Key takeaways
- Google generates a company's knowledge panel automatically from sources across the web. Organizations are one of the entity types its panels cover.1
- On a computer the panel sits to the right of the results. On a phone, Google may split the same facts into one or more panels among the results.5
- No application form or paid route is documented. Google says panels appear automatically when enough information exists, and it doesn't create or delete them by hand.2,3
- Claiming a panel lets a verified representative suggest changes. The description, the type label (Google calls it a subtitle) and “People also search for” still can't be edited directly.3
- A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a separate product for businesses that meet customers in person. Google lists brands, organizations and online-only businesses as ineligible.1,8,9
On this page
Google's definition is short: knowledge panels are “information boxes that appear on Google when you search for entities” in its Knowledge Graph, and organizations are among them.1 A company knowledge panel is that box for a company or other organization, generated automatically from sources across the web.1 The company doesn't write it, and Google's systems decide when it appears.3
Where does a company knowledge panel appear?
It appears on the results page when someone searches for the company: beside the results on a computer, and among them on a phone.1,5
On a computer: the right-hand column
Google's 2020 explainer places desktop panels “to the right of search results,” in a column of the search results page (the SERP, in SEO shorthand).5 A Feedback link sits at the foot of the panel.2
On a phone: among the results, sometimes as several panels
On a phone, Google said in 2020, Knowledge Graph information is “often not presented through a single knowledge panel”; one or more panels may appear among the results instead.5 Feedback sits at the bottom of the panel or in the three-dot menu at the top.2
Our interpretation: a desktop screenshot, including ours, shows one arrangement of the facts, so check your company's panel on a phone too.
Why two people can see different panels
Google leaves display to automated systems, which decide “when, where and how” a query shows a panel; a panel appears when its information is highly relevant to the query.2 Panels also change over time, because they update automatically as information on the web changes.1
Observed on 2026-11-09: the bare search “stripe” returned no panel, but “stripe inc” returned Stripe's. A search for “meta platforms” returned a panel titled “Meta”, and one for “patagonia” returned the clothing company rather than the region in South America. Our searches ran on desktop, signed out, with English and US settings, from a network in India.
What information is in a company knowledge panel?
Google's 2020 explainer says a panel typically includes a title and a summary, a longer description, pictures, key facts, and links to official websites and social profiles, though “exactly what is shown in a knowledge panel will vary.”5 Figure 1 labels these parts on a fictional company. Figure 2 labels a real panel, Nvidia's, as it appeared on November 9, 2026.
Figure 1. The parts a company's knowledge panel can show, labeled on a fictional company. Real panels rarely show every part.
- Name. The panel's title, generated automatically.
- Type label. A short line saying what the organization is. Google calls it a subtitle.
- Images and logo. A logo, a featured image or a collage of images from the web.
- Buttons. Actions such as Website or Share. Which ones appear varies.
- Description. A short summary followed by a link to its source.
- Key facts. Rows such as founded, headquarters, CEO, founders, parent and subsidiaries.
- Profiles. Links to the organization's social and video accounts.
- People also search for. Other entities that people search for, often other companies.
- Claim this knowledge panel. The link a representative uses to get verified.
- Feedback. The link anyone can use to report a problem.
Figure 2. Nvidia's company knowledge panel for the search “nvidia” on desktop (English, US settings, accessed from India, signed out), captured November 9, 2026. Facts are recorded as displayed and were not independently verified.
- Name, logo and type label. Google generates the title and the subtitle under it, here “AI company”.3
- Image collage. A preview of Google Images results, gathered automatically from across the web.1
- Description. One sentence credited to Wikipedia. It can't be edited in the panel.3
- Source link. “Source: Wikipedia” names where the description came from (observed).
- Key facts. Seven rows, starting with CEO, drawn from the Knowledge Graph.2
- Customer service chat. A contact row with a link labeled “Online Chat” (observed). None of the other five panels captured that day showed one as a fact row.
