What Is People Also Ask? 5 Ways To Optimize For PAA (And How To Track PAA in AI Search)

In this article, you'll learn exactly what Google's People Also Ask feature is, why it matters for driving organic traffic, and five specific tactics to get your content featured in PAA boxes. You'll also discover how to use PAA questions to improve your existing content strategy and, critically, how to extend the same approach to AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity—where similar question-answering behavior now drives a growing share of brand discovery.

By the end, you'll have a complete playbook for optimizing your content for both traditional PAA results and the new generation of AI-powered search, treating them as complementary channels rather than competing priorities.

What You'll Learn

• What Google's People Also Ask feature is and exactly how it works mechanically

• Why PAA matters for visibility, traffic, and content ideation

• Five specific optimization tactics with real examples of what works

• How to use PAA questions to generate better content and refresh existing pages

• How to track PAA-style visibility in AI search engines using Analyze AI

• The connection between PAA optimization and AI search visibility

What Is People Also Ask?

People Also Ask (PAA) is an interactive Google search feature that displays a series of questions related to the user's original query. These questions appear in expandable boxes, typically positioned after the first few organic results but before the rest of the SERP.

When a user clicks on any question, the answer expands to show a short snippet pulled from a webpage, along with a link to that source. Here's the key mechanic that makes PAA different from other SERP features: every time someone clicks to expand a question, Google generates additional related questions below it. This creates a theoretically infinite chain of questions, allowing users to drill deeper into a topic.

PAA answers can appear in several formats depending on the question type and content source. Short paragraphs are most common (typically 40-60 words), but Google also pulls bulleted lists, numbered lists, and tables when they better match the question. For some queries, you'll also see images, videos, or a combination of formats.

Google's algorithms determine which questions to display using machine learning that analyzes search trends, user behavior patterns, and the semantic relationships between topics. The questions that appear aren't necessarily high-volume search terms—they're questions Google's systems have determined are most relevant to helping users understand the broader topic.

Why People Also Ask Matters

PAA boxes serve two different audiences with different benefits, and understanding both is essential for using them strategically.

For users

PAA helps searchers who don't know exactly what they're looking for—or don't know how to phrase it—discover related angles on their topic. Someone searching "CRM software" might not think to ask "What's the difference between CRM and ERP?" but seeing that question in the PAA box triggers a useful line of inquiry. This makes PAA particularly valuable for research-heavy and consideration-phase searches.

For website owners

Getting featured in PAA creates visibility above traditional organic results. PAA boxes occupy significant screen real estate—often appearing before position 3 or 4 in organic results—which means a PAA placement can outperform a traditional ranking in terms of actual clicks. One Ahrefs study found that PAA boxes appear in roughly 65% of all Google searches, making this a massive opportunity that many teams overlook.

The snippet format also gives users more context before they click. Unlike a standard title and meta description, PAA shows a direct answer to a specific question. Users who click through from PAA are often more qualified—they've already seen a preview of your content and want more detail.

Perhaps most valuable for content teams: a single page can appear in multiple PAA questions for the same search. If your content thoroughly covers a topic, Google may pull different sections to answer different related questions—multiplying your visibility within a single SERP.

How People Also Ask Works

Understanding the mechanics behind PAA helps you optimize for it more effectively. Google uses several signals to determine both which questions to show and which sources to pull answers from.

How Google selects questions

Google analyzes patterns in what users search before and after their initial query, essentially mapping the "question journey" people take when exploring a topic. If thousands of users who search "email marketing software" subsequently search "what's the difference between email marketing and marketing automation," that question becomes a candidate for the PAA box.

Google also uses natural language processing to identify semantically related questions—questions that might not share keywords with the original search but address related concepts. This is why you'll sometimes see PAA questions that seem tangentially related to your query. Google has determined they're topically adjacent.

How Google selects answers

For each question, Google looks for content that directly and concisely answers that specific question. The algorithm favors content that structures the answer clearly—often under a header that matches or closely resembles the question itself.

A Semrush analysis found that PAA answers average 41 words—short enough to display in the expandable box, but substantive enough to actually answer the question. Google prioritizes brevity and directness. Lengthy, meandering explanations rarely get pulled into PAA, even if the underlying content is high-quality.

