Short answer: build your FAQs around real customer needs, using questions from emails, calls, WhatsApp messages and reviews, answer each one directly in the first sentence, then add the detail. Put questions next to the service they relate to, not only on one catch-all page, and review them whenever prices, policies or processes change.
Don't write FAQs to win a special Google feature. Google stopped showing FAQ rich results in Search in May 2026, and it says no special markup is needed for its AI features. A good FAQ is worth having because it saves customers (and your staff) time.
What changed with Google, briefly
For years, adding FAQ structured data could make extra question-and-answer drop-downs appear under a page in Google results. In August 2023 Google said FAQ rich results would only be shown for "well-known, authoritative government and health websites" (Google Search Central Blog: Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results). Google's May 2026 changelog says FAQ rich results stopped appearing from 7 May 2026. Google removed the feature's documentation in June. (Google Search Central: Documentation updates)
On AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google's guidance is that there are no additional requirements or special optimisations, and that you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special schema.org markup to appear. A page needs to be indexed and eligible to show a snippet, and even then inclusion isn't guaranteed. (Google Search Central: AI features and your website)
What that means in practice: clear, direct answers help readers find the information they need.
Step 1: Collect questions based on real customer needs
The weakest FAQ pages are written from the business's point of view ("Why choose us?"). Useful questions address what customers need to know, including information about a new service. Spend half an hour collecting from:
- Your inbox and WhatsApp. Search for question marks in enquiries from the last few months.
- Whoever answers the phone. Ask them for the five questions they hear most.
- Your Google reviews. Complaints often point to a missing answer (for example, confusion about parking, deposits or turnaround time).
- Search Console. Look for question-style queries where your site appeared in Search, and check which received clicks. Search Console does not show every query. (Google: Performance report; Google: Query data and limitations) Our Search Console setup guide explains where to find it.
- Pre-sale objections. Questions people ask just before deciding: price ranges, cancellation, what's included, how long it takes.
Write each question the way a customer phrased it, not in your internal jargon.
Step 2: Answer in the first sentence
Lead with the direct answer, then add conditions and detail. Compare these two answers to the same hypothetical question:
Do you work on weekends? Weak: "At [Business name], we understand that our customers lead busy lives, which is why flexibility is at the heart of everything we do…"
Better: "Yes, on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, by appointment. We're closed on Sundays and public holidays. Weekend slots fill up quickly, so book at least a week ahead."
The second answer works whether someone reads one line or the whole thing, and it's the kind of self-contained answer that's easy to quote accurately.
A few more rules for answers:
- Be specific. Give the actual number, timeframe or condition. If it varies, say what it depends on.
- Keep each answer to one question. If an answer starts covering a second topic, split it.
- Link to detail rather than repeating it. If the full refund policy lives on another page, summarise it and link there.
- Use the same facts everywhere. Opening hours, prices and policies in your FAQ should match your Google Business Profile, booking system and terms.
Step 3: Put questions where people need them
A single FAQ page is useful as a reference, but most questions are about a specific service. Put the three to six questions that matter for each service on that service's page, close to the "contact" or "book" button. Keep the general FAQ page for business-wide topics such as payment methods, location, booking and cancellation.
There's no ideal number of questions. Include questions that address real customer needs, including necessary information about a new service. Ten good questions beat forty padded ones.
Step 4: Make it easy to scan
- Group questions under clear headings (Booking, Pricing, During the job, After the job).
- Use the question as the heading and the answer as normal text directly under it.
- Keep answers visible, or at least make sure any expand/collapse sections are accessible and the text is in the page itself rather than loaded only on click. Google's AI features guidance lists "making sure that important content is available in textual form" as a best practice (source).
- Avoid putting answers in images, which are harder to read, search and update.
Step 5: Keep it honest and current
Google's guidance on helpful content asks whether a page contains "easily-verified factual errors" and whether it was "primarily made to attract visits from search engines" (Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content). Repeated keyword variations can make an FAQ search-engine-first; outdated prices that no longer match your actual charges create factual errors.
- Review FAQs whenever something changes: prices, hours, policies, services or staff.
- Add a "last reviewed" date if your answers include time-sensitive details.
- Don't promise outcomes you can't guarantee, and don't answer questions about services you don't yet offer.
- If you use AI to draft answers, check every fact against your actual policies before publishing.
Should you still add FAQ structured data?
Google no longer shows FAQ rich results, so adding FAQPage markup won't produce that visual feature in Google Search, and Google says no special schema is needed for its AI features. If your site already has FAQ markup, it's a judgement call for whoever manages your site; what matters most is that any structured data matches the visible text on the page, which Google lists as a best practice (source). Don't spend time adding new FAQ markup to obtain the retired FAQ rich result or special eligibility for Google's AI features.
A hypothetical example: before and after
This is an illustrative example, not a client project.
Before: a single "FAQ" page with 25 questions, including "Why are we the best choice?", "What makes us different?", three versions of "How much does it cost?", and answers that start with a paragraph about the company.
After:
- The general FAQ page is cut to 9 questions about booking, payment, location and cancellation.
- Each of [Business name]'s three service pages gets 4–5 questions specific to that service, placed above the enquiry button.
- Every answer starts with the direct answer.
- Pricing questions give a typical range and say what changes it, then link to the quote form.
- Answers that duplicated the terms and conditions are replaced with a one-line summary and a link.
A quick FAQ checklist
- ☐ Every question addresses a real customer need, informed by enquiries, reviews, search queries or necessary service information.
- ☐ Each answer starts with the direct answer.
- ☐ Facts match your Google Business Profile, booking system and terms.
- ☐ Service-specific questions sit on the relevant service page.
- ☐ Answers are in visible text, not images.
- ☐ There's no duplicated or keyword-stuffed question.
- ☐ Someone owns reviewing the FAQs when things change.