- Profiles. Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. A verified representative can suggest profiles but can't change their order.3
- People also search for. Intel, AMD, Broadcom Inc and Micron Technology. Google says this list can't be customized.3
Name, type label and logo
The title is generated automatically. Google will consider a new one only if feedback includes “substantial evidence” that the automatic choice wasn't the most representative.3
The line under the name is what Google calls a subtitle; this site calls it the type label. Google generates it and doesn't accept or write custom ones. If it removes an unrepresentative label and has no other to use, the panel shows none.3
For the logo, Organization markup lets a company state its preference. The image must be at least 112 by 112 pixels, and Google doesn't promise to show it.7
Observed on 2026-11-09: Nvidia's label read “AI company”, HubSpot's “Web marketing company” and Khan Academy's “Education company”, although Khan Academy's description calls it a nonprofit. Meta's panel had no type label; a store rating sat in that spot. See how Google picks the logo for a company and what you can change in each field.
Images
Google says panel images come from two places: a featured image chosen by someone who has claimed the panel, or, especially for collections of several images, a preview of Google Images results gathered automatically.1
A verified representative can suggest replacing an existing featured image with a direct image URL. Google can't add an image on request to a panel that has none, and it won't remove or reorder the related images around the featured one.3
Observed on 2026-11-09: Stripe's panel showed its logo but no collage. Khan Academy's had no logo beside the name; the logo was the first image in its collage, alongside a mascot illustration and a fundraising graphic.
Description and its source
Descriptions, Google says, “come from various data sources and can't be edited.”3 Its documented fix is to get the source corrected. Google may remove a description when the evidence is strong, but it won't write a replacement.3
Observed on 2026-11-09: Wikipedia was the credited source for five of our six captured descriptions, and the companies don't choose that wording. Patagonia's was labeled “Summarized from the website”. Stripe's panel was titled “Stripe, Inc.” while its Wikipedia description began “Stripe, LLC”.
Our interpretation: the title and the description are chosen separately. Read more in Wikipedia, Wikidata and your company's panel.
Key facts: founded, founders, CEO, headquarters, parent and subsidiaries
The rows under the description are Knowledge Graph facts.2 Where those facts come from is covered in how Google builds a company's panel, below.
Observed on 2026-11-09: Nvidia's panel showed seven rows, from CEO to founding date, while HubSpot's and Khan Academy's showed four each. None of the six showed a parent or subsidiaries row. Leadership facts are covered in CEO and founder facts in a company panel, and renamed or merged companies in rebrands, mergers and IPOs.
Stock, valuation and other short facts
Google licenses some data and names stock prices as an example.2 When it launched the Knowledge Graph in 2012, Google said it chose which facts to show by studying, in aggregate, what people search for about each entity.6
Observed on 2026-11-09: Nvidia and HubSpot are both publicly listed, yet neither panel showed a stock price row in our captures. Stripe's showed a “Valuation” row reading “about $159 billion”, recorded as displayed. Google doesn't publish the rules for which of these rows appear.
Website, contact and social profiles
In Organization markup, a company can list its official profiles with the sameAs property and its website with url.7
Observed on 2026-11-09: Patagonia's and Meta's panels, which used the layout of a store panel (Google calls it a merchant knowledge panel), showed website and Chat buttons near the top. The markup is explained in how Organization schema describes a company.
People also search for
This row lists other entities that people also search for. Google described it in its 2012 launch post for the Knowledge Graph.6 It can't be customized, and Google removes items only when they break its policies.3
Observed on 2026-11-09: every panel we captured listed four other organizations here, often companies in the same industry. HubSpot's first item carried a “Trending” label. See why competitors appear in your company's panel.
Claim this knowledge panel and Feedback
To claim a panel, a representative selects “Claim this knowledge panel” and signs in through one of the official accounts Google lists: YouTube, Search Console, “Twitter” (now X) or Facebook.4
Not every panel can be claimed, and Google notes that the claim link can still appear after a panel has been claimed.4 Anyone can use Feedback to report a problem.2
Observed on 2026-11-09: Khan Academy's panel showed no claim link. Our interpretation: the link's presence or absence doesn't tell you for certain whether a panel has been claimed. The steps and roles are in claiming your company's knowledge panel.
Business, brand, organization or corporate knowledge panel: what people call it
Names people use for the same thing
Google's own term is “knowledge panel,” and organizations are one of the entity types it covers.1 People looking for help describe the same panel in several ways:
- company knowledge panel, the term this site uses;
- organization knowledge panel or “Google knowledge panel for an organization”;
- brand knowledge panel;
- corporate knowledge panel;
- business knowledge panel or “Google knowledge panel for a company”;
- informal descriptions such as “the Google panel” or “the box on the right”.
