Google knowledge panel: get it, claim it and fix wrong details

What is a Google knowledge panel?

A knowledge panel is the information box Google shows to the right of the search results, or between the results on a phone, often split across several boxes. It appears when you search for a person, organisation, place or thing that Google knows in its Knowledge Graph. That is a database with billions of facts about people, places and things.

Important for you as a business owner: according to Google, knowledge panels are created automatically as soon as enough information is available online. You cannot apply for, buy or create one yourself. And the box you see for your business is very likely not a knowledge panel at all.

Knowledge panel or Business Profile: which box do you have?

Most local businesses see their Business Profile on the right in Google: with address, opening hours, reviews and directions. It looks similar to a knowledge panel but is something different and is managed completely differently. Google itself says local businesses should create a Business Profile. Use this test to find out what you have:

You have a Business Profile? Then you change opening hours, phone or photos directly in the profile. The step by step guide is in Edit your Google Business Profile. In practice, larger companies often have both: a knowledge panel for the brand and Business Profiles for the individual locations.

Where Google gets the details in the knowledge panel

According to Google, the information comes from various sources on the web. Wikipedia is a frequently cited source, but not the only one. Then there is licensed data, for example for films or music, and suggestions from verified representatives. Google links all these facts to a so-called entity, the one record that represents your business:

1Sources onlineWebsite, Wikipedia, directories, licensed data

2Knowledge GraphGoogle links facts to an entity, meaning your business

3Knowledge panelAppears automatically when there is enough information

4AI answersAccording to Google, AI Mode also draws on the Knowledge Graph

This is exactly where the risk lies: if a source has a wrong founding year or an old logo, or your company is confused with one of the same name, that ends up in the panel. And because, according to Google, AI Mode draws on the Knowledge Graph, the error can also show up in AI answers. More on this in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode.

When does a business get a knowledge panel?

To be honest: it cannot be forced. According to Google, panels are created automatically once enough information is available online, and they are not created manually. What improves the chances is a clear, well-documented presence online:

• A website with clear facts: name, legal form, headquarters, founding, services, as text on an about page.
• Structured data: according to Google's docs, the Organization markup helps Google identify your organisation unambiguously. The logo from it can appear in the knowledge panel (example below).
• Consistent profiles: LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and industry directories with the same details, linked via sameAs.
• Coverage about you: press, trade media, associations. These are the sources from which Google confirms facts.

And Wikipedia? For most small and medium-sized businesses an article is unrealistic. The German-language Wikipedia names criteria for companies such as at least 1000 full-time employees or more than 100 million euros annual revenue, or alternatively a listing on a regulated market or a documented pioneering role in their market. More achievable is an entry in Wikidata, the free database behind Wikipedia. There a clearly identifiable subject with credible, public sources is enough. Purely promotional entries can be deleted there. Google does not say whether it uses Wikidata directly. If an employee or an agency edits there on your behalf, the Wikimedia terms of use require them to disclose the employer or client. As the owner, you should also disclose your connection to the company.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Muster Technik GmbH",
  "url": "https://www.example.com",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/logo.png",
  "telephone": "+43 732 000000",
  "foundingDate": "2003",
  "vatID": "ATU00000000",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Musterstraße 1",
    "postalCode": "4020",
    "addressLocality": "Linz",
    "addressCountry": "AT"
  },
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+43 732 000000",
    "contactType": "customer service"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@example"
  ]
}
</script>

Claim a knowledge panel: step by step

If your business has a knowledge panel, you can get verified as its official representative. After that Google can review your suggestions with priority. This is how it works according to Google:

1. Have a Google account ready: ideally one that is also linked to your website's Search Console or the company's YouTube channel.
2. Search for the business and open the knowledge panel.
3. At the bottom of the panel click “Claim this knowledge panel”. The option may be in the About section, on a phone in the three-dot menu.
4. Sign in with a linked service: YouTube, Search Console, X or Facebook. If Google finds no link to your website, it asks for more information.
5. Wait for verification. Afterwards you manage users in Contributor Studio. There are the roles owner, administrator and contributor.

Not every panel can be claimed. If the button is missing, Google says to check back regularly. For a panel about you as a person, for example as managing director, it works the same way.

New since June 2026: Google Search profiles for creators, publishers and brands with a knowledge panel. They are currently only available in the US, Canada and India, not in Austria, Germany or Switzerland.

If Google says the account is already managed by someone else, for example a former agency, start account recovery via support. Google contacts the previous owners. If they do not respond within three business days, you can claim the panel again.

Change wrong details in a knowledge panel

As a verified representative you click Suggest edits at the top of the panel and then Edit next to the wrong detail. For this, Web & App Activity must be switched on in your Google account.

Google usually reviews suggestions from verified representatives within a few days, sometimes longer, and sends an email. What you can and cannot change:

Without verification you have the Feedback link at the bottom right of the panel, on a phone at the bottom of the panel or in the three-dot menu at the top. Anyone can use it. Google gives no time frame for it. With every suggestion provide a public source that backs up the correct detail, such as your about page, the company register or a press article. Google only accepts what can be confirmed with other public information.

So the most important lever is the source: if the wrong founding year is in a directory or an old press release, correct it there. Otherwise it reappears after the next update. Where such errors typically come from is covered in Why wrong listings appear.

Common problems and what you can do

• Confused with a company of the same name: Google explicitly names this as an error you can report to support. As prevention, an unambiguous name in the markup, the legal form and sameAs links to your real profiles help.
• Wrong website or wrong social profiles: also a known error type. As a verified representative you suggest the correct profiles.
• Wrong or old logo: add the current logo in the markup, at least 112 x 112 pixels, accessible to Google. As a verified representative you can suggest a replacement for an existing image via a direct image URL.
• Panel disappeared: Google automatically decides whether a panel is relevant enough for a search. According to Google, this cannot be influenced.
• Remove the panel completely: Google does not do that. Individual details can be reported for legal reasons via a form. The right to be forgotten applies to people, companies are generally not entitled. Sole traders, however, are natural persons and may be entitled for content about their name.

Pro tip: Google's Knowledge Graph Search API shows whether there is an entity for your name and what its ID is. That is more for your agency or web developer, and Google already points new users to the successor product in Google Cloud.

Check whether your details are right everywhere

Whether it's a knowledge panel or a Business Profile, Google assembles the box from many sources and checks every suggestion against what else is online. If your website, directories and profiles contradict each other, you lose that comparison. faktado.ai finds exactly these contradictions: the app compares your details online with your website, asks ChatGPT and Google about your business and shows you where to correct things. The free check shows you within about 15 minutes where you stand.

FAQ

Harald FischlManaging Director, maxonline

Harald 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