Somewhere online there is almost always something wrong about your business. A number from before you moved, opening hours from last summer or a closing day that never existed. Your customers notice at the latest when they stand in front of a locked door or ChatGPT tells them something wrong about you.
The good news: you can find and fix these errors systematically. This guide shows you how in 7 steps, from your own website to the AI's answer.
- First define on your website which details are correct.
- Then check Google, Apple Maps and Bing, search specifically for old numbers and addresses and review the portals of your industry.
- Ask ChatGPT and Google AI Mode specific questions about your business and look at the sources they cite.
- Always fix the source an error comes from first and check again after a few weeks.
Step 1: Make your website the benchmark
Before you look for errors, you need a list of the correct details. Ideally that is your own website, because search engines and AI systems read it as the most important source about you. If it is wrong, you cannot expect any portal to be right.
Write down these facts and check that they appear on your website clearly and in one place:
- Name, address, phone and email in exactly the spelling that should apply everywhere
- Opening or consultation hours including closing days, public holidays and seasonal hours
- Services and facilities customers ask about, such as parking, pets, accessibility or card payment
- Prices and terms, as far as you publish them
If two pages of your own website contradict each other, fix that first. Otherwise Google and ChatGPT will simply pick one of the two.
Step 2: Check the three most important profiles
Three profiles are read directly by maps, voice assistants and AI systems. They are free, and you can edit them yourself once you have claimed them.
| Profile | Where it appears | How to claim it |
|---|---|---|
 Google Business Profile | Google Search, Maps, AI Overviews and AI Mode | Find the listing, choose “Own this business?” and verify |
 Apple Business Connect | Apple Maps, Siri, Wallet | Sign in with an Apple ID and claim the location |
 Bing Places | Bing, Microsoft Copilot and services that use the Bing index | Sign in, data can be imported from your Google profile |
Compare each profile field by field with your list from step 1. Pay special attention to special opening hours, the category and the linked website.
Step 3: Search specifically for old values
Most errors are not typos but old details nobody ever deleted. You find them fastest by searching for exactly those old values.
- Enter your old phone number in quotation marks on Google and Bing, once with and once without the area code.
- Search for your old address together with your business name.
- Search for earlier names or spellings of your business.
- Combine your name with words like “closed” or “opening hours”.
Every hit is a listing you note down. Why these old values keep coming back is explained in Google listing wrong? Where false info comes from.
Step 4: Check the portals and directories of your industry
For your customers, industry portals often matter more than general directories. That is where people book, review and compare, and that is exactly where AI systems look for specific questions.
| Industry | Check these portals |
|---|---|
| Hotels and holiday rentals | Booking.com, Expedia, HolidayCheck, Tripadvisor, tourism board |
| Restaurants | Tripadvisor, TheFork, delivery services, Falstaff, city portals |
| Medical practices | DocFinder in Austria, Jameda and Doctolib in Germany, chamber directories |
| Trades | MyHammer, guild and chamber directories, regional portals |
| All industries | Herold and WKO Firmen A-Z in Austria, Das Örtliche and Gelbe Seiten in Germany, Facebook, Yelp |
Which directories really matter and which you can skip is covered in Business directories: which ones really matter in Austria and Germany.
Step 5: Test AI answers about your business
More and more customers no longer ask Google but ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode. You only see what it says about you if you ask yourself. Ask the questions the way your customers would:
- “Is Café Muster open on Monday?”
- “Can I stay at Alpenhotel Muster with my dog?”
- “What is the phone number of Installateur Muster in Linz?”
Test at least ChatGPT with web search, Google AI Mode and Perplexity. For every wrong answer, note the sources shown. That is usually where the real cause lies. Why AI systems get things wrong is explained in AI hallucinations: why ChatGPT and Google get your business wrong.
Step 6: Correct properly, source first
You now have a list of listings. Work through it in this order so corrections are not immediately overwritten again:
- Your own website and profiles: change them right away, meaning Google, Apple, Bing and social media.
- The source behind a wrong AI answer: if the portal ChatGPT quotes changes, the answer usually changes too.
- Portals with your own login: adjust via the partner or owner account.
- Third-party listings: report via “suggest an edit”, the contact form or the portal's support. Keep it short, state the correct detail and refer to your website.
With ChatGPT itself you can only report errors via the feedback function. Fixing the sources is almost always more effective. How this works for each service is shown in AI answers wrong? How to correct false info about your business.
Step 7: Check again and repeat regularly
Corrections take time. Your own profiles are often up to date within a few days, third-party portals respond after a few days to weeks, and AI answers only change once the sources have been read again.
| When | What you check |
|---|---|
| After 1 week | Are your own profiles live? Have the first portals responded? |
| After 4 weeks | Check third-party listings again, follow up on open requests |
| After 6 to 8 weeks | Test AI answers again |
| Every month | A quick check, especially after changes to hours, prices or facilities |
The most important moment is when something changes on your side: a move, a new number, new opening hours. Go through the list right away, before the old details spread further.
Faster with a tool: what it should do
By hand, a full pass takes several hours depending on your industry. A tool saves that time if it can do three things: it knows the correct details from your website, finds all listings on its own and also checks the answers of AI systems. Which tools exist and how they differ is shown in the comparison of tools for correct business data.
faktado.ai handles steps 1 to 5 and 7 automatically: it reads the facts on your website, finds the listings across the web, regularly asks ChatGPT and Google about your business and shows you the source and the right correction for every error. The free check shows you where you stand within minutes.
FAQ
How do I find out what is said about my business online?
Search Google and Bing for your business name, your current and old phone number and address, each in quotation marks. Then check your Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places and the portals of your industry, and ask ChatGPT and Google AI Mode directly about your business.
Can I have wrong details on third-party portals removed?
Yes, in most cases. Many portals offer a “suggest an edit” function or an owner login. Otherwise a short message to support with the correct detail and a reference to your website helps.
How long until corrections are visible?
Your own profiles are usually updated within a few days. Third-party portals take a few days to weeks. AI answers often only change after several weeks, once the sources have been read again.
How often should I check my business data?
A quick check once a month and immediately after any change to your address, phone, opening hours or offer. A tool like faktado.ai handles the regular check automatically.
Harald FischlManaging Director, maxonlineHarald is Managing Director of maxonline, an SEO and GEO agency from Lower Austria focused on hospitality. He works every day on how businesses are presented correctly in search engines and AI answers. More about Harald