None of these is a separate Google product. “Business knowledge panel” is the one to watch: some people mean the panel about a company, and others mean a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), which looks similar but is a different product.1,9
The same rules cover organizations that aren't companies. In 2018 Google opened verification to any person, organization, sports team, event or media property that has a panel.18 How panels differ for nonprofits, schools, public companies and small businesses is covered in knowledge panels by organization type.
Look-alikes that are different products
Three other Google surfaces can show a company: a Business Profile, for a business that serves customers in person;1,8 a store panel and brand profile, where an online merchant can influence details such as its return policy;7 and a Search profile, for publishers, creators and brands with a large social following.13 The comparison below sets all four side by side.
How Google builds a company's panel
The Knowledge Graph and entities
Google calls the Knowledge Graph a database of “billions of facts” about people, places and things.2 When Google launched it in 2012, the stated aim was to understand “things, not strings”: real-world entities and how they relate, rather than words to match.6 In May 2020 Google said the graph held more than 500 billion facts about five billion entities.5
An entity is one distinct thing the graph knows about, such as a person, a place or an organization. Each has an internal identifier,19 often called a kgmid. The glossary defines entity, kgmid and the other terms on this page.
Where the facts come from
According to Google's help, the information in a panel “comes from various sources across the web,” and sometimes from partners with authoritative data on topics such as movies or music.1 The Knowledge Graph also draws on public sources, licensed data and content owners, including verified representatives who suggest changes to panels they have claimed.2
In 2020 Google described Wikipedia as “a commonly-cited source” and added that it is not the only one.5 A company's own site is another source. Google says Organization markup on the home page helps it understand the organization and tell it apart from others, and that properties such as the logo can influence the panel.7
Created and shown automatically
Google creates a panel automatically “when there is enough information available on the open web.”2 Its current policy rules out creating or deleting panels by hand; automated systems decide whether one appears, based on its relevance to the query.3 Panels then update automatically, and Google also considers changes suggested by the entities shown and feedback from users.1
What Google doesn't publish
Google doesn't document:
- how much information counts as “enough” for a panel;
- how it weighs one source against another;
- how long a new panel takes to appear;
- how it picks the type label.
Claims about any of these, such as a set number of articles that “triggers” a panel, are common advice at best: not documented by Google, and unproven.
Benefits for a company, graded by evidence
This summary separates what Google documents from what is plausible but unmeasured. We found no public study showing that a panel raises traffic, revenue or rankings.
| Benefit | Evidence | What the evidence says |
|---|---|---|
| A summary of the company on searches for its name | Documented; effect unmeasured | Panels are meant to give “a quick snapshot” of an entity.1 Vendor data (SparkToro/Datos, December 2024): in a US sample, just over 44% of Google searches were for branded terms; company names weren't counted separately.17 |
| Help for people checking whether a company is credible | Plausible, unproven | No public study we found measures whether a company panel changes trust. Treat claims that it does as interpretation. |
| Telling the company apart from namesakes | Documented | Google built the Knowledge Graph partly to tell same-name things apart.6 Organization markup helps Google disambiguate an organization.7 Mix-ups still happen, and Google treats them as a support case.4 |
| A route for verified corrections | Documented | Google may prioritize feedback from verified users and can apply some fixes, such as social profile links, directly.3 |
| A stated logo preference | Documented; display not promised | The Organization logo property helps Google understand which logo you want shown, including in knowledge panels.7 |
The full guide to company knowledge panel benefits also covers the downsides.
What a knowledge panel can't do for a company
- It can't be requested, and no paid route is documented. Google's policy is not to create panels by hand.3
- It can't be locked in place. Google says a panel that stops showing “isn't something we can or would influence.”2 Markup can make a search feature possible, but Google doesn't promise that the feature will appear.7
- It doesn't let the company write its own copy. The description, the type label and “People also search for” can't be edited directly.3
- It doesn't stop competitor ads. Google Ads policy doesn't restrict trademarks used as keywords, which leaves other advertisers free to target searches for your company's name.15
- It isn't required for AI features. Google lists no extra requirements for appearing in AI Overviews or AI Mode.16 See what Google says about panels and AI search.