5 Steps to Show Up in People Also Ask Boxes

These five tactics work together. Implementing one or two will help, but the best results come from treating PAA optimization as a systematic approach to content structure and formatting.

1. Answer questions concisely in the first 50 words

Google's PAA snippets have limited space. If your answer buries the key information in paragraph three, Google will skip your content for a source that gets to the point faster.

The technique: After each question-based header, write a direct 40-50 word answer in the first paragraph. Then expand with supporting detail, examples, and nuance in subsequent paragraphs. This "answer first, then elaborate" structure satisfies both Google's need for a concise snippet and your reader's need for comprehensive information.

Example of poor structure:

"When it comes to understanding marketing agency business models, there are many factors to consider. The landscape has evolved significantly over the past decade, with agencies adopting various approaches to service delivery and pricing..." [150 words later] "A marketing agency business model defines how an agency structures its services, pricing, and delivery."

Example of good structure:

"A marketing agency business model defines how an agency packages services, sets pricing, and delivers work to clients. Most agencies operate on one of four models: retainer, project-based, performance-based, or hybrid. The model you choose affects everything from cash flow predictability to client relationships."

The second version leads with the definition in the first sentence, gives useful structure in the second, and hints at why it matters in the third. Google can pull this as a complete, useful PAA answer.

2. Use question-based headers that match search behavior

Google's algorithms use headers to understand content structure. When your H2 or H3 closely matches a PAA question, you're signaling that the content following that header directly addresses that query.

The Semrush study on PAA found that 86% of PAA questions begin with "what," "how," "why," "who," or "where." Structure your headers accordingly:

• Instead of: "Marketing Attribution Overview"

• Use: "What is marketing attribution?"

Long-tail questions perform particularly well because they're more specific and face less competition. "What are the best Samsung phones?" competes with every phone review site. "What is the best Samsung phone for photography in 2024?" is specific enough that comprehensive content on that exact topic can win the PAA.

Keyword research should inform your header strategy. Look at what questions actually appear in PAA boxes for your target topics, then structure your content to match those exact phrasings where it makes sense. Don't force it—awkward headers hurt readability. But where natural alignment exists, match the PAA phrasing.

3. Implement FAQ schema markup

FAQ schema is structured data that explicitly tells search engines: "This page contains questions and answers." It doesn't guarantee PAA placement, but it makes your Q&A content easier for Google to parse and increases your eligibility for both PAA and FAQ rich results.

The schema uses specific markup tags to define each question and its corresponding answer. Here's the basic structure:

Implementation steps:

1. Identify all Q&A pairs in your content

2. Create the JSON-LD markup with @type set to FAQPage

3. Add each question using @type Question and each answer using @type Answer

4. Insert the script in your page's <head> section

5. Test with Google's Rich Results Test tool before publishing

Common mistakes to avoid: Don't use FAQ schema on pages that aren't genuinely structured as Q&A. Google's guidelines specify that FAQ schema should reflect the actual content format. Using it on a standard article just to try to game SERP features can result in manual actions.

4. Research PAA questions systematically

Manual PAA research works for individual queries, but scaling this across your content strategy requires tools. Several approaches work depending on your budget and needs.

Manual approach (free):

Search your target keyword in Google, note the initial PAA questions, then click each one to reveal additional questions. Keep clicking to build a map of related questions. This works but is time-consuming and doesn't scale.

AlsoAsked (dedicated PAA tool):

AlsoAsked.com specifically scrapes PAA data and visualizes the question relationships as a tree diagram. You enter a seed keyword and it shows you every PAA question Google displays for that topic, organized by how they branch from one another. This reveals question clusters you'd miss with manual research.

AnswerThePublic (question brainstorming):

AnswerThePublic generates question variations based on a seed keyword—what, why, how, when, where questions around your topic. It's not pulling live PAA data, but it helps identify question patterns that often overlap with what shows up in PAA.

Ahrefs or Semrush (enterprise SEO tools):

Both platforms include PAA data in their SERP analysis features. When you analyze a keyword, you can see which PAA questions appear and, in some cases, which domains currently hold those positions. This is useful for competitive analysis—understanding what content types and formats are winning PAA placements in your niche.

5. Build comprehensive content that demonstrates expertise

Concise answers win PAA placements, but those answers need to come from content that Google considers authoritative. A 300-word blog post with one good answer paragraph is unlikely to rank because Google has no evidence that your site is a credible source on the topic.

