JSON-LD in 2026: SearchAction and FAQ cleanup

Two JSON-LD patterns that used to be common in SEO templates have lost most of their Google Search value.

The first is SearchAction, which powered the sitelinks search box. Google removed that visual element from Search results starting November 21, 2024. The second is FAQPage, now that FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search as of May 7, 2026.

If you came here looking for a potentialAction snippet or an acceptedAnswer example, the short version is this: in 2026, these are usually cleanup candidates, not new things to add.

This is not a ranking algorithm update. The extra search result UI went away. That means the practical work is smaller too: remove markup that no longer earns the feature, keep the structured data that still has a job, and do not overread the Search Console graph.

What changed

Google said in its Search Central blog that the sitelinks search box visual element would be removed globally. The change did not affect rankings or the other sitelinks visual element.

FAQ followed the same direction. The Search Console data anomalies page says FAQ rich results no longer appear as of May 7, 2026, so reported FAQ impressions can drop. Google’s FAQ structured data documentation also notes that FAQ search appearance, the rich result report, and Rich Results Test support are being dropped in June 2026, with Search Console API support ending in August 2026.

Item	What changed	Practical move
SearchAction JSON-LD	Sitelinks search box UI retired	Remove it if that UI was the only goal
FAQPage JSON-LD	FAQ rich results no longer appear	Consider removing it if it was only for Google rich results
Search Console	FAQ impressions may drop	Separate CTR changes from ranking changes

Code to remove: SearchAction

If your site still has this kind of SearchAction JSON-LD, the potentialAction block is the part to review.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "url": "https://example.com/",
  "potentialAction": {
    "@type": "SearchAction",
    "target": "https://example.com/search?q={search_term_string}",
    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
  }
}
</script>

For the sitelinks search box, SearchAction no longer has a visible Google Search payoff. Keeping it will not create a Search Console error, but there is not much reason to keep it if that was the only purpose.

Do not remove the whole WebSite object by reflex. Site name markup can still use WebSite with basic properties such as name and url.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Example",
  "url": "https://example.com/"
}
</script>

So the cleanup is narrow: remove SearchAction, keep valid site identity data. If you are also auditing crawl and index controls, the robots.txt and meta robots guide is the better place to start.

Code to review: FAQPage

FAQPage JSON-LD added only for FAQ rich results is now worth reviewing too.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Should I remove SearchAction?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "If it was only for the sitelinks search box, removing it is reasonable."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

That does not mean deleting the FAQ content users can read. Keep useful questions and answers on the page. What lost its purpose is the Google rich result layer built around FAQPage.

Item	Recommendation
Visible FAQ content	Keep it if it helps readers
FAQPage JSON-LD	Remove or stop generating it if it was only for Google FAQ rich results
SearchAction potentialAction	Remove if it was only for the sitelinks search box
BreadcrumbList, Product, Review	Keep when accurate
WebSite name/url markup	Keep when accurate

What changes in Search results

For SearchAction, the site search box under the result is gone.

For FAQ rich results, the expandable question-and-answer area is gone. CTR can move, but do not turn that into a ranking story too quickly.

Use Search Console like this:

1. Compare performance before and after May 7, 2026.
2. Segment queries that used to trigger FAQ-style intent: FAQ, how, review, price, question.
3. If average position is stable but CTR drops, the missing rich result may explain it.
4. If average position also drops, check content quality, competing pages, indexing, and technical SEO separately.

Practical cleanup plan

Start by finding the markup in your codebase.

rg "SearchAction|FAQPage|potentialAction|query-input|acceptedAnswer"

On WordPress, check SEO, FAQ, and schema plugin settings first. On a static site, inspect shared SEO components, layout templates, and JSON-LD includes.

When you rebuild JSON-LD, use the types that still have a clear role: WebSite basics, Organization, Article, BreadcrumbList, Product, and similar supported markup. You can generate those quickly with the JSON-LD Generator. For Google FAQ rich result visibility, though, adding new FAQPage markup is hard to justify now.

Then make the cleanup small:

• Remove SearchAction if it existed only for the sitelinks search box
• Remove or disable FAQPage if it existed only for Google FAQ rich results
• Keep accurate BreadcrumbList, Product, Review, Organization, and WebSite name/url markup
• Turn off FAQ schema in your CMS plugin if it is being generated automatically

After deployment, use the Rich Results Test only to confirm the structured data you still care about is valid. Missing FAQ or sitelinks search box previews are normal now.

A drop in FAQ impressions in Search Console is not an error by itself. Do not delete the visible FAQ section, and definitely do not noindex a page, just because the FAQ report changed.

The takeaway is boring, which is good. Remove markup for retired UI, keep structured data that still describes the page, and spend the saved energy on content quality.