More misconceptions are tested in knowledge panel myths vs Google's documentation.
Get, claim and correct a company panel
Getting one
There is no application form, and Google publishes no threshold or timeline.2 Our interpretation: what a company controls is accurate, consistent information about itself on the open web, starting with its own site. How companies get a knowledge panel separates Google's documented steps from common advice, and knowledge panels for startups covers young companies.
Claiming it
Once a panel exists, its subject or an “official representative” can claim it and suggest changes.1 Verified accounts can then add managers and contributors, and only the owner can transfer ownership.4 Claiming and keeping access to a company panel covers which accounts to use and what happens when staff leave.
Correcting it
A verified representative proposes changes through “Suggest edits”: one change at a time, backed by public URLs. Google reviews verified feedback within a few days, sometimes longer.3 Without a claim, anyone can still send Feedback.2 The field-by-field editing guide shows which route fits each part of the panel.
Knowledge panel, Business Profile, store panel or Search profile?
The four surfaces differ in what they describe, who controls them and how they are claimed.
| Surface | What it describes and shows | Who controls it and how it's claimed |
|---|---|---|
| Company knowledge panel | An organization as an entity in Google's Knowledge Graph.1 Shows a name, type label, images, description, key facts, profiles and People also search for.3,5 | Google generates it. A representative claims it with “Claim this knowledge panel” and an official site or profile, then suggests changes.3,4 |
| Google Business Profile | A business that serves customers at its premises or in a service area,1 with details such as opening hours and contact phone numbers.5 | The business, through Business Profile rather than the panel claim flow. It must make in-person contact with customers; brands, organizations and online-only businesses are ineligible.2,8 |
| Store panel and brand profile | An online merchant; Google's markup documentation calls the panel a merchant knowledge panel.7,10 Shows images, a description, shipping details and promotions.10 Observed on 2026-11-09: ratings, a store badge and product carousels (Patagonia, Meta). | Google, with details the merchant can influence. Only select e-commerce retailers can claim a brand profile, through “Manage this brand profile” and Merchant Center.7,11 |
| Search profile | A publisher, creator or brand, with content gathered from several platforms.13 | The profile's owner, after claiming it. Requires 10,000 followers on YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok and an owner aged 18 or over; available in Canada, India and the US.12 Edits may show up in the knowledge panel.13 |
Google says a Search profile can be generated automatically only for creators, publishers or brands that already have a knowledge panel.13 Its launch post says claiming a profile “may trigger” a panel for eligible publishers and creators. It makes no such statement about other companies, and “may” is not a promise.14
The guide to telling a knowledge panel from a Business Profile covers which one a company gets and why, and store panels, brand profiles and Search profiles covers the other two. This comparison covers Google only; Bing's knowledge panels for companies are explained separately.
Real company panels, dissected
We captured six panels on November 9, 2026, each chosen to show something different:
- Nvidia's panel: a classic public-company layout.
- Stripe's panel: a private company.
- Meta's panel: company facts in a store layout.
- HubSpot's panel: the parts a company can't control.
- Khan Academy's panel: a nonprofit.
- Patagonia's panel: a retailer's store panel.
All six are collected in annotated company panel examples. How panels differ by kind of organization is in nonprofits, public companies and small businesses, and how we capture and date the screenshots is explained on the About page.
