What is a knowledge panel?
A knowledge panel is the box of facts Google shows for a person, organization, place or thing when someone searches for it. Search "Taylor Swift" or "Patagonia" on desktop and the knowledge panel sits to the right of the results, with a name, a short description, images, key facts and links to official profiles. On mobile, the same knowledge panel appears inside the results, usually near the top.
Google describes knowledge panels as information boxes that appear when you search for entities, meant to give a quick snapshot of a topic [3]. Each knowledge panel is about one entity: one specific person, company, book, film or place that Google has recognized and stored in its Knowledge Graph.
The facts in a knowledge panel are not written by Google staff and are not supplied by the subject. They are assembled automatically from sources across the web, and they update automatically as those sources change [3].
How does Google create a knowledge panel?
Google creates a knowledge panel automatically from its Knowledge Graph, the database of entities and the relationships between them. When a query matches an entity Google is confident about, Search can show a knowledge panel built from the facts stored for that entity [2].
Google says those facts come from "hundreds of sources from across the web," including Wikipedia, open databases, licensed data (for example for music and sports), medical partners and structured data published by content owners [2]. The knowledge panel shows the facts its systems judge most relevant and popular for that kind of entity, so a musician's panel and a company's panel carry different fields [2].
Three points follow from this, and they are often misstated:
- You cannot apply for a knowledge panel. No form, fee or partner program creates one. Google states that knowledge panels are generated by its systems, not paid placements [2].
- You cannot write a knowledge panel. The subject can suggest changes, but Google decides what appears [5].
- A knowledge panel is not a ranking factor. It is a display of what Google already holds about an entity [2].
When did Google introduce knowledge panels?
Google introduced knowledge panels on May 16, 2012, when it launched the Knowledge Graph for U.S. English users under the slogan "things, not strings" [1]. Since then the Knowledge Graph behind each knowledge panel has grown from 500 million objects to over 5 billion entities, and the panels gained a verification and feedback process [1][2].
2010: Google buys Metaweb and Freebase
On July 16, 2010, Google acquired Metaweb, the company behind Freebase, an open, shared database of facts about people, places and things [9]. Freebase became one of the main early sources for the Knowledge Graph [10].
2012: the Knowledge Graph launches
Google's May 16, 2012 announcement described a panel next to results that could "summarize relevant content around that topic, including key facts you're likely to need" [1]. At launch the Knowledge Graph held more than 500 million objects and more than 3.5 billion facts about them [1]. Support for Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian and Italian followed in December 2012 [10].
2014 to 2016: Freebase shuts down
On December 16, 2014, Google announced it would close Freebase, and Freebase.com was shut down on May 2, 2016 [9]. Much of the open data effort moved to Wikidata, which is why Wikidata is now commonly named as a knowledge panel source.
2020: Google explains knowledge panels publicly
On May 20, 2020, Google published a plain-language explanation of knowledge panels. It gave the Knowledge Graph's size as over 500 billion facts about five billion entities, listed its source types, and set out how inaccurate facts are removed, with priority for civic, medical, scientific and historical topics [2].
2025: the Knowledge Graph feeds AI Mode
When Google introduced AI Mode on March 5, 2025, it named the Knowledge Graph as one of the "fresh, real-time sources" AI Mode can draw on, alongside web content and shopping data [11]. The same entity facts that fill a knowledge panel are now also available to Google's AI answers.
How do you claim a knowledge panel?
To claim a knowledge panel, sign in to a Google Account, search for yourself or your organization, and click "Claim this knowledge panel" at the bottom of the panel [4]. Google then asks you to prove you are the subject or an official representative, usually by signing in to an official profile it already associates with the entity, such as YouTube, Search Console, X (Twitter) or Facebook [4]. If Google cannot link any official site to the subject, it asks for more information instead [4].
Claiming has limits:
- Not every knowledge panel can be claimed. Google says some are not claimable yet and suggests checking again later [4].
- Local businesses are pointed elsewhere. Google recommends a Google Business Profile for businesses that serve customers at a location or in a service area [4].
- Claiming is verification, not ownership. A verified subject still suggests changes. Google decides whether to accept them [5].
How do you edit or change a knowledge panel?
To change a knowledge panel, click "Suggest edits" (or the feedback option) on the panel and describe what is wrong; anyone can do this [5]. If you are verified and the knowledge panel is about you, Google says it can prioritize your feedback [5].
Verified subjects can suggest a new featured image, add or edit social profiles, correct titles and subtitles, and ask for some personal details such as date of birth or relationship information to be removed [5]. Google cannot remove or reorder the related images shown next to the featured image [5].
The most reliable way to change a knowledge panel over time is to change its sources. If the panel repeats an outdated fact, correct it on your own site, your official profiles, Wikidata and any directory or press page that states it, then submit feedback.
What is the difference between a knowledge panel and a Google Business Profile?
A knowledge panel is generated by Google from its Knowledge Graph, while a Google Business Profile is a listing the business creates and manages itself. The two can look almost identical in search results, which is why they are confused.
| Knowledge panel | Google Business Profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Who creates it | Google, automatically [3] | The business, through Google Business Profile |
| Who it is for | Any entity: people, companies, brands, works, places | Businesses with a location or service area [4] |
| Typical content | Description, founders, key facts, profiles, related entities | Address, hours, phone, map, reviews, photos |
| How you control it | Claim it, then suggest edits [4][5] | Edit it directly |
| Can you request one? | No [2] | Yes, by creating the profile |
A local shop that searches its own name and sees hours, a map and reviews is usually looking at its Business Profile, not a knowledge panel. A national brand can have both: a knowledge panel for the company and Business Profiles for each store.
What is the difference between a knowledge panel and the Knowledge Graph?
The Knowledge Graph is Google's database of entities and facts, and a knowledge panel is one of the ways Search displays a single entry from it [2]. Every knowledge panel comes from the Knowledge Graph, but an entity can sit in the Knowledge Graph without ever showing a knowledge panel, and Knowledge Graph facts also appear in other places, such as direct answers and AI Mode [11].
How do you check if Google has an entity for your brand?
To check whether Google holds an entity for your brand, query Google's Knowledge Graph Search API with your brand name. The API returns matching entities with names, descriptions, schema.org types and a score showing how well each matched [7][8]. Each result carries an ID in the form kg:/m/0dl567 [8]:
https://kgsearch.googleapis.com/v1/entities:search?query=YOUR+BRAND&key=API_KEY&limit=5The check is useful because it separates two different problems. If your brand has no entity, no amount of panel feedback helps: the work is getting consistent, sourced facts about the brand published. If your brand has an entity but no knowledge panel shows, Google knows about you but is not confident enough, or does not judge the panel useful enough, to display it.
Two caveats from Google itself: the API is read-only, and Google says it is "not suitable for use as a production-critical service" [7]. It returns individual entities, not the full graph of connections, and Google is migrating it to Cloud Enterprise Knowledge Graph [7]. Treat the result as a signal, not a complete export of what Search knows.
Does schema markup create a knowledge panel?
No. Schema markup does not create a knowledge panel, and Google has never said it does. Google's own Organization markup documentation makes a narrower claim: properties such as logo "can influence visual elements in Search results," for example which logo appears in your knowledge panel [6].
Many guides list Organization schema as a step to "get" a knowledge panel. It is better understood as a way to state facts clearly on a page you control, which Google may use among hundreds of sources [2]. Markup helps Google confirm details about an entity it already recognizes. It does not make Google recognize an entity it would otherwise ignore.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Example Co",
"url": "https://www.example.com",
"logo": "https://www.example.com/logo.png",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-co",
"https://www.youtube.com/@exampleco"
]
}The sameAs list connects your site to official profiles, which is also how Google finds accounts it can use to verify you when you claim a knowledge panel [4]. See sameAs markup for how to build that list.
How long does it take to get a knowledge panel?
There is no published timeline for getting a knowledge panel. Google does not say how many sources, mentions or how much search interest an entity needs before a knowledge panel appears, and no outside study can measure Google's threshold directly. Any figure quoted for "weeks to a knowledge panel" is an agency's experience, not a rule.
What Google does say is that panels come from facts its systems find across many sources and update as the web changes [2][3]. Entities that are described consistently by independent, trusted sources give those systems the most to work with.
When should you work on your knowledge panel?
Work on your knowledge panel when it is wrong, missing for an entity people search by name, or showing a competitor's or namesake's details. A knowledge panel is often the first thing a buyer, journalist or investor sees on a brand SERP, and its facts now also reach AI answers [11].
A practical order of work:
- Check the entity exists with the Knowledge Graph Search API [7].
- Fix your own sources first: one clear About page as your entity home, Organization markup with
logoandsameAs[6], and matching facts on every official profile. - Claim the panel if it shows, so your feedback is prioritized [4][5].
- Correct third-party sources that state wrong facts, then submit feedback on the panel [5].
- Recheck after major changes such as a rebrand, new leadership or a new logo, since panels update from sources, not on request [3].
If no knowledge panel appears and your business serves customers locally, set up a Google Business Profile, which Google itself recommends for that case [4].