Google Has Officially Killed FAQ Rich Results
What Malaysian Business Owners Need to Do Now
Published by SEO Web Malaysia | Operated by Entertop Sdn Bhd
If your website has a FAQ section, and someone told you to add FAQ schema to get better search results, you need to read this.
Google has officially announced the deprecation of FAQ rich results. As of 7 May 2026, FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Google Search. The expanded format that used to show your questions and answers directly inside search results gone.
Here is the full deprecation notice, quoted directly from Google Search Central:
Upcoming deprecation: As of May 7, 2026, FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Google Search. We will be dropping the FAQ search appearance, rich result report, and support in the Rich results test in June 2026. To allow time for adjusting your API calls, support for the FAQ rich result in the Search Console API will be removed in August 2026.
This affects almost every business website in Malaysia that implemented FAQ schema hoping to gain more visibility in search results.
This article explains what this change means, what you should do next, and how FAQ schema (FAQPage) differs from Q&A schema (QAPage) because one of them is still very much alive.
What Is Happening and Why It Matters
For the past several years, FAQ schema was one of the most popular structured data tactics in SEO. The promise was simple: add the correct code to your FAQ section, and Google might display your questions and answers as expandable items directly inside search results. More screen real estate. More visibility. More clicks.
Many Malaysian businesses and many web agencies added FAQ schema to service pages, product pages, and FAQ sections specifically for this reason.
That visual benefit no longer exists for commercial websites.
Google has also confirmed that FAQ rich results will now only be available for government and health websites that are well-known and authoritative. For the vast majority of Malaysian business websites including companies in construction, property, professional services, manufacturing, F&B, and retail FAQ rich results will not appear regardless of how well the schema is implemented.
The Deprecation Timeline You Need to Know
Here is the schedule Google has set:
| Date | What Changes |
|---|---|
| 7 May 2026 | FAQ rich results stop appearing in Google Search |
| June 2026 | FAQ search appearance removed. Rich result report removed from Search Console. Support removed from the Rich Results Test tool |
| August 2026 | Support for FAQ rich result in the Search Console API removed |
If you or your web team have been monitoring FAQ rich result performance inside Google Search Console, that data will no longer be available after June 2026. Plan accordingly.
What Is FAQPage Schema and What Was It Used For?
FAQPage is a type of structured data based on schema.org markup. It was designed to tell Google that a page contains a list of questions and answers written by the website itself with no way for users to submit alternative answers.
A correctly implemented FAQ page would look like this in the background code:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How long does a website revamp take?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "A typical website revamp takes between 4 to 8 weeks depending on the scope, content readiness, and number of revision rounds required."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Do you provide website maintenance after the project?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Yes. We offer ongoing website maintenance plans that cover security, updates, backups, and technical support."
}
}
]
}This code does not change what visitors see on your website. It works in the background to tell Google about your content structure.
Before May 2026, correctly implemented FAQPage schema could earn expanded search results that showed your Q&A pairs directly below your listing. This is what made it popular.
That feature is now gone for commercial websites.
Should You Remove FAQPage Schema From Your Website?
This is the question most business owners will ask next. Here is a straightforward answer.
You do not need to remove it urgently. The code does not harm your website. It does not cause penalties. Removing it will not improve your rankings.
You should stop prioritising it as a visibility tactic. If your FAQ content was written mainly to fill schema markup rather than to genuinely answer real customer questions, that content may be worth reviewing and improving.
Structured data still has value beyond rich results. Even without the visual enhancement in search results, structured data helps Google understand your page content more clearly. This can support how your pages appear in AI-generated search summaries, featured snippets, and other formats that do not rely on the specific FAQ rich result display.
The honest recommendation is this: if your FAQ content is genuinely useful to visitors, keep it and improve it. If it was added purely as an SEO tactic with no real value to the reader, this is a good time to revisit it.
What Is QAPage Schema — and Why Is It Still Relevant?
QAPage is a completely different structured data type. It is still active and still eligible for rich results in Google Search.
The key difference is the structure of the content it marks up.
FAQPage is for pages where the website owner writes all the answers. Visitors cannot contribute.
QAPage is for pages where a single question is posted, and users or community members can submit their own answers. Think forums, community support boards, or Q&A platforms.
A correctly implemented QAPage includes both an acceptedAnswer (the top answer chosen by the site, a moderator, or a voting system) and suggestedAnswer entries for other community responses:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "QAPage",
"mainEntity": {
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What should I check before hiring a web developer in Malaysia?",
"answerCount": 4,
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Before hiring a web developer in Malaysia, check their portfolio for projects in your industry, ask about long-term maintenance support, clarify who owns the source code after delivery, and confirm whether they handle hosting, security, and domain separately or as part of the package."
},
"suggestedAnswer": [
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Ask whether they build on platforms like WordPress or custom code, since both have different long-term maintenance implications."
}
]
}
}QAPage is not suitable for a standard company FAQ page. It is only appropriate when your page genuinely has a single question that visitors can respond to with their own answers.
FAQPage vs QAPage: The Clear Difference
| FAQPage | QAPage | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the answers? | Website owner or organisation | Community members or users |
| Multiple questions per page? | Yes | No — one question per page only |
| Can visitors submit their own answers? | No | Yes |
| Suitable for a company FAQ section? | Yes | No |
| Suitable for a forum or community board? | No | Yes |
| Still eligible for Google rich results? | Only government and health sites (as of May 2026) | Yes, still eligible |
| Should Malaysian businesses use it for SEO visibility? | No longer effective | Only if content matches the format |
The most common implementation mistake is using the wrong schema type for the content format. A company FAQ page with QAPage markup is invalid. A community forum with FAQPage markup is also invalid. Google will not display rich results for incorrectly used schema.
What This Change Tells Us About SEO in 2026
The removal of FAQ rich results is a useful reminder that search features built on structured data can be removed at any time.
Businesses and agencies that treated FAQ schema as a reliable long-term visibility tactic have now lost the visual benefit. This happens periodically with SEO features. Google also reduced the display of FAQ rich results for commercial sites in 2023 before removing them completely in 2026.
The underlying lesson is not that structured data is unreliable. It is that content strategy should never be built entirely around one technical feature. FAQ schema worked as a visibility tool for a period of time. Good FAQ content written to genuinely answer real customer questions continues to have value regardless of whether Google wraps it in a rich result format.
Content that helps visitors decide, understand, or trust your business will always matter. The packaging around it changes. The value of the content itself does not.
How to Check If Your Website Is Affected
If you are unsure whether your website has FAQ schema implemented, here are a few ways to check:
Option 1: Use Google's Rich Results Test Visit search.google.com/test/rich-results and enter your website URL. The tool will show you what structured data is detected on your page. Note that Google will remove FAQ support from this tool in June 2026.
Option 2: View Page Source
On any page on your website, right-click and select "View Page Source." Search for the text FAQPage or application/ld+json. If either appears, your page has structured data implemented.
Option 3: Check Google Search Console Under the Enhancements section of Google Search Console, look for a FAQ report. If it exists for your website, you have FAQ schema implemented. This report will be removed by Google in June 2026.
Recommended Next Step
If you want to understand the full technical health of your website including structured data, page speed, security, and search visibility Entertop provides website reviews and technical SEO support for Malaysian businesses.
We help business owners get a clear picture of what is on their website, what is affecting performance, and what genuinely needs attention.
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