markup will force Google to show it in a special format.
What to check on your own website
If your site uses FAQ schema, there is no need to panic. In many cases it can simply stay in place, provided it accurately reflects visible page content and is not misleading. The change is about Google’s search appearance and reporting support, not a warning that all FAQ content is suddenly harmful.
The sensible check is editorial rather than technical. Look at the FAQs on your key service pages and ask whether they still earn their place. Are the questions real ones that customers ask? Are the answers specific enough to be useful? Do they help a visitor take the next step? Are they written in plain English, or do they read like filler added for SEO?
For a Bath business, that might mean changing a vague question such as “Why choose us?” into something a real customer would ask, such as “Do you work with businesses outside Bath?” or “What do you need from us before you can quote?” Clearer questions usually lead to clearer answers, and clearer answers are more useful for both people and machines.
Where schema still fits
This update does not mean structured data is dead. It means one visible search treatment is being retired. Schema can still help search systems understand organisations, articles, products, events, reviews, local business details and other page elements when it is used accurately.
The important shift is expectation. Structured data should support clear content. It should not be the main reason content exists. If your site has useful, visible questions and answers, FAQ markup may still describe them. But it should no longer sit near the top of the priority list for most local SEO work.
For many organisations, the better investment is a cleaner SEO foundation: specific service pages, accurate location signals, helpful internal links, sensible titles, fast pages, trustworthy copy and clear calls to action. If AI search visibility is also on your radar, the same principle applies. AI search optimisation is much more about clarity, authority and usefulness than decorating thin pages with extra code.
A practical checklist
- Check whether your site still depends on FAQ rich-result expectations in old SEO notes or reports.
- Keep FAQ content that genuinely helps visitors make a decision or complete a task.
- Remove or rewrite generic questions that exist only to pad out a page.
- Make sure any FAQ schema matches visible page content and is not misleading.
- Update reporting dashboards if they still include FAQ rich result performance as a live metric.
- Use internal links where an answer naturally points to a fuller service or advice page.
The local takeaway
Google retiring FAQ rich results is not a reason for local businesses to abandon helpful answers. It is a reason to be more honest about why those answers exist. If a question helps a customer understand your service, reduce uncertainty or take the next step, keep it and make it better. If it only exists because an SEO plugin once recommended it, it probably deserves a rethink.
For Bath and South West businesses, this is a useful moment to tidy up old search assumptions. The websites most likely to benefit over time are not the ones clinging to retired display features. They are the ones with clear pages, useful explanations, visible expertise and content that helps real people before it tries to impress a machine.
If you are reviewing older service pages, this is also a good time to look beyond FAQ blocks and think about the whole journey: what the visitor needs to understand, what evidence they need to trust you, and what next step should feel natural. That sits right at the heart of practical digital marketing for local businesses.
Sources:
Google Search Central — FAQ structured data documentation
Search Engine Land — Google to no longer support FAQ rich results