The pattern that works: Create long-form, comprehensive content that covers a topic thoroughly, then structure that content with clear, concise answer sections under question-based headers. You're giving Google two things simultaneously—depth that demonstrates expertise and snippets that work as PAA answers.

Look at content that currently wins PAA placements in your niche. You'll almost always find that the source pages are substantial—often 1,500-3,000+ words—covering the topic from multiple angles. The PAA answer is just the tip of a much larger iceberg.

Practical application: When planning content, identify the 5-10 most important questions users have about your topic. Each becomes an H2 or H3 section with a concise answer followed by detailed elaboration. This creates multiple opportunities for PAA placement while building the kind of comprehensive resource that Google rewards with rankings.

How to Use PAA Questions to Improve Your Content

PAA isn't just an optimization target—it's a research tool. The questions Google displays reveal what users actually want to know about a topic, which should inform your entire content strategy.

Identify content gaps

Before writing any new piece, search your target keyword and review the PAA questions that appear. These represent the questions your audience is asking—if your content doesn't address them, you're leaving gaps that competitors will fill.

For example, if you're planning content about "email marketing software" and PAA shows questions about integration with CRMs, pricing models, and deliverability rates, those topics should be in your content outline. Users who search this topic want answers to those specific questions.

Refresh and update existing content

PAA questions shift over time as search behavior changes. Content you published two years ago might not address the questions users are asking today.

The update workflow: Search your existing content's target keywords and compare the current PAA questions against what your content covers. Add new sections for questions that have emerged since publication. This keeps your content competitive without requiring full rewrites.

This is particularly important for topics that evolve. A guide to "remote work tools" from 2020 probably doesn't address questions about AI assistants or async video tools that now appear in PAA. Adding those sections signals to Google that your content remains current.

Align with user intent

PAA questions reveal the intent behind searches more clearly than the initial keyword. Someone searching "CRM software" could have informational intent (what is it?), commercial intent (which should I buy?), or navigational intent (how do I log in to mine?). The PAA questions clarify which intent dominates.

If PAA shows questions like "What is CRM software used for?" and "Do I need a CRM for my small business?," the intent is informational/early-stage. If PAA shows "What is the best CRM for real estate agents?" and "How much does Salesforce cost?," the intent is commercial/consideration-stage.

Match your content type to the dominant intent revealed by PAA. Don't write a product comparison when users are looking for educational content, and don't write an explainer when users are ready to evaluate options.

How to Track Your PAA Rankings

Monitoring PAA performance requires different approaches since Google doesn't provide PAA data directly in Search Console.

Manual tracking

For priority keywords, periodically search them manually and check whether your domain appears in the PAA box. Use an incognito window to avoid personalized results. This doesn't scale, but for your 10-20 most important keywords, it provides accurate ground-truth data.

Document what you find: the question, your position in the PAA (if present), which competitor holds the position (if not you), and the date. Over time, this shows you which PAA positions you're winning or losing.

Rank tracking tools with SERP feature monitoring

Enterprise SEO platforms like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz include SERP feature tracking. When they track rankings for your keywords, they also record whether PAA appears and sometimes which domains occupy those positions. Set up tracking for your target keywords and monitor the SERP features report.

Google Search Console query analysis

Search Console doesn't show PAA directly, but you can infer some PAA performance. Run a query report for your URLs and look for question-phrased queries driving impressions and clicks. If "what is a marketing agency business model" sends traffic to your page, you may be appearing in PAA for that question (though you'd need manual verification to confirm).

PAA Optimization Extends to AI Search — And You Can Optimize For It Too

Here's what most PAA guides miss: the same content structure that wins PAA placements in Google is increasingly valuable for visibility in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

These AI engines answer questions using information pulled from web sources—similar to how Google pulls PAA answers, but applied to conversational queries. When someone asks ChatGPT "what's the best CRM for small businesses?," the answer draws on web content. The sources that get cited are typically the same sources that would perform well in PAA: clear, concise, authoritative content structured around direct answers to specific questions.

This isn't a replacement for SEO—it's an extension of the same principles to a new channel. The content characteristics that work for PAA (concise answers, question-based headers, comprehensive coverage, demonstrated expertise) also make content more likely to be cited by AI engines.

