How to claim your company's knowledge panel (and keep access)

To claim a company knowledge panel, search for the company on Google, click “Claim this knowledge panel” at the bottom of its panel, review the information and sign in to one of the official sites or profiles Google lists. In November 2026 those were YouTube, Search Console, X (Google's help still says Twitter) and Facebook.¹

The click takes a minute. The decisions around it take longer: which Google Account holds the claim, who else gets access, and what happens when that person leaves. For the basics of the panel itself, see what a company knowledge panel is and where its facts come from.

Claiming doesn't let anyone rewrite the panel. It gives verified representatives a route for suggesting changes, which Google can prioritize.² What to change afterward is covered in how to edit a company knowledge panel, field by field.

First, check which claim link you're seeing

Google Search shows several claim prompts, and each belongs to a different product with its own rules. Before anyone signs in, match the wording on the screen to this table.

“Claim this knowledge panel”

This is the prompt on the panel about the organization itself. Google says it sits at the bottom of the panel, though it can appear in an “About” section; on a phone, it's under the menu.¹ It is the only one of the three that this guide covers step by step.

“Claim this business” or “Own this business”

These prompts belong to Google Business Profile, whose rules exclude “brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses.”⁴ Google says businesses with these panels “should use Business Profile to create, claim, and make suggestions to those.”⁸ If a profile already has an owner, a request goes to that owner, who has 3 days to respond.⁵ To tell which one your company has, see knowledge panel vs Business Profile.

“Manage this brand profile”

Online retailers may see a store panel (Google calls it a merchant knowledge panel⁹) instead of, or mixed with, a company panel. Observed on 2026-11-09: Patagonia's panel was laid out as a store panel, and Meta's mixed store details with company facts. The related brand profile has its own button, “Manage this brand profile.”⁷

Claiming one takes a verified Merchant Center account and, as of November 2026, is open only to super admins at select e-commerce retailers.⁷ Store panels and brand profiles explains the process.

Our interpretation: a company with offices or stores can meet both prompts in the same week, on different searches. They are separate products with separate access, so claiming one doesn't give you the other. Record which product each person controls.

Who in the company should claim it

Google's instructions describe one person signing in. For a company, the claim also becomes an access record. Google describes the owner as “the primary user on the account,” and only the current owner sees the option to transfer ownership.¹ Our interpretation: whoever completes the claim will normally become that owner, so choose the account before anyone clicks.

Use a Google Account the company controls

Our interpretation: verify with a Google Account the company controls, such as one on the company's domain that belongs to a role rather than a person. Avoid a founder's, employee's or contractor's personal account. People leave, and personal accounts leave with them.

Google's own tools show the risk. A Search Console property needs at least one verified owner, and Google says that if the only verified owner “leaves your team,” you should verify ownership to keep or regain access.¹⁰

Pick a sign-in route the company already controls

Each sign-in option has its own ownership rules, so check who controls the account before using it.

• Search Console. If Google says you aren't signed in to an associated account, one fix it suggests is to add the official website to Search Console, then add a site owner.¹ A property can have several verified and delegated owners, but an email group can't be added as a user.¹⁰
• YouTube. Google's verification help says each YouTube channel “can only have one owner,” and only that owner can transfer it.¹
• X or Facebook. When you verify through Twitter or Facebook, Google stores the association between the accounts. You can remove it later with Unverify in Webmaster Central.¹

Who should hold each role

Google documents the roles but not who should hold them. This split is a suggestion, not a Google rule.

How to claim a company knowledge panel, step by step

These are Google's documented steps as of November 2026, with notes for companies.¹

1. Sign in to the account you chose. Use the company-controlled Google Account. Create one first if it doesn't exist.¹
2. Search for the company and find its panel. If other organizations share the name, add a qualifier. Observed on 2026-11-09: Stripe's panel appeared for “stripe inc” but not for “stripe”.
3. Click “Claim this knowledge panel.” Look at the bottom of the panel or in an “About” section. On a phone, tap the menu first.¹
4. Review the information. Check that the panel describes your organization, not a namesake. A panel mixed with another entity needs Google's support team, covered below.¹
5. Sign in to an official site or profile. Pick one of the options listed, such as the company's YouTube channel or the Search Console property for its website.¹
6. Answer any follow-up questions. If Google can't identify sites associated with the entity, it asks for more information to verify you.¹
7. Add a second manager. Our interpretation: add at least one more person straight away, so access never depends on a single account.

