Google's People Also Ask (PAA) feature — the expandable question boxes that appear in search results — is one of the most consistently underestimated opportunities in SEO. Appearing in PAA boxes drives significant incremental traffic, builds brand awareness, and — crucially — the questions in PAA are often the exact questions that AI engines like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews are answering. Optimising for PAA and optimising for AI search overlap significantly.
How People Also Ask works
PAA is a dynamic feature that surfaces questions Google identifies as related to the original search query. When a user expands a PAA question, Google shows a direct answer snippet pulled from a web page, along with a link to the source. The questions dynamically expand — clicking one generates additional related questions.
The pages that appear in PAA are typically those that contain direct, clear answers to the question, structured in a format that Google can easily extract a snippet from. They don't necessarily rank #1 for the question — they just need to have the best extractable answer.
Identifying PAA opportunities
The first step is identifying which PAA questions are relevant to your business. Search your target keywords and note the PAA questions that appear. Tools like AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic, and SEMrush's keyword research features can systematically map PAA questions across your topic area. Look for questions where: (1) your business could credibly answer them, (2) the current answer in PAA is from a competitor or non-ideal source, and (3) the question has commercial or informational relevance to your target audience.
Structuring content for PAA inclusion
PAA snippets are typically 40–60 words — concise, direct answers. The structure Google prefers is:
- A heading that mirrors the question exactly (or very closely)
- A direct answer in the first 1–2 sentences after the heading
- Optional supporting detail in the following sentences
This format should feel familiar — it's the same lead-with-the-answer structure that works for GEO. PAA and AI search optimisation are complementary disciplines because they're both trying to solve the same problem: making content easy for machines to extract and present as direct answers.
FAQ pages and PAA
FAQ pages with FAQPage schema markup are particularly well-positioned for PAA inclusion. The question-answer format exactly matches what Google is looking for, and the schema markup makes it machine-readable. If you're building FAQ content for GEO purposes, you're simultaneously building PAA content — two significant search features for the price of one.
Tracking your PAA presence
Monitoring your PAA presence requires either manual search tracking or dedicated tools. SEMrush and Ahrefs both track PAA feature ownership. Check monthly whether you're appearing for the PAA questions you've targeted, and iterate on answer quality for questions where competitors are consistently outranking you. PAA positions can shift quickly — a better answer can displace an existing one relatively fast.