Common problems and where to fix them
| Problem | What Google documents | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| No panel for your company's name | Panels appear automatically when enough information exists; no threshold is published.2 | Why a company panel isn't showing |
| Wrong or missing logo | Markup states a preferred logo; an image can't be added to a panel that has none.3,7 | Your company logo on Google |
| Outdated CEO or founders | Verified suggestions need public URLs that support them.3 | CEO and founders in a company panel |
| Mixed up with another organization, or two panels | Panels mixed with a same-name entity are a case for Google's support team.4 | Duplicate or mixed-up company panels |
| Old name after a rebrand, merger or acquisition | Title changes need substantial evidence.3 | Keeping a panel accurate through a rebrand |
| A new company with little coverage | Panels depend on enough information on the open web.2 | What startups can expect |
| Wikipedia or Wikidata questions | Google calls Wikipedia one common source among several.5 | Wikipedia and Wikidata for companies |
| Markup for the logo, profiles or legal name | Organization markup has no required properties.7 | Organization schema, explained |
| Competitors in “People also search for” | The list can't be customized.3 | Competitors in your company's panel |
| Whether Google knows your company as an entity | The Knowledge Graph Search API defines resultScore only as an indicator of how well a result matched the request.19 | How to check the Knowledge Graph |
| How your company appears in AI answers | No additional requirements apply to AI Overviews or AI Mode.16 | Company panels and AI search |
Unfamiliar terms, starting with the difference between the Knowledge Graph and a knowledge panel, are defined in the glossary of knowledge panel terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is a business, brand, organization or corporate knowledge panel the same as a company knowledge panel?
Usually, yes. Google's help calls it a “knowledge panel” and lists organizations among the entities panels cover, so these phrases name one feature, not separate products.1 The exception is “business knowledge panel,” which some people use for a Google Business Profile. That product is for businesses that serve customers at a location or across a service area.1
Can a company pay Google for a knowledge panel?
Does a company need a Wikipedia article to get a knowledge panel?
Google's help doesn't list Wikipedia as a requirement. It describes web sources, data partners, licensed data and content owners, and Google has called Wikipedia a commonly cited source but not the only one.1,2,5 Wikipedia sets its own bar: a company needs significant coverage in multiple reliable sources that are independent of it.20 See Wikipedia, Wikidata and your company's panel.
Is a company knowledge panel the same as Google My Business?
No. Google announced in November 2021 that Google My Business was being renamed Google Business Profile.9 To be eligible for a Business Profile, a business must meet customers in person during its stated hours; brands, organizations and online-only businesses don't qualify.8 Our interpretation: a company with physical locations may have both, one panel for the organization and a separate Business Profile for each location.
Does a knowledge panel help a company's search rankings?
Google doesn't document any ranking effect from having a panel, and we found no public study that measures one. Google's help explains what panels show and where their facts come from; it says nothing about rankings.1 The guide to a panel's benefits grades each claimed effect by the evidence behind it.
Can a company remove its knowledge panel?
Not on request. Google says its policy is not to delete panels by hand.3 Specific information can be removed when it breaks Google's policies, for example when strong evidence shows it is false or outdated. Requests to be removed from a panel go through Google's “Report a legal removal issue” form, with the panel's specific URL.2 This is not legal advice.
Sources
- About knowledge panels (Knowledge Panel Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- How Google's Knowledge Graph works (Knowledge Panel Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Submit feedback on content about you (Knowledge Panel Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Get verified on Google (Knowledge Panel Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- A reintroduction to our Knowledge Graph and knowledge panels (Google blog) blog.google May 20, 2020.
- Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings (Google blog) blog.google May 16, 2012.
- Organization structured data (Google Search Central) developers.google.com Last updated September 8, 2026; checked November 9, 2026.
- Business eligibility and ownership guidelines (Google Business Profile Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Connect with local holiday shoppers (Google blog) blog.google November 4, 2021. Announces the rename of Google My Business to Google Business Profile.
- About your brand profile on Google Search (Brand profile Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Claim your brand profile on Google Search (Brand profile Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Create a new Search profile (Google Search Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- Claim an existing Search profile (Google Search Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- A new profile to help publishers and creators highlight their work on Search (Google blog) blog.google June 4, 2026.
- Trademarks (Google Advertising Policies Help) support.google.com Checked November 9, 2026.
- AI features and your website (Google Search Central) developers.google.com Last updated December 10, 2025; checked November 9, 2026.
- SparkToro and Datos study of 332 million Google queries (SparkToro) sparktoro.com Vendor data, December 2, 2024. About 130,000 US devices, January 2023 to September 2024; queries classified by a language model. Only queries searched 100 or more times were included, and Google app searches were excluded. Searches for company names were not measured separately.
- Get verified to manage your presence on Google (Google blog) blog.google June 22, 2018.
- Method: entities.search (Knowledge Graph Search API reference) developers.google.com Defines resultScore. Last updated June 26, 2024.
- Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia guideline, checked November 9, 2026.