In August 2023, Google announced it was limiting FAQ rich results to authoritative government and health websites and restricting How-to rich results to desktop only. Data from STAT Search Analytics confirmed the rollout began as early as August 9th. By September 14, 2023, Google removed both features entirely—not to make room for AI, but to create a cleaner SERP.
For years, FAQ and How-to rich results were reliable tools in an SEO professional’s arsenal. Those expandable question-and-answer snippets and step-by-step guides that appeared directly in Google’s search results? They drove clicks, boosted visibility, and gave structured content a serious competitive edge.
Then, almost overnight, they were gone.
Google’s August 2023 announcement caught many SEOs off guard—but the data told an even faster story. Changes were already rolling out before most people had finished reading the blog post. Within weeks, FAQ and How-to rich results had effectively disappeared from most SERPs, and the speculation machine went into overdrive: Was this Google clearing the runway for AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
The short answer, according to Google itself, is no. But let’s break down exactly what happened, when it happened, and what it actually means for SEO.
What Did Google Actually Announce in August 2023?
On August 8, 2023, Google published an update to its developer documentation announcing two significant changes to how rich results would be displayed:
- FAQ rich results would be limited to websites deemed “authoritative” in the government and health sectors. The implication was clear: the vast majority of publishers—including news outlets, e-commerce brands, SaaS companies, and blogs—would lose FAQ rich result eligibility.
- How-to rich results would become desktop-only, meaning smartphone users would no longer see structured step-by-step guides directly in search results.
These were not minor tweaks. FAQ schema had become one of the most widely adopted structured data types across the web, largely because it was relatively easy to implement and offered outsized visibility gains. Stripping it from mainstream SERPs was a significant shift.
Which Sites Were Affected by the FAQ Rich Results Change?
The scope was broad. Unless your site is classified as an authoritative government or health source, FAQ rich results were no longer available to you after the rollout. That covers the overwhelming majority of websites using FAQ schema—lifestyle blogs, B2B platforms, retail sites, news publishers, and more.
How-to rich results were not eliminated entirely at first, but their reach was cut dramatically by removing smartphone eligibility.
When Did the Changes Actually Roll Out?
Here is where the data gets interesting. According to Tom Capper’s analysis for STAT Search Analytics, published August 14, 2023, the rollout moved faster than Google’s announcement implied.
Key timeline milestones:
- August 8, 2023: Google publishes the announcement.
- August 9, 2023: STAT data shows FAQ rich result drops beginning on smartphones—just one day after the announcement.
- August 11, 2023: US desktop results begin showing a drop in FAQ prevalence.
That is a remarkably fast rollout. STAT’s tracking across 10,000 MozCast keywords found that FAQ prevalence on smartphones dropped to no more than 20 instances across the entire keyword set—a near-total wipeout. How-to rich results on desktop fell to less than 15% of their previous stable levels.
One particularly revealing data point: the share of voice for the desktop top 10 remained stable after August 11th. This suggests the initial changes primarily affected lower-ranking positions, not the very top of the SERP. High-authority pages that had been generating How-to rich results at position one or two may have retained them briefly, while lower-ranked pages lost them almost immediately.
What Happened in September 2023?
August was only the beginning. On September 14, 2023, Google completed the job—both FAQ and How-to rich results were fully removed. No more partial eligibility for health and government sites. No more How-to results on desktop. Both features were gone.
The full removal arrived roughly five weeks after the initial announcement, making this one of the more rapid deprecations of a major SERP feature in recent memory.
Why Did Google Remove FAQ and How-to Rich Results?
This is the question that generated the most debate in the SEO community—and the answer may surprise you.
Was It About Making Room for AI and SGE?
When the changes were announced, a popular theory emerged quickly: Google was clearing real estate in its search results to make room for the Search Generative Experience (SGE), its AI-powered answer layer that was in testing at the time. The logic seemed reasonable on the surface. FAQ and How-to rich results take up significant vertical space in SERPs. Remove them, and suddenly there is more room for SGE panels.
Google’s Gary Illyes addressed this speculation directly on September 21, 2023, and his response was unambiguous:
“The ultimate goal is not for AI. It is to make results that look clean. We’re not freeing up space for x or y.”
That is about as direct a denial as you will get from a Google representative. At the time of the removal, the SGE explanation was likely incorrect—and Illyes’ statement provides strong evidence that the decision was driven by a desire for SERP cleanliness rather than any strategic AI roadmap.
So What Does “A Cleaner SERP” Actually Mean?
Google has long been attentive to the visual density of its search results. Rich results, when they work well, add genuine value—surfacing direct answers, structured recipes, or product ratings that make search faster and more useful. But when every site in a niche is deploying FAQ schema purely to gain SERP real estate, the result is a bloated, cluttered page that serves the publisher more than the user.
