On May 6-7, 2026, Google ended FAQ rich results in Search and added five new outbound link features to AI Mode. Service businesses need to update their schema strategy and rethink how they earn AI Overview citations.
Ido Cohen · Published 2026-05-07 · SEO & Search
Two significant Google changes landed within 24 hours of each other. On May 6, Google announced five new outbound link features for AI Mode and AI Overviews focused on increasing visibility of source citations. On May 7, Google ended support for FAQ rich results in Search.
For service businesses that have invested in FAQ schema and are working on AI search visibility, this is a one-week reset. Here is what changed, what to update on your site this week, and what the combined direction tells you about Google's strategy.
The change: as of May 7, 2026, Google no longer surfaces FAQ rich results in standard Search. The familiar dropdown FAQ snippets in the SERPs are gone. The schema still validates and Google still indexes it, but it no longer produces a visible rich result.
What this means in practice:
What this does not mean:
The change: on May 6, 2026, Google announced five new features for AI Mode and AI Overviews focused on outbound link visibility:
1. More prominent display of source citations alongside AI-generated answers
2. First-hand perspectives from public discussions surfaced as a distinct content type
3. Hover previews for cited sources, showing why each was selected
4. Side-by-side comparison of multiple sources for queries with multiple authoritative perspectives
5. Improved tracking and analytics for outbound link clicks from AI Overviews
The strategic implication: Google is responding to publisher pressure and regulatory scrutiny by making AI Overviews more clearly attribute the sources they synthesize. Citation visibility is increasing, and the value of being a cited source is increasing with it.
For service businesses, this is good news. Earning citations in AI Mode is now more visible to users, more actionable in driving brand awareness, and more measurable in analytics. The work of optimizing for AI citation has compounding payoff.
Three concrete actions:
Open your site and identify every page using FAQPage schema. For each one, evaluate:
For FAQs you keep, structure each question-answer pair to maximize AI extractability:
The new outbound link features mean cited sources get more visibility. Increase your citation rate by:
The fifth new feature is improved analytics for AI Overview outbound link clicks. Make sure you can see this data:
Step back from the tactics. Google is doing two things simultaneously: reducing the value of pure-SEO tactical wins (FAQ rich results gone) while increasing the value of being a quality source AI systems cite (better outbound link features).
The strategic message is clear: superficial schema additions and template optimization are losing value. Substantive content quality and genuine authority are gaining value. The companies winning Google in the next 18 months are the ones with real expertise that produces content AI systems want to cite.
For service businesses, the lesson is not "abandon SEO" but "stop optimizing for surface signals." Spend the time on:
The work that wins SEO in 2026 looks more like the work that wins trust in real life. Less gaming, more substance.
Three patterns to abandon:
1. Stop adding FAQ schema to pages without real FAQs. No upside, possible downside under quality-focused algorithm updates.
2. Stop publishing thin "What is..." or "How to..." content competing with AI Overview answers. Either go deep with original data, or do not publish.
3. Stop measuring SEO success by ranking position alone. Position #3 with AI Overview above it is worth less than not appearing for a high-intent transactional query. Measure clicks and conversions, not rank.
Should I remove all FAQ schema from my site after the May 7 change?
No. Keep FAQ schema on pages where the FAQs are real, useful, and match user questions. AI systems (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude) continue to extract from FAQPage schema for citations even though Google Search no longer shows FAQ rich results. Remove FAQ schema only where the underlying FAQs are auto-generated boilerplate or do not fit the page topic.
Will deleting FAQ schema hurt my rankings?
Probably not, and may help. Google's quality-focused algorithm updates (including the April 2026 core update) penalize sites with thin or boilerplate FAQ content. Removing the schema from low-quality FAQ deployments is more likely to help than hurt.
Are AI Overview citations actually driving traffic now?
Yes, but at lower volume than traditional SERP rankings produced. The new outbound link features announced May 6 increase visibility of citations, which should improve click-through rate from AI Overviews to source sites over time. Track the trend in Search Console.
How do I get cited more often in AI Mode?
The strongest factors: structured answers (clear H2 questions with direct paragraph answers), comparison tables, primary source citations alongside your own claims, entity signals (third-party mentions, directory listings, association memberships), and Speakable schema markup on key answers. Pages structured this way get cited 3-5x more often than narrative-style pages.
Is Speakable schema worth implementing?
For service businesses, yes — particularly on FAQ content and key service descriptions. Speakable schema tells voice assistants and AI search systems which content is most quotable. It is one of the highest-leverage AEO additions because it is simple to implement and signals exactly what AI systems want to know.
Sources: