Your Google Knowledge Panel Is Now an AI Overview: Google Your Business Name Today
Many brand searches now show an AI Overview where the Knowledge Panel sat. Check yours and fix its sources.
On many US brand searches, the Google Knowledge Panel on the right of the desktop results now carries an "AI Overview" label, with an AI-written paragraph about the business on top. SEOs have spotted it since October 31. Google hasn't announced it or said whether it's a test.
Most people think that box is a fixed fact card Google pulls from somewhere official. It isn't, and now part of it is written by AI. So the first description someone reads about your business might not be the one you wrote.
The good news: you can check yours in two minutes, and most fixes are things you already control. This is for business owners, and for freelancers and agencies checking a client's name.
What changed in Google's Knowledge Panel on brand searches?
On many brand searches, Google now shows an AI Overview in the right-hand column on desktop, the spot the Knowledge Panel used to own. SEOs have observed it since October 31, Google has not confirmed it, and every published example is a US desktop search.
David McSweeney flagged it first on X on October 31: Google seemed to have "changed the layout for branded searches, with AI overviews now generally in a right panel on desktop (or in some cases further down the page)." He added: "Seeing some other variations too."
On November 2, Chris Long posted: "Instead of a Knowledge Panel, they're showing AI Overviews for brand terms in the right column." The same day, Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google "has moved the AI Overviews for many brand-related keywords to the right-hand column." Before, they "appeared at the top or middle of the main search results section." His read: Google is "essentially replacing brand knowledge panels with AI Overviews." The same post embeds an October 27 post from Sachin Patel saying the Knowledge Panel "now shows an AI-generated label". One post, so treat it as a hint.
What Google has said: nothing. PPC Land reported that "Google has not announced the change" and hasn't said if it's a test or permanent. So everything here about the layout is what SEOs observed, and it could change again next week.
Is the Google Knowledge Panel gone, or just rewritten by AI?
Mostly rewritten, not gone. In the examples published so far, the right-hand box is relabeled "AI Overview": an AI-written paragraph sits on top, and fact rows like founders, headquarters and customer service still sit underneath.
McSweeney's [walmart] and [google deepmind] screenshots show the pattern: an "AI Overview" label, the name and a category, then (for a retailer) a rating, a "Top Quality Store" badge, images, returns and payment options, a website button and an "Ask" button. Then the AI paragraph with "Show more", the fact rows, and a small "Disclaimer" link.
The catch: the AI text and the fact rows can disagree. On [zillow], PPC Land noted the AI summary says "founded in 2006" while the fact row says "Founded: 2004." Both have a basis (Zillow was founded in 2004 and opened its site to the public in 2006), but a customer wouldn't know that. PPC Land also saw a claimed panel header with "Suggest edits" still sitting above the AI Overview on one brand search. Whether that route covers the AI text, it wrote, "has not been explained by Google."
Here's how the three right-hand boxes compare, from Google's help pages and the published screenshots:
| Classic Knowledge Panel | Business Profile panel | New right-rail AI Overview (observed) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Entities in Google's Knowledge Graph: people, places, organizations, things (Google) | Businesses serving customers at a location or in a service area | Brand searches; published examples are big brands on US desktop |
| Who writes it | Generated automatically from "various sources across the web" | Mostly the verified owner, plus info Google collects and user suggestions | Google's AI writes the paragraph; fact rows still show below |
| Can you claim or edit it? | Claim it if "Claim this knowledge panel" shows, then suggest edits. Not all panels are claimable | Yes: verify, then "Edit profile" | You can't edit it. Google has not said if Suggest edits covers the AI text |
| Where it gets facts | Web sources, data partners, and edits from verified entities | Your profile, plus collected info and suggestions Google reviews | Google has not said |
| How you correct it | Suggest edits or Feedback, with public URLs. Descriptions are fixed at the source | Edit profile; anyone can suggest an edit | Thumbs down, "Report a problem", and fix the sources |
Does this affect local businesses, or only big brands?
So far, every published example of the right-column move is a well-known brand like Walmart, Mailchimp or Zillow. Local businesses usually get a Business Profile instead, and SEOs already saw an "AI Overview" label on those in September.
Google says Business Profiles "look similar to knowledge panels, but are specific to businesses that serve customers at a particular location or within a designated service area." So if you run a dental practice, a plumbing business or a cafe, the box for your name is most likely your Business Profile, not an entity Knowledge Panel.
You're not off the hook, though. On September 17, Search Engine Roundtable reported that "Google is turning the local knowledge panels, your Google Business Profile, into an AI Overview listing," with a "Show more" button into an AI Mode style chat. Barry Schwartz replicated it on his own company, and said the description was "a tad old" because "the content on my corporate site is super old as well." Outdated site, outdated AI description. Remember that one.
Two more caveats. On mobile, McSweeney's [walmart] screenshot shows the AI Overview below the first result and its sitelinks. And onlinemarketing.de couldn't reproduce the right-column view on desktop in Germany, where Knowledge Panels still appear. Replies under Chris Long's post asked whether this is only bigger brands and what it looks like for local businesses; as of the morning of November 3, he hadn't answered.
When we ran the check below on our own brand names on November 3 (US, desktop, logged out), there was no right-hand panel at all. For "AI Ranking" and "airanking", Google showed a main-column AI Overview about AI leaderboards and other things called AI rankings, not about us. If your name is also a common phrase, expect something similar.
How do you Google your own business name the right way?
Googling yourself in your usual browser tells you very little, because results depend on who's searching and where. Do it like a stranger would. It takes about two minutes:
- Open a private window on a desktop or laptop, logged out of Google. The right-hand column is a desktop thing.
- Search three ways: your exact business name, then name plus city, then name plus "reviews".
- Note which box you get on the right: a Business Profile (map, hours, reviews), a Knowledge Panel (fact rows, maybe a "Claim this knowledge panel" link), a box labeled "AI Overview", or nothing.
- Read every line and click "Show more". Check name, category, founding year, owner, services, location and phone. The AI paragraph is where old or mixed-up facts hide.
- Screenshot it and date it, so you have a record if the layout changes.
- Repeat on your phone. The AI Overview may sit under your website rather than beside it.
- Click the Web filter. Google says AI Overviews "cannot be turned off", but the Web filter shows only text links, so you can see which pages rank for your name.
Doing this for clients? Same check, one client at a time, saved in a dated folder. Don't complicate things. You're reading what Google says about a business, not building a tracking system.
Where does Google's AI get what it says about your business?
Google hasn't published the sources for this new panel. It does document that its AI features use a "query fan-out" across subtopics and data sources, and it tells site owners to keep Business Profile and Merchant Center info up to date.
Google's AI features guide says AI Overviews and AI Mode "may use a 'query fan-out' technique", running multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources to build an answer. Its SEO basics include "Making sure your structured data matches the visible text on the page" and "Checking that your Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date." There are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews", and no special schema or AI text files to add.
The classic panel works in a similar spirit: Knowledge Panels "are automatically generated" from "various sources across the web," sometimes data partners, plus facts suggested by verified entities.
Third-party data, labeled as such: in Ahrefs' September panel of 100 big global brand names, as reported by PPC Land, Wikipedia was cited in 41 of the 57 brand AI Overviews that had source lists. That's global brands, before the move to the right column, not your local bakery.
One sighting, so treat it as a hint: on November 2, Joy Hawkins posted a screenshot of a main-column AI Overview for [irvine personal injury lawyer] listing law firms with ratings and Call, Directions and Website buttons, plus source cards labeled "Google" for two of the firms. Her read: "The AI Overview is now linking directly to GBPs." It was a non-brand local search, but it points the same way: your Business Profile is a source Google's AI shows people.
For how AI Overviews pick what to cite on non-brand searches, see how to rank in Google AI Overviews. This post is about your own name.
What should you fix this week: Business Profile, About page or reviews?
Start with the sources you own. They're the fastest to change and the kind Google points to in its own guidance. Here's the checklist, in the order I'd work through it:
| What | Where | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Profile (local businesses) | Your profile on Search or Maps, then "Edit profile" (Google help) | Name exactly as on your signage, primary category, hours, phone, website, description (750 characters max, no URLs), opening date, services, and "Collected info" Google gathered by automated calls or texts | Google tells site owners to keep it up to date for AI features, and SER saw an AI Overview label on this panel in September |
| About page on your site | Your website | Same name, founding year, owner, services, service area and contact details as everywhere else. If you use Organization structured data, it matches the visible text | Outdated site, outdated AI description (Barry's lesson). Google asks for structured data that matches the page |
| Reviews | Your Business Profile and review sites | Recent reviews, replies to every review, and what reviewers keep repeating | Our reasoning, not Google's: AI summaries tend to echo what many sources repeat, and reviews are many sources |
| Third-party profiles | Directories, social profiles, industry listings; Wikipedia or Wikidata only if you already have an entry | One consistent name, description, address and phone | Panel info comes from "various sources across the web", and descriptions are fixed at the source |
| Merchant Center (ecommerce) | Google Merchant Center | Returns, shipping and store details | Google names it next to Business Profile; retail AI panels show returns and payment rows |
For a local business, the Business Profile is the box people see for your name, so that row matters most. Edit it directly, and know that Google reviews your changes before they go live. For a worked example, see our Business Profile setup guide for dentists (dentist-specific, but the profile basics carry over), and the bigger picture is in our local SEO guide. Members can also keep an eye on their Google Business Profile health and local rankings in DataWise.
Don't lose sleep on getting every directory perfect today. Fix the profile and the About page first. Those two are yours.
How do you report a wrong AI Overview or Knowledge Panel?
You can't edit an AI Overview, but you can report it. You can also correct the sources Google reads: edit your Business Profile, or claim your Knowledge Panel if it's claimable and suggest edits with public links