Google Deprecates More Structured Data: Key Changes Coming in 2026

Google is once again cleaning house. In an ongoing effort to simplify search results and improve performance, Google has announced it will remove support for several structured data types starting in January 2026.

While most website owners won’t see a drastic impact, it’s still important to understand what’s changing, which features are being phased out, and what you should do to keep your site compliant and optimized.

1\. Why Google Is Making These Changes

Google regularly reviews its search features and structured data support to ensure they’re still relevant and useful. When certain elements see little user engagement or add minimal value, Google phases them out to simplify the search experience and improve page speed.

This latest round of changes continues that effort. It’s part of Google’s broader goal to make search cleaner, faster, and focused on the features that actually help users — not clutter the results page.

2\. What’s Changing: Structured Data Deprecations and Feature Removals

The newest update affects several structured data types and some Search Console functionalities:

• Practice Problem structured data: Added a deprecation notice in documentation. Google will remove support for this markup in January 2026, affecting Search Console rich result reporting, the Rich Result Test, and appearance filters.
• Dataset structured data: Clarified that Dataset markup is only used by Dataset Search, not standard Google Search.
• Book Actions structured data: The deprecation banner was removed — Book Actions remain supported, as this feature is still used in Search.

These changes come shortly after Google deprecated several other schema types back in June 2025, including:

• Course Info
• Claim Review
• Estimated Salary
• Learning Video
• Special Announcement
• Vehicle Listing

Beyond structured data, Google also plans to remove some lesser-used search features, including:

• “Today’s Doodle” box
• Nutrition facts
• Nearby offers and events
• Local bikeshare station status
• TV season selector

All of these removals are designed to simplify the search interface and improve performance.

3\. What This Means for Website Owners

If your website uses any of the structured data types listed above, these updates could have a few side effects:

• Deprecated markup will no longer trigger rich results — those enhanced listings will disappear from search.
• Unsupported schema may trigger warnings or errors in Search Console.
• Click-through rates (CTR) could shift slightly as visual features are removed from results.
• Some pages may see reduced visibility if they previously benefited from rich snippets that no longer apply.

That said, Google expects the overall impact to be minimal, since many of these features were rarely displayed or interacted with.

4\. What You Should Do Before January 2026

To stay ahead of these changes and avoid data issues, website owners and SEOs should take a few proactive steps:

1\. Audit Your Structured Data

Use Google Search Console and the Rich Results Test to identify any pages using deprecated markup types (Practice Problem, Dataset, etc.).

2\. Remove or Update Unsupported Schema

Delete or modify any outdated structured data so your pages don’t trigger errors after the update.

3\. Monitor Search Console Reports

Keep an eye on performance metrics like impressions and click-through rates as rich results phase out.

4\. Focus on Supported Structured Data

Continue using schema types that remain valuable and widely supported — such as FAQ, HowTo, Product, Review, and Breadcrumb markup.

5\. Stay Informed

Follow Google Search Central for official documentation and future announcements.

5\. Why It Matters: The Bigger Picture for SEO

These structured data changes are part of a larger trend: simplification and performance optimization.

Google is clearly prioritizing speed, relevance, and clarity over quantity of features. The fewer moving parts there are, the easier it becomes to maintain a fast, user-friendly search experience — especially as AI-driven search results (like AI Overviews) take center stage.

For SEOs and webmasters, the takeaway is simple: Keep your technical SEO clean, current, and focused on what genuinely improves user experience.

6\. Final Thoughts: Simplification Is the New Optimization

While any update from Google can raise concerns, this one’s more about refinement than disruption.

By removing underused features and outdated structured data, Google is streamlining the ecosystem for both searchers and site owners. Take this as an opportunity to tidy up your site’s code, re-evaluate what data you’re marking up, and ensure your SEO foundation is solid.

Come January 2026, the sites that stay nimble, compliant, and content-focused will continue to perform — no matter how Google evolves.