How AI engines use question-formatted content

When Perplexity or ChatGPT answers a user's question, they identify relevant web sources and synthesize information. Content with clear question-answer structure is easier for these systems to parse and quote accurately.

An analysis of 83,670 AI citations across ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity found that Claude particularly favors blog content (43.8% of citations) while ChatGPT and Perplexity lean toward product pages. But across all three, content with clear structure and direct answers performs well. The same optimization that helps you rank in PAA—concise answers under question headers—helps you get cited in AI responses.

Tracking your visibility in AI search

The limitation with PAA tracking applies even more to AI search—there's no native analytics from these platforms. This is where dedicated AI search analytics becomes valuable.

Analyze AI tracks brand visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI engines, answering the same questions you'd ask about PAA performance: Which prompts mention your brand? What position do you appear in? Which competitors show up alongside you? What sources do the AI engines cite?

Setting up prompt monitoring (similar to PAA question tracking)

Just as you'd track which PAA questions you appear in, you can track specific prompts in AI search. The workflow in Analyze AI:

1. Identify the question-based prompts your audience asks (these often overlap with PAA questions)

2. Add them to your tracked prompt set

3. Monitor which brands appear in responses and at what position

4. Track sentiment to see how AI engines characterize your brand

The platform also suggests prompts based on your industry and competitors—similar to how PAA research tools help you discover question variations.

Analyzing citation sources (the AI equivalent of PAA source analysis)

In PAA optimization, you study which sources currently hold positions to understand what Google rewards. The same analysis applies to AI search—understanding which sources AI engines cite helps you identify what content characteristics these systems favor.

Analyze AI's citation analytics shows you which URLs get cited for specific prompts and how often. If a competitor's blog post consistently gets cited for questions in your space, you can analyze that content to understand why—then create something better.

Identifying opportunity gaps

Just as PAA reveals questions you should be answering, AI search monitoring reveals prompts where you're missing compared to competitors.

The Opportunities feature shows prompts where competitors get mentioned but your brand doesn't. These are your content gaps—prompts you should be winning but aren't. Prioritize creating content that addresses these specific questions.

Measuring AI referral traffic

PAA clicks show up in Google Analytics as organic search traffic. AI search traffic is separate—users who click through from ChatGPT or Perplexity citations.

Analyze AI connects to your GA4 to show AI-driven sessions separately from traditional search traffic. You can see which AI engines send visits, which pages receive them, and how that traffic converts.

This creates a feedback loop: identify which content gets AI citations, see which AI engines drive the most traffic, and double down on the formats and topics that perform.

Tracking competitor visibility in AI search

Beyond tracking your own brand, monitoring competitor visibility in AI search reveals who's winning attention from your potential customers. If a competitor consistently appears in responses to prompts your audience asks, that's market share you're losing in a channel that's growing.

Key Takeaways

• People Also Ask displays related questions that users click to expand, with Google pulling answers from web sources that provide clear, concise responses

• PAA placements can outperform traditional organic rankings because they occupy prominent SERP real estate and show users a preview of your content

• Optimization requires concise answers (around 40-50 words) placed immediately after question-based headers, backed by comprehensive content that demonstrates expertise

• FAQ schema markup increases your eligibility for PAA placements by making your Q&A structure explicit to search engines

• PAA questions reveal what users want to know—use them for content ideation, identifying gaps, and refreshing existing pages

• The same content structure that wins PAA placements helps you get cited in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity

• AI search is a complementary channel to traditional SEO—optimize for both by creating clear, authoritative, question-focused content

• Tools like Analyze AI let you track AI search visibility, monitor competitor mentions, identify prompt opportunities, and measure AI referral traffic to your site

PAA optimization isn't a standalone tactic—it's a lens for approaching all your content with more structure and user-focus. The same principles (answer clearly, organize logically, demonstrate depth) improve your content's performance across traditional search rankings, PAA placements, and increasingly, AI search citations.

Start with your highest-priority content. Audit the current PAA questions for your target keywords, restructure to include concise answers under question-based headers, and add FAQ schema where appropriate. Then extend the same approach to AI search by monitoring which prompts your audience asks and ensuring your content addresses them with the same clarity.

Ready to see how your brand appears in AI search? Try Analyze AI to track your visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI engines—and identify the opportunities you're currently missing.