Google People Also Ask Scraper

Search Google for a query and collect visible People Also Ask questions with their expanded answers. Optional source links, source titles, answer markup, related questions, and nested depth are included only when the page exposes them.

Input

{
  "query": "how to cook rice",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "expandNested": true,
  "gl": "us",
  "hl": "en"
}

query is required. maxItems is limited to 1–200. proxyConfiguration is optional and can use the configured Google SERP proxy.

Output

Each row contains the question and expanded answer, answer provider and format, answer length, cited and related source cards, source domains and types, AI follow-up questions, PAA depth, locale, source search URL, extraction method, and synchronized scrape timestamps. Source snippets, publisher labels, favicons, and parent questions are included when the page exposes them. Empty source and question collections remain explicit arrays with matching counts.

If a normally loaded search page has no People Also Ask panel, the Actor completes with an empty dataset; it does not add a placeholder row. CAPTCHA, HTTP block, or request failure stops the run without trying the static fallback. The proxy fallback is used only after a normal browser response that did not yield usable rows.

Chrome page observation

Chrome loaded https://www.google.com/search?q=how%20to%20cook%20rice&hl=en&gl=us and showed four PAA questions. Expanding “Do I do 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice?” displayed an AI Mode answer, eight unique external source cards across web, forum, and video results, and three AI follow-up prompts. This output-shaped observation is based on the visible page, not an Actor run.

{
  "position": 1,
  "question": "Do I do 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice?",
  "answer": "AI Overview Yes, 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice is the classic ratio for standard long-grain white rice on the stove, but the exact amount depends on the kind of rice you are using. Ratios by Rice Type Long-grain white rice (Basmati, Jasmine): Use 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Use 2 cups if you want soft, traditional fluffy rice, or 1.5 cups if you prefer firmer, separate grains. Short-grain or Sushi rice: Use about 1.1 to 1.25 cups of water for a stickier texture. Brown rice: Use 2 cups of water, as it needs more liquid and time to soften. Quick Tips for Cooking Rinse the rice in cold water first to remove excess starch and prevent clumping. Do not stir the rice once it starts simmering, or it will become gummy. Keep the lid on tight so the steam can cook the grains properly without escaping.",
  "answerProvider": "AI Mode replied:",
  "answerType": "ai_mode",
  "answerSourceType": "ai_mode",
  "answerSearchUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how%20to%20cook%20rice&hl=en&gl=us",
  "originalPaaSearchUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how%20to%20cook%20rice&hl=en&gl=us",
  "sourceName": "Cook Smarts",
  "answerFormat": "mixed",
  "answerWordCount": 151,
  "answerCharacterCount": 801,
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/how-to-cook-perfect-rice-on-the-stove/",
  "sourceTitle": "How to Cook Perfect Rice on the Stove",
  "sourceDomain": "www.cooksmarts.com",
  "sourcePublisher": "Cook Smarts",
  "sources": [
    { "position": 1, "url": "https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/how-to-cook-perfect-rice-on-the-stove/", "title": "How to Cook Perfect Rice on the Stove", "publisher": "Cook Smarts", "domain": "www.cooksmarts.com", "sourceType": "web", "sourceRole": "citation" },
    { "position": 2, "url": "https://www.quora.com/How-much-water-do-I-use-for-2-cups-of-rice", "title": "How much water do I use for 2 cups of rice? - Quora", "publisher": "Quora", "domain": "www.quora.com", "sourceType": "forum", "sourceRole": "citation" },
    { "position": 3, "url": "https://www.spendwithpennies.com/make-perfectly-fluffy-rice/", "title": "How to Cook Rice - Spend With Pennies", "publisher": "Spend With Pennies", "domain": "www.spendwithpennies.com", "sourceType": "web", "sourceRole": "citation" },
    { "position": 4, "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/7ux8ct/how_much_water_do_i_add_2_2_cups_long_grain_white/", "title": "how much water do I add 2 2 cups long grain white rice when cooking ...", "publisher": "Reddit·r/Cooking", "domain": "www.reddit.com", "sourceType": "forum", "sourceRole": "result" },
    { "position": 5, "url": "https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-cook-rice-video", "title": "How to cook rice - BBC Good Food", "publisher": "Good Food", "domain": "www.bbcgoodfood.com", "sourceType": "video", "sourceRole": "result" },
    { "position": 6, "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P35y4sPT9ik", "title": "How Much Water to Use for Rice!", "publisher": "YouTube·Bryanbecookin", "domain": "www.youtube.com", "sourceType": "video", "sourceRole": "result" },
    { "position": 7, "url": "https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-cook-rice/", "title": "How to Cook Rice - Allrecipes", "publisher": "Allrecipes", "domain": "www.allrecipes.com", "sourceType": "web", "sourceRole": "result" },
    { "position": 8, "url": "https://www.southernliving.com/food/grains/rice/how-much-water-to-cook-rice", "title": "How Much Water Do You Need To Cook Rice? - Southern Living", "publisher": "Southern Living", "domain": "www.southernliving.com", "sourceType": "web", "sourceRole": "result" }
  ],
  "sourceCount": 8,
  "sourceTypes": ["web", "forum", "video"],
  "depth": 0,
  "relatedQuestions": [],
  "relatedQuestionCount": 0,
  "followUpQuestions": ["Explain why rinsing rice matters", "Give me ratios for other rice types", "Tell me about rice cooker ratios"],
  "followUpQuestionCount": 3,
  "searchQuery": "how to cook rice",
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "isExpanded": true,
  "extractionMethod": "expanded-dom",
  "type": "people-also-ask",
  "resultType": "paa",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how%20to%20cook%20rice&hl=en&gl=us",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-22T19:58:18.000Z",
  "searchMetadata": {
    "engine": "google-paa",
    "query": "how to cook rice",
    "country": "US",
    "language": "en",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-09-22T19:58:18.000Z"
  }
}