FAQ Schema (FAQPage)
FAQ schema is schema.org's FAQPage structured data type, a block of JSON-LD that labels the questions and answers on a page so search engines can read each pair explicitly, which helps indexing but hasn't been shown to earn AI citations.
Also known as: FAQPage schema, FAQ markup
FAQ schema is the FAQPage type from the schema.org vocabulary. You add a JSON-LD block to a page that has a list of questions and answers, and each question-answer pair gets labeled explicitly as a Question with an acceptedAnswer. The point is to remove ambiguity: a crawler doesn't have to infer that a bold line followed by a paragraph is a Q&A, because the markup says so.
For a few years, FAQ schema had a visible payoff: Google showed the questions as expandable dropdowns under your search listing. In 2023 Google cut that back, limiting FAQ rich results to well-known, authoritative government and health sites. For a plumber or restaurant, the dropdowns are gone. The markup still gets read and can still help Google understand the page, but the direct search-result benefit that made it popular no longer applies to most businesses.
Then AI answers arrived, and FAQ schema got a second life in marketing pitches: mark up your questions and AI engines will lift your answers. The evidence doesn't back that. Search Atlas tested for a correlation between schema coverage and LLM citation rates and found none. Nobody has published a study showing FAQPage markup specifically increases citations. What AI engines do respond to is a clearly written question followed by a direct, specific answer, which is a content decision, not a markup decision.
That's the useful reframe for a small business. Write the FAQ first: how much does a crown cost, do you take walk-ins, how fast can you get to a burst pipe in Spring Hill. Lead each answer with the direct answer, in plain text, in a sentence a model could quote. Then add FAQPage markup if it's easy, because it doesn't hurt and it tidies up indexing. If you can only do one, do the writing.
The pages Tibly drafts and publishes for customer sites follow that pattern, a typed question and a direct answer, and carry FAQPage markup built from the same question sections without extra work on your part. The markup is the formality; the answers are the point.
Keep exploring the glossary
- Structured Data (schema.org / JSON-LD)Structured data is machine-readable markup, usually schema.org vocabulary written as JSON-LD, that labels facts like a business's name, address, hours, and services so search engines can index them precisely, though no study shows it causes AI citations.
- LocalBusiness SchemaLocalBusiness schema is the schema.org structured data type, with subtypes like Dentist, Plumber, Restaurant, and LegalService, that marks up a business's name, address, phone, hours, and service area in JSON-LD so search engines can index those facts without inferring them.
- Content Gap (AI answers)In AI visibility, a content gap is a buying question that AI engines answer by naming your competitors but not you, usually because your website has no page stating the specific service, price, location, or detail the engine needed.
- AI-Readiness AuditAn AI-readiness audit is a check of a website that tests whether AI crawlers can reach it, whether it serves HTTPS, whether facts like pricing, hours, and service area appear in plain text, and whether basic structured data is present.
Common questions about FAQ Schema (FAQPage)
- Does FAQ schema help my page appear in AI answers?
- Not directly, as far as anyone has measured. Search Atlas found no correlation between schema coverage and LLM citations. A clearly phrased question with a direct plain-text answer is what engines can quote; the markup just labels it. Do the writing first, add the markup second.
- Does Google still show FAQ dropdowns in search results?
- Only for a narrow set of authoritative government and health sites since Google's 2023 change. For most local businesses, FAQPage markup no longer produces the expandable rich result in search listings, though Google can still read the markup to understand what the page covers.
- Should I write an FAQ section on my service pages?
- Yes, and it's the part that matters. Answer the questions customers ask before hiring you, each with a direct plain-text answer in the first sentence. That's what an answer engine can quote. Add FAQPage markup afterward if your platform makes it easy; skip it if it doesn't.