FAQ Rich Results removed by Google: 5 alternatives to maintain your visibility

How the removal of FAQ rich results impacts your business

On August 8, 2023, Google officially removed FAQ rich results from search engine results pages. This decision, confirmed in Google Search Central's official documentation, eliminated those dropdown boxes that allowed websites to occupy up to 300 additional pixels in SERPs. For many SMBs and mid-market companies, this was a free and effective visibility lever.

In practical terms, your pages that previously displayed question-and-answer content directly in Google no longer benefit from this privileged treatment. The FAQPage structured data you had implemented no longer generates rich snippets. According to a Sistrix study conducted just after the update, sites that heavily depended on FAQ rich results lost an average of 22% of their organic click-through rate on affected pages.

However, this removal isn't a dead end. It opens new opportunities, particularly with generative search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini, which still actively leverage FAQ structured data to formulate their responses. Here are five concrete alternatives to adapt your strategy.

Alternative 1: Convert your FAQs into comprehensive editorial content

The first strategy involves transforming your FAQs into genuine in-depth articles. Instead of 40 to 60-word answers, develop each question into a complete 200 to 400-word section with examples, data, and actionable recommendations.

Why this approach works

Google now prioritizes content that demonstrates real expertise, in line with E-E-A-T criteria (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). A thorough article on a specific question has a better chance of appearing in featured snippets than a simple condensed FAQ.

AI engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT Search also favor detailed content when formulating their responses. They extract complete passages and cite their sources. Rich, structured content increases your chances of being referenced as a reliable source.

How to proceed

• Identify your 10 most consulted FAQ questions via Google Analytics or Search Console
• Create a dedicated article for each question with an H1-optimized title
• Structure with subsections that answer related questions
• Integrate quantified data from verifiable sources
• Add internal links to your product or service pages

This transformation requires an initial investment but generates a durable SEO asset that performs on traditional Google and on generative search engines.

Alternative 2: Leverage HowTo rich results that remain active

Unlike FAQs, HowTo rich results remain fully operational on Google. This format displays step-by-step instructions directly in search results, sometimes with images for each step.

Eligibility requirements

To benefit from HowTo rich results, your content must address procedural search intent. Queries beginning with "how to," "steps to," or "guide to" are typically eligible. Schema.org HowTo markup must include at least three distinct steps with clear descriptions.

Transform your FAQs into tutorials

Many FAQ questions can be reformulated as practical guides:

• "What documents for an invoice?" becomes "How to create a compliant invoice in 5 steps"
• "How to contact support?" becomes "Guide: Get a support response within 24 hours"
• "What are the delivery times?" becomes "How to track your order step by step"

At AISOS, we observe that pages using HowTo markup generate on average 35% more clicks than non-marked pages for equivalent procedural queries.

Alternative 3: Optimize for Google's AI Overviews

AI Overviews, formerly Search Generative Experience (SGE), represent the new priority visibility terrain on Google. These generative boxes appear at the top of results for informational queries and cite multiple sources.

What AI Overviews prioritize

Analyses by Authoritas and SE Ranking on thousands of queries reveal the selection factors for AI Overview sources:

• Domain authority: sites with a trust history are favored
• Content freshness: recently updated pages appear more often
• Clear structure: content with lists, tables, and subheadings is better extracted
• Direct answers: paragraphs that explicitly answer the posed question
• Structured data: schema.org markup helps contextualize content

Adapt your FAQ content for AI Overviews

Keep your FAQPage structured data even though they no longer generate rich results. Google crawlers and AI engine crawlers use them to understand the question-answer structure of your content. Reformulate your answers to be self-sufficient: each answer must be understandable without reading the question.

Systematically add a context sentence at the beginning of the answer that incorporates terms from the question. For example: "The standard delivery time for an order in mainland France is 3 to 5 business days."

Alternative 4: Target Perplexity, ChatGPT and generative search engines

Generative search engines represent an opportunity that many SMBs neglect. Perplexity claims over 10 million monthly active users. ChatGPT with web search functionality reaches tens of millions of users. These platforms actively exploit structured data to build their responses.

Why FAQ structured data remains relevant

Unlike Google, Perplexity and ChatGPT Search haven't disabled the use of FAQPage tags. These engines extract question-answer pairs to enrich their responses and cite the source. Your FAQ markup continues to serve, but on different platforms.

Specific optimizations for LLMs

• Explicitly name your company in answers: "ACME offers a service..." rather than "Our service..."
• Include verifiable entities: city names, certifications, recognized partners
• Use direct statements: "The average price is EUR 500" rather than "The price varies according to options"
• Cite your internal sources: "According to our 2024 study of 200 clients..."
• Update regularly: LLMs favor recent content in their responses

AISOS audits reveal that B2B companies that explicitly optimize for generative search engines see their citation rate increase by 40 to 60% within three months.

Alternative 5: Deploy a featured snippets strategy

Featured snippets, those boxes that appear in "position zero" on Google, remain the most impactful organic visibility format. They capture between 35% and 50% of clicks on informational queries according to Ahrefs studies.

The three featured snippet formats

Paragraph: a 40 to 60-word excerpt that directly answers the question. Ideal for definitions and short explanations.

List: a numbered or bulleted enumeration extracted from your content. Works for steps, benefits, product types.

Table: comparative data automatically extracted. Effective for prices, technical specifications, comparisons.

Structure your content to capture them

Each section of your page should be able to function as an autonomous featured snippet. Start with the answer, then develop. Use the format "Question in H2 or H3, immediate answer in first paragraph, development afterwards."

For lists, structure with clean HTML tags:

• Use <ul> or <ol> rather than dashes in text
• Limit to 8 elements maximum per list
• Start each element with an action verb or noun

For tables, integrate <table> tags with clear <th> headers. Google extracts this data to display it directly in results.

Action plan: Prioritize according to your resources

Not all companies have the same execution capabilities. Here's how to prioritize these five alternatives according to your context.

If you have limited resources

Focus on alternatives 3 and 4. Keep your existing FAQ structured data and optimize your content for direct answers. Cost: a few hours of editorial work to reformulate your answers.

If you have a content team

Combine alternatives 1 and 5. Transform your main FAQs into in-depth articles and structure them to capture featured snippets. Cost: 2 to 4 days of work for 10 articles.

If you're aiming for a comprehensive strategy

Deploy all five alternatives with a three-month timeline. Start with an audit of your existing FAQs, identify those that can become HowTos, those that deserve a complete article, and those to optimize for LLMs.

Conclusion: Transform a constraint into an opportunity

Google's removal of FAQ rich results isn't an end, but a transition. Companies that adapt quickly benefit from a competitive advantage on two fronts: traditional search with featured snippets and HowTos, and generative search with LLM optimization.

The FAQ structured data you've already implemented retains its value for AI engines. Your past investment isn't lost; it simply serves on different platforms.

The essential thing is to act now, while your competitors are still hesitating. Start by auditing your most consulted pages, identify those that depended on FAQ rich results, and apply the alternatives described in this guide. AISOS supports SMBs and mid-market companies in this transition with AI visibility audits and GEO strategies adapted to your sector.