Rules of SEO in the AI era. The end of FAQ rich results and spam

illustration: DALL-E

Google has recently published and updated several important announcements regarding the future of organic visibility. The most significant change concerns anti-spam policies. Google clarified that spam can include:

• manipulating classic rankings,
• attempting to influence generative AI responses in Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode,
• techniques used to deceive users or manipulate search engine systems,
• including attempts to manipulate AI-generated responses.

Google denies that visibility in AI Search is out of reach for SEO activities. On the contrary, in its official guide, it emphasizes that core SEO best practices still matter because Google Search`s generative features are built upon the search engine`s core ranking and quality systems.

AI Search does not replace SEO. It changes how SEO must work

In its new guide, Google explains how generative search features use content available in the index. One of the mechanisms described is RAG, or retrieval-augmented generation. In practice, this means that Google`s systems can utilize up-to-date, indexed websites to generate more credible responses and show links to sources supporting the information.


The second significant mechanism is query fan-out. The model can generate a set of related queries to better answer the user`s initial question. This coincides with the announcement regarding the end of displaying FAQ rich results, which only underscores the consequences of the Alphabet group`s actions.

Google also warns that creating a large number of pages solely to capture every possible variation of a query or to manipulate generative responses may violate anti-spam policies. This means that simply churning out content for every keyword phrase is becoming an increasingly ineffective approach. Google indicates that non-generic, expert, and genuinely helpful content for the audience will hold greater importance. The documentation emphasizes that unique, valuable content can have a greater impact on a site`s presence in generative search results than most other activities described in the guide.

Google debunks popular myths about AI optimization

The official guide indicates that you do not need to create special llms.txt files for Google Search, split content into small chunks, write in a special language for AI, or add special schema.org markup solely for generative answers. This does not mean that technical SEO is losing its importance - quite the contrary.

Google emphasizes that the way the search engine discovers, processes, and indexes pages remains the foundation of whether content can also appear in generative experiences. Therefore, elements like crawlability, indexing, page quality, a good user experience, JavaScript handling, and limiting duplicate content still matter.

The end of FAQ rich results on Google

In parallel, Google is phasing out support for FAQ rich results. As of May 7, 2026, FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search. In June 2026, Google will phase out the FAQ search appearance, the rich result report, and support in the Rich Results Test, and in August 2026, it will remove FAQ rich result support from the Search Console API.


In practice, this means that marking up FAQ sections with structured data is no longer a way to gain additional real estate in Google results. The Q&A sections themselves can still provide value for users, content, and conversions, but they should no longer be treated as a tool to gain FAQ rich results in SERPs.

- Google`s recent announcements show that classic SEO is definitely not disappearing, but the era of simple visibility tricks is coming to an end. In AI Search, the winners will be brands that can build credible, expert, and well-structured sources of information. This means greater importance for content strategy, brand authority, data quality, technical SEO, and the real utility of content - comments Marcin Wątroba, SEO Senior Specialist at Harbingers. - If AI is to cite, recommend, or use information from a website, it must have something to work with and it must trust that source. Hard data, reliable comparisons, and reviews from people with authority in a given field will work exceptionally well. The perspective on off-site activities is also changing. It is no longer just about acquiring a link to a website. It will become increasingly important whether the brand is present across the entire information ecosystem, i.e., in guides, comparisons, rankings, reviews, expert materials, product data, videos, and content that answers real customer questions. SEO in the era of AI is becoming less mechanical and more strategic and expert-driven.