Search a well-known business by name and you often get a boxed panel, usually on the right on desktop, with the logo, hours, address, reviews, and links. That is a knowledge panel, drawn from Google’s Knowledge Graph, its giant database of entities and facts. It appears when Google is confident it knows who you are.
A knowledge panel is not the same as a Google Business Profile, though they interlink. The profile is the listing you manage; the knowledge panel is Google’s broader, machine-assembled understanding of you as an entity, fed by your profile, your site, your schema, and mentions across the web. Earning a solid one is a sign your entity signals are strong.
For AI search this recognition compounds. The same clarity that earns a knowledge panel, consistent facts, structured data, trusted mentions, is what makes an AI assistant confident enough to name you. Work on being a recognizable entity and both rewards tend to arrive together.
Google your own business by name. If a tidy box appears with your logo, hours, and reviews, you have a knowledge panel. If nothing structured shows up, Google is not yet sure you are a distinct entity, worth fixing.
Go deeper: How to Show Up in ChatGPT and Perplexity Results (2026).
This is part of our AI search (GEO) work.