There was some speculation that Google may fold the Google Product Experts program but that is not true. John Mueller from Google responded to those concerns on Mastodon and said, "I don't see the product expert program going away anytime soon."
This program, although renamed several years ago, has been around for a long time. Google puts a lot of resources into the program, in order to get volunteers, who don't get paid, to help provide free customer service for Google's users across all its platforms. Yes, not just Google Search but also Google Ads, Android, Maps, and the list goes on and on.
You basically become a product expert by answering tons of questions in the Google forums. There are more details about the program over here.
In any event, Google is not getting rid of this program anytime soon. Despite some product experts being removed from the program or maybe there being an issue signing up to the program for some, it does not mean Google is graveyarding it.
Forum discussion at Mastodon.
Image credit to @GooglePEProgram
