When Google limited FAQ results in 2023, many marketers fully abandoned their FAQ page and decided FAQ was done. Then this May, Google pulled the plug on FAQ rich results completely.
But AI search didn’t stop.
Here’s the thing. AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google’s AI Overviews are built to answer questions. It’s a program that searches for the easiest and most upfront answers. Are the pages on your site built for exactly that? Your FAQ page.
Why AI Engines Love a Good FAQ Page
Think about how people search. You don’t ask “assisted living costs.” You ask “How much does assisted living cost in Southern California?”
That’s a question. A real, specific one. AI’s are trained to be conversational.
When your FAQ page is written directly, the way a real person would say it, it gets cited.
Behind the scenes, AI doesn’t just search your exact words, it rewrites the prompt and runs extra searches on related subtopics you never even asked about. Google calls this “query fan-out.”
Then AI regurgitates small chunks, so the engine can pull and cite. Chunks. Not whole pages. A short, direct FAQ answer is the perfect size.
Specific questions. Specific concise answers.
What Questions Belong on Your FAQ Page (and Where to Find Them)
One of the problems clients will run into is wanting to use the FAQ page as a personal boast. But people aren’t searching “Why is this facility the best?” They’re searching at 11 p.m. with a cold cup of coffee, trying to figure out what’s next for Mom.
This is where working with the marketing and admissions teams is helpful. You want to form a good idea of what questions people specifically ask about your facility. What questions are being asked on tours? What do families ask in the parking lot, that last question before they leave the tour?
If the questions are being asked, you want to be the one answering them. For example, no one wants to talk pricing. So many facilities want to hide that until the end, after they have touted their fine dining and the credentials of their rehab therapist. But if the first question is price and the nursing home down the street is willing to answer that question up front, then they get to talk about their master chef and their awesome rehab therapists. You got left out of the running because you weren’t willing to answer the question they were asking.
Keep a list and get those questions in so your community isn’t a mystery!
How to Write FAQ Answers AI Will Actually Quote
How you write the answer matters. Don’t give background on the subject. Nobody wants to scroll past your community’s whole history just to find out what memory care costs.
Be direct.
If it’s $9,500/mo, then just say that. If her level of care hits a certain point where Medi-Cal pays 100% of that, then add that into your answer. Of course, her income and need level can contribute to assistance, so it’s perfectly fine to add caveats and reasons why they should come in for a tour and a review of her current medical records. Just don’t leave the question unanswered; that allows your competitor to step up and get cited over you.
Answer the question in the first sentence or two, then feel free to add your personal pizzazz after. AI will keep crawling the page if your FAQ page follows up with the next questions people are likely to ask. If you start with “What is memory care?” follow with:
- Who is memory care good for?
- How much does memory care cost?
- What’s the difference between memory care and assisted living?
- How do you know it’s time to send your parent to memory care?
- Can we tour a memory care facility before deciding?
Don’t be afraid to give location context either. When asking location-based questions, AI will search where the prompt and location are mentioned together. “Memory care in Carlsbad” wins when a Carlsbad family is asking.
Structure, Schema, and Other FAQ Page Must-Haves
You don’t want to go through the effort of creating an FAQ page for GEO purposes, only for AI to not understand it right away and skip past it.
FAQ formatting is a simple way to not go unnoticed. Schema allows the AI bot crawling your page to understand which text is the question and which is the answer without too much work. It won’t bring back Google’s rich results, and Google says its AI features don’t require any special schema. But Microsoft has said schema helps its AI understand your content. It’s free. Keep it.
Make sure you use correct headers, too. Use H2s for your topic groups and H3s for each question. Headers tell the crawler where each question starts and stops, so every answer becomes its own clean chunk of citable info. They also help anyone using a screen reader jump straight to their question, which matters a lot for older adults and their families. Big bold text isn’t the same thing. If it isn’t tagged as a header, AI can’t see the structure.
One more sneaky one. Most AI crawlers don’t run JavaScript, so if your answers only load after a script runs, ChatGPT might never see them. Make sure the answer text is on the page when it loads.
Turn Your FAQ Page Into an Internal Linking Hub
As some extra credit for your GEO, be sure to link answers to previously written blogs about the topic. This way AI will crawl those pages as well and use them for further prompts on the subject. It’s the deep dive on the subject.
Use anchor text that says what’s on the other side, like “our guide to memory care costs,” not “click here.” And if there’s no blog to link to? Boom. That’s your next blog topic.
Crawlers follow those links too, so every link points AI toward the deeper content you’ve already written.
Your Website’s Front Desk
Google may have taken away the rich results, but people didn’t stop asking questions. They just started asking AI. At midnight. In their pajamas.
Think of your FAQ page as the front desk of your website. It answers the quick questions right there, and knows exactly where to send people for the rest.
So go dust your FAQ page off.
Want help turning your FAQ page into something AI actually quotes? Reach out to the InyoCare team.
FAQ Page Questions, Answered
Is an FAQ page still worth it without Google’s FAQ rich results?
Yes. AI search tools still look for short, direct answers to real questions, and a good FAQ page delivers them.
Do I still need FAQ schema?
It’s worth keeping. It no longer earns rich results in Google, but it clearly labels your questions and answers for machines.
How long should an FAQ answer be?
Answer the question in the first sentence or two, somewhere around 40 to 60 words, then add detail if it’s needed.
How many questions should an FAQ page have?
There’s no magic number. Start with the questions your admissions team hears most.
Is there a benefit to having a few FAQs at the bottom of other web pages?
Yes, this is a great idea. Consider adding 2-4 Q and As to the bottom of your services page. Give a summary of the primary topics discussed on that page.