Owner, manager and contributor roles

Once verified, you can add other users as authorized representatives. Google gives each user one of three permission levels.¹

Add a user

1. Go to google.com/search/contributions/manage.
2. Under “Add people to this account,” click Start now. Switch accounts with the menu next to your profile image if needed.
3. Click Add new user and enter the person's Google email address.
4. To make them a manager, move the toggle to the right. Then click Invite.¹

Change or remove a user

On the same page, the menu next to each user offers Remove as manager, Remove user and, for the current owner only, Transfer ownership. Google says you must be a manager to remove or change an existing user's permissions.¹

Keeping access when people or agencies leave

Google doesn't document an offboarding process for panels, so add one to your own. This checklist is our interpretation of how Google's roles and tools work.

• Check the owner role first. If the person leaving is the owner, they should transfer ownership to the company-controlled account before they go. Nobody else can.¹
• Remove departing users. Use Remove user for former staff and agencies, and Remove as manager for anyone who no longer needs that level.¹
• Check Search Console. If the only verified owner leaves, Google says you should verify ownership to keep access. Delete a removed owner's verification tokens too, or they can re-verify.¹⁰
• Check the other sign-in accounts. Confirm who controls the YouTube channel and the X and Facebook accounts, and remove stored Twitter or Facebook associations you no longer want.¹
• Check any Search profile. It is claimed separately from the panel. Only one Google Account can hold it, with no multi-user or admin roles, and transfers go through Google's support form.¹²
• Keep an access record. Note the owner, the managers, the sign-in route used and the date you last checked.

If the person leaving is the CEO or a founder, the panel's leadership rows are a separate question, covered in how to add or fix the CEO and founders.

If someone else already manages the panel

Two situations look alike. In the first, you claimed the panel yourself, yet the claim link still appears and shows “Someone is already managing the account.” Google says this can happen even after a successful claim.¹

In that case, use Feedback while signed in with the email address you verified with. Google says that gives your feedback priority for review. Flag the fact, describe the change, link to pages that verify it and submit; a confirmation email follows.¹

In the second, someone you can't identify holds the claim. Google's process:

1. Check with colleagues, former staff and anyone who might have claimed the panel on the company's behalf. Google asks you to do this first.¹
2. If you still can't identify the owner, contact Google's knowledge panel support team to start Account Recovery. Google needs your permission to share your email address with the current owners or managers.¹
3. Google emails them and waits 3 business days. If they approve, you're added to the account. If they don't respond within 3 days, the panel becomes claimable again.¹

Our interpretation: Google doesn't document what happens if the current owner refuses. Keep proof that the company controls its official website and profiles in case support asks for it.

Why doesn't our company's panel have a claim link?

Because not every panel can be claimed yet: Google says “not all knowledge panels are claimable as of now” and suggests checking back for the button.¹ Meanwhile anyone can suggest corrections through Feedback, at the bottom of the panel on desktop or in the three-dot menu on mobile.⁸

Observed on 2026-11-09: in our signed-out capture of Khan Academy's panel, no claim button was present in the page code. That could mean the panel can't be claimed, or only that the link wasn't offered in that session. Our other captures end above the panel's foot. See the Khan Academy example.

If there's no panel at all, there's nothing to claim yet. Google's systems create a panel on their own once they find enough information about an entity on the open web.⁸ What a company can do in the meantime is covered in how to get a company knowledge panel.

Claim problems that need Google's support team

According to Google's verification help, three claim problems go to its support team: the panel blends your company with an organization of the same or a similar name, it shows the wrong websites or profiles, or it reports that someone is already managing it after your team has checked who has access.¹ For mix-ups, see duplicate or mixed-up company panels.

What claiming changes, and what it doesn't

A claim changes who can ask for edits and how quickly Google reviews them. It doesn't change who decides.

For what a panel can and can't do for a company, see the benefits of a company knowledge panel.