That appears to be the core issue Google was solving. FAQ schema had become ubiquitous—and not always because it was the best way to answer a user’s query. Restricting it to genuinely authoritative health and government sources (and then removing it entirely) was a way to reduce noise and restore visual clarity to the SERP.
The How-to restriction to desktop-only—and its eventual removal—likely followed a similar rationale. Step-by-step instructions in the SERP are arguably more useful on a desktop screen, where users can follow along on a larger display. On smartphones, where the majority of searches now happen, the format may have created more friction than value.
What This Means for Your SEO Strategy
Should You Remove FAQ Schema from Your Site?
Not necessarily—but you should recalibrate your expectations. Structured data, including FAQ schema, can still help Google understand your content. The benefit is no longer a rich result in the SERP; it is improved machine readability of your page.
If your FAQ schema is genuinely useful to readers and accurately reflects your content, keep it. If you added it purely to generate SERP features, it is worth auditing whether the schema still aligns with a clear content goal.
What Should You Prioritize Instead of Rich Result Optimization?
The removal of FAQ and How-to rich results underscores a broader principle: do not build your SEO strategy around any single SERP feature. Features come and go. What endures is content quality, topical authority, and technical health.
Practical priorities in a post-FAQ-rich-result landscape:
- Build topical authority: Comprehensive coverage of a subject signals expertise to Google at the domain level—not just at the page level.
- Optimize for AI visibility: With SGE and AI Overviews shaping an increasing share of search experiences, structuring content with clear, direct answers becomes essential.
- Invest in featured snippets: Position zero remains a high-value SERP feature and is not going anywhere in the near term.
- Focus on E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are Google’s stated quality criteria. They matter more than any single schema type.
The Bigger Picture: SERP Features Are Never Permanent
The FAQ and How-to rich results story is a useful reminder that SERP features are not permanent fixtures. Google tests, deploys, and removes features based on user behavior, quality signals, and strategic product decisions. Pinning your visibility strategy to any one feature—however reliable it appears today—carries real risk.
The speed of this particular rollout also matters. From announcement to data-confirmed impact was less than 24 hours. From announcement to full removal was five weeks. SEO teams that had built reporting dashboards, client KPIs, or content workflows around FAQ rich results had very little time to adapt.
Agility is not just a buzzword here. The sites that responded fastest—auditing their structured data, adjusting their reporting baselines, and communicating changes clearly to stakeholders—were the ones best positioned to move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are FAQ rich results in Google Search?
FAQ rich results are expandable question-and-answer sections that appear directly in Google’s search results when a page includes FAQ schema markup. They increase the visual footprint of a listing in the SERP, often improving click-through rates. Google removed FAQ rich results for most websites in August 2023 and eliminated them entirely on September 14, 2023.
Why did Google remove FAQ and How-to rich results?
Google’s stated reason was to create a cleaner, less cluttered SERP. Google’s Gary Illyes confirmed on September 21, 2023, that the decision was not related to AI or SGE: “The ultimate goal is not for AI. It is to make results that look clean.” The widespread adoption of FAQ schema—often for SERP real estate rather than genuine user value—likely contributed to the decision.
When exactly did Google’s FAQ rich result changes roll out?
Google announced the changes on August 8, 2023. STAT Search Analytics data showed smartphone drops beginning August 9th—one day later. US desktop drops began August 11th. Both FAQ and How-to rich results were fully removed on September 14, 2023.
Did Google remove FAQ rich results to make room for AI Search (SGE)?
This was a widely circulated theory, but Google denied it. Gary Illyes stated directly on September 21, 2023, that the goal was not to free up space for AI or SGE. At the time of the removal, the evidence supported Google’s explanation: SERP cleanliness, not AI strategy, drove the decision.
Should I still use FAQ schema on my website?
FAQ schema no longer generates rich results for most websites, but it can still help search engines understand your content’s structure. If your FAQs are genuinely useful to readers, keeping the markup is reasonable. If the schema was added purely to trigger SERP features, review whether it still serves a content purpose.
How did the FAQ rich result removal affect search rankings?
STAT Search Analytics data found that share of voice for the desktop top 10 remained stable after August 11, 2023, suggesting the changes initially hit lower-ranking positions hardest. Organic rankings themselves were not directly affected—rich result eligibility and page ranking are separate signals.
What should SEOs focus on now that FAQ rich results are gone?
Prioritize topical authority, E-E-A-T signals, featured snippet optimization, and structuring content for AI visibility. These are durable strategies that do not depend on any single SERP feature remaining available.
