What is People Also Ask?

Google files People Also Ask under exploration features. They "help searchers explore more questions or searches that are related to their original search query (also known as "People also ask")" (Google Search Central, Visual Elements gallery, last updated 2026-02-04, read 1 November 2026).

The answers inside are often featured snippets. Google says featured snippets "can also appear within a related questions group (also known as "People Also Ask")" (Google Search Central).

Can you control what shows in People Also Ask?

Not directly. Google says: "While you can't control what shows up here, it can be helpful to pay attention to the related search queries when you're thinking about topics you could write about for your site."

Structured data is not a way in. Google stopped showing FAQ rich results from 7 May 2026 and removed their documentation in June 2026 (Google Search Central, documentation updates). See FAQ schema.

Why does People Also Ask matter for B2B SaaS?

PAA is a free list of the follow-up questions buyers ask: "is X worth it", "X vs Y", "how much does X cost". Those questions are the gaps your pages should answer.

AI answers work in a similar way. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use query fan-out: "issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources" (Google Search Central). A page that answers the follow-up questions has more chances to be one of the sources.

How do you use People Also Ask?

  1. Search the questions your buyers ask, signed out, in the country you sell to.
  2. Write down every PAA question. Open a few: new questions load as you open them.
  3. Group them by topic and match each group to one page.
  4. Answer each question in a heading and a short answer of two or three sentences.
  5. Check again every few months. The questions change.

What does it look like? (hypothetical example)

A hypothetical example: a search for "HubSpot alternatives" shows a PAA box with "What is cheaper than HubSpot?", "Is Salesforce better than HubSpot?" and "What CRM do small businesses use?". A CRM vendor adds those three questions, with direct answers, to its alternatives page.

  • A featured snippet is the single answer box at the top. PAA is a group of questions, each with its own answer.
  • Related searches are other searches people did. Clicking one starts a new search, while a PAA question opens in place.
  • PAA is one feature of the SERP, the search results page.

For how search features, AI answers and answer engines fit together, see SEO vs GEO vs AEO.