# SERP features

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://attensira.com/llms.txt).
> Every page on this site is also served as Markdown: append `.md` to any URL, or send `Accept: text/markdown`.

> SERP features are the results that are not plain blue links: AI Overviews, featured snippets, People also ask, videos, maps. Which you can influence, and how.

- Canonical page: https://attensira.com/glossary/serp-features
- Family: glossary
- Last updated: 2026-10-04
- Author: Karl-Gustav Kallasmaa (https://attensira.com/about)
- Claims as data: https://attensira.com/claims.json?slug=serp-features

**In short:** SERP features are the parts of a search results page that are not plain organic links: AI Overviews, featured snippets, People also ask, video and image packs, local maps, shopping results and knowledge panels. Content and structured data make a page eligible for some; the engine fills others itself. Many answer the query without a click.

| Figure | What it counts | n |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 32 | of 121 answers named Google AI Overviews | ChatGPT 27 of 61, Perplexity 5 of 60 |
| 17 | of 121 answers named Google AI Mode | ChatGPT 15 of 61, Perplexity 2 of 60 |
| 0 | of 121 named featured snippets, People also ask or rich results | none used the phrase SERP feature either |

Window 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-04. attensira.com workspace, newest stored answer per question and engine, read over the Attensira MCP on 2026-10-04.

_Source: attensira.com workspace, read over the Attensira MCP, as of 2026-10-04 (121 stored answers, 61 questions)._

## Key facts

- What counts: Any result beyond a plain title link and snippet
- Two families: Content-driven and markup-driven
- Markup for AI Overviews: [None needed, per Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
- FAQ rich results: [Gone from Google Search since 7 May 2026](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/faqpage)
- Related term: [SERP](/glossary/serp)
- In Attensira: [Structured data is a safe change in Act mode](https://docs.attensira.com/agent/approval)

A SERP used to be a list. Now it is a layout: an AI-written answer at the top, a box that quotes one page, a list of related questions, a strip of videos, sometimes a map. Each of those is a SERP feature, and each is a different way for a page to be seen, often without being visited.

## Which SERP features exist, and how are they filled?

| Feature | What it shows | How a page gets in |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AI Overview | An AI-written answer with source links | Indexed and snippet-eligible; no special markup |
| Featured snippet | One page's passage answering the query | A direct, self-contained answer on the page |
| People also ask | Related questions, each expanding to a passage | Clear answers to the related questions |
| Rich results | Stars, prices, breadcrumbs, event dates on a listing | Valid structured data for that type |
| Video and image packs | Thumbnails from video and image pages | Indexable media with descriptive text |
| Local pack | A map and business listings | A business profile and local relevance |
| Knowledge panel | A box of facts about an entity | Built by the engine from sources it trusts |

Two families, controlled differently. **Content-driven** features, AI Overviews, featured snippets and People also ask, pick passages from pages that answer well. **Markup-driven** rich results need structured data before a page is even considered. In both cases the engine decides; a page can only be eligible.

## What does that look like on a real page?

This page is an example. Every glossary page on attensira.com emits structured data, among it a `DefinedTerm` for the term inside the page's `WebPage` block, a `BreadcrumbList` for its place in the site, which makes it eligible for a breadcrumb trail in place of the URL, and a `FAQPage` for the questions below.

The last one shows how features come and go: FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search on 7 May 2026, and [schema markup](/glossary/schema-markup) explains why we keep the markup anyway.

The content-driven features need no markup at all. Google says there is no special schema needed to appear in AI Overviews; the page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet. The short answer that opens this page is written to be lifted whole, which is what a featured snippet, a People also ask box and an AI Overview all do.

## What does a markup-only change look like when the crew ships it?

Structured data is one of the few changes Attensira classes as safe: in Act mode it opens as a pull request without waiting. Every such change carries the same note, hygiene, not a lever: markup makes a page eligible for a rich result and is not expected, alone, to move an AI answer.

**Pull request example-co/site#42:** Add BreadcrumbList structured data to the pricing page

```diff
# content/pricing.html
  <h1>Pricing</h1>
+ <script type="application/ld+json">
+ {"@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [
+   {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://example.com/"},
+   {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Pricing"}]}
+ </script>
```

_Example: example site, not a reading. Not a reading._

## Why do SERP features matter more now?

Because they take the reader's attention before the links do, and they pick which pages are quoted. When the answer sits on the results page, fewer searches go on to a website; [zero-click search](/glossary/zero-click-search) has the measured click rates.

The engines' own answers point the same way. In the 121 newest answers ChatGPT and Perplexity gave to the 61 questions Attensira tracks, read on 4 October 2026, 32 named Google's AI Overviews and none mentioned featured snippets, People also ask or rich results. When buyers ask about search visibility now, the feature they hear about is the AI answer.

## How can you limit what features use?

Google documents four controls, `nosnippet`, `data-nosnippet`, `max-snippet` and `noindex`, and none of them separates AI features from ordinary results; [X-Robots-Tag](/glossary/x-robots-tag) covers what each one costs and how to send it.

## What do people get wrong about SERP features?

- **Expecting markup to guarantee a feature.** It makes a page eligible. Google says correct structured data does not guarantee a rich result.

- **Chasing features that were retired.** FAQ rich results are gone from Google. Check the current documentation before building for one.

- **Marking up what readers cannot see.** Google's guidelines forbid it, and it can cost all rich results through a manual action.

- **Counting features as wins without the click picture.** A featured snippet can raise or lower clicks, depending on whether it answers the whole question.

## How does Attensira help?

The AI Overview is the feature that changes most, and Attensira reads it as a person sees it, on the consumer results page, because Google offers no API for it. Each reading stores the answer and the pages it cited, so you can see whether your page is the source and which page was chosen instead. For markup, the free [schema validator](/tools/schema-validator) checks your structured data against each type's required properties.

## FAQ

### What are SERP features?

Any result on a search results page beyond the plain title-link-and-snippet listing: AI Overviews, featured snippets, People also ask boxes, image and video packs, local map packs, shopping results, knowledge panels and rich results such as review stars or breadcrumbs.

### Can I make Google show a SERP feature for my page?

No. You can make a page eligible: answer the question directly for a featured snippet, add valid structured data for a rich result, be indexed and snippet-eligible for AI Overviews. Google decides whether to show it, and says correct markup does not guarantee a rich result.

### Which SERP features need structured data?

Rich results such as product, review snippet, recipe, event, video and breadcrumb depend on structured data. Featured snippets, People also ask and AI Overviews do not: Google says there is no special schema needed to appear in its AI features.

### Are FAQ rich results still shown?

No. Google's documentation says FAQ rich results, already limited to well-known government and health sites, no longer appear in Google Search from 7 May 2026. FAQPage markup is still valid Schema.org; it just no longer earns that feature in Google.

### How do I keep my content out of a SERP feature?

Google documents nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and noindex as the controls. nosnippet removes the text snippet and also stops the page being used as a direct input to AI Overviews and AI Mode, so it costs you ordinary snippets too.