Part of our guide: Why is my website not getting enquiries?.
Written by Dan Sagar, FoundationsAI. Updated October 2026.
It depends how the dropdown was built, and you can't tell by looking. If the answers are in the page and just hidden until clicked, Google can read them. If the answers only appear when someone clicks, Google and most AI tools may never see them. A 30-second test tells you which you have.
Two ways to build a dropdown
Dropdowns (sometimes called accordions), tabs and 'read more' links all tuck content away until you click. Some are built with the content already in the page, just hidden from view. Others only create the content at the moment you click. On screen, they look and work exactly the same.
Why it matters
Google reads content that's in the page but hidden. Content that only appears after a click may not be read at all. Many AI tools are stricter still: they read the page without clicking anything or waiting for its scripts to run. If your answers about prices, areas and services sit in the second kind of dropdown, you can be invisible for the very questions you wrote them for.
It's worse if the page's FAQ structured data lists every question. The code then claims content the page doesn't contain, and search engines treat that as unreliable.
It's easy to miss. We found it on our own pricing page: the answers to our pricing questions only existed once someone clicked, and they looked fine to every visitor. They're now in the page.
The 30-second test
- Pick six or seven words from inside a closed dropdown, a phrase that appears nowhere else on the page.
- Close the dropdown.
- Right-click the page and choose View page source.
- Press Ctrl and F (Cmd and F on a Mac) and search for the phrase.
If you find it, the content is in the page and you're fine. If you don't, assume search engines and AI tools can't see it. Test one dropdown of each kind: if one FAQ answer fails, they all will.
Three ways to fix it
- Ask your builder to keep the content in the page and hide it visually, rather than adding it on click. The design stays exactly the same.
- Open the most important answers by default.
- Lay your key content out plainly instead. A long page isn't a problem.
Whichever you choose, what you do, where, what it costs and why people can trust you should be readable with no clicks at all.
Not sure what AI tools can see on your site? Get a free AI search check.
Common questions
Are FAQ dropdowns bad for SEO?
No. Dropdowns with the answers in the page are fine for Google and tidy on a phone. The problem is only dropdowns that create the answer when clicked.
Do AI tools like ChatGPT read hidden content?
Many read the page without clicking or running its scripts, so they only see what's in the page source. If a phrase isn't in View page source, assume AI tools can't see it.
Do images that load as you scroll have the same problem?
No. Images that load as you scroll are a normal way to make pages faster, and search engines handle them well. The problem is text that only exists after a click.
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