In more detail

Search engines moved from matching words to understanding things. "Mercury" might be a planet, an element, a car brand or a local plumber, and the right answer depends on which entity the searcher means. Google's Knowledge Graph, introduced in 2012, holds billions of facts about entities and powers knowledge panels in search results.

AI tools face the same problem. If facts about your business are inconsistent (different names, addresses, phone numbers or descriptions across your site, your Google Business Profile, directories and social profiles), it's harder for any system to be confident they all describe the same business. That's when AI answers mix you up with someone else or repeat old details.

You can help systems recognise your business as a clear entity by:

  • using the same business name, address and phone number everywhere;
  • describing what you do in plain, consistent words on your About and contact pages;
  • adding Organization or LocalBusiness schema markup with your official details;
  • linking your profiles together, including sameAs links in your schema;
  • earning mentions on credible third-party sites that describe you accurately.

None of this guarantees a knowledge panel or an AI mention, but it removes ambiguity, which helps classic search and AI search alike.

Why it matters when hiring an agency

"Entity SEO" is often sold as something mysterious. In practice it's careful, sometimes tedious work: cleaning up inconsistent listings, writing clear About pages, adding accurate structured data and getting correctly described on reputable sites. Ask an agency to show you the inconsistencies they found and how they'll fix them. Our AI-readiness checker shows whether a page has Organization or LocalBusiness markup and sameAs links.