People Also Ask is the box of related questions in Google’s results. For years it was a way to win extra space with a snippet from your page. In 2026 that changed: third-party tracking shows nearly every People Also Ask answer is now an AI Overview. The questions themselves are still some of the best free research Google hands you.
What People Also Ask is
A box usually opens with four questions, and each one you expand adds two or three more[11][10]. Google says featured snippets “can also appear within a related questions group”, and that you cannot mark a page as one: “Google systems determine whether a page would make a good featured snippet”[2].
How often People Also Ask appears
Studies agree it is one of the most common features on Google, though their numbers differ with the keyword set and the year. Semrush found it on 49.37% of desktop and 52.27% of mobile results in 2020, and on 86% of queries that start with a question word[9]; Nozzle found it on 78% of desktop results in its 2022 dataset[10]. seoClarity measured US PAA visibility growing 34.7% on mobile and 37.5% on desktop between February 2024 and January 2025[8].
| Desktop results (Semrush, 2020) | 49.4% |
|---|---|
| Mobile results (Semrush, 2020) | 52.3% |
| Desktop results (Nozzle, 2022) | 78.0% |
| Results with an AI Overview (Semrush, 2025) | 90.0% |
The last bar is from Semrush’s AI Overviews study: of results pages that show an AI Overview, 90.03% also show People Also Ask[7].
AI now writes the People Also Ask answers
The biggest change to Google People Also Ask since it launched has not been announced. AlsoAsked tracked 19.2 million English-language PAA answers through 2026 and found the share that were AI Overviews rose from 22% in January to 86% in August and 97% in the first week of September[5]. SEO Handbook, reporting the same data, notes that Google has documented nothing about it[6].
| Period | AI Overview answers |
|---|---|
| Jan | 22% |
| Feb | 24% |
| Mar | 14% |
| Apr | 11% |
| May | 40% |
| Jun | 64% |
| Jul | 61% |
| Aug | 86% |
| Sep | 97% |
Plan pages around People Also Ask questions
The questions are still valuable: they are what Google has learned people ask next. Use them to shape a page, one clear heading and a direct answer per question, and they serve every AI engine, not just Google. The planner groups questions by the kind of answer each needs and checks them against your headings.
For writing the answers, the answer engine optimization guide covers the answer-first format, and the FAQ schema generator marks up a visible FAQ section honestly, with a plain note on what that markup no longer does.
How Search Console counts People Also Ask
Google’s Performance report help is specific. Clicking to expand a question “is not counted” as a click; “clicking any link to your site in the expanded section counts as a click”; when a question is expanded, “an impression is counted for any links within the expanding section”; and standard position rules apply[4].
Can you opt out of People Also Ask?
Not directly: Google documents no PAA-specific control. Because PAA answers have been featured snippets, the snippet controls apply, which is our reading of Google’s documentation rather than something it states about PAA. Those are nosnippet, a low max-snippet and data-nosnippet. Google notes that nosnippet also keeps content out of AI Overviews and AI Mode[3], so it is a blunt tool.
Questions people ask
What is People Also Ask on Google?
A box of related questions that Google shows in many search results. Google's own name for it is a related questions group: a cluster of questions related to what the user searched for. Expanding a question shows an answer, and more questions often load as you open them.
How do I get into the People Also Ask box?
You cannot opt in. Google says its systems decide which pages make good featured snippets, the format PAA answers used. And by September 2026 almost all PAA answers were AI Overviews rather than a single page's text, so the practical aim is to answer those questions clearly on a page Google can cite.
Are People Also Ask answers written by AI now?
Mostly, according to third-party tracking. AlsoAsked found 97% of the PAA answers it sampled in the first week of September 2026 were AI Overviews, up from 22% in January. Google has not documented the change.
Is there a People Also Ask tool?
Google has no API for it. Third-party tools collect PAA questions for a topic. The planner on this page works the other way: paste the questions you see and your page's headings, and it shows which questions your page answers.
Does Search Console count People Also Ask clicks?
Yes. Google says expanding a question is not counted as a click, but clicking a link to your site in the expanded section is, and an impression is counted for links in an expanded section. Standard position rules apply.
How can I stop my content appearing in People Also Ask?
Google offers no PAA-specific control. Because PAA answers are featured snippets, the snippet controls apply: nosnippet, a low max-snippet or data-nosnippet. Google says nosnippet also keeps content out of AI Overviews and AI Mode, so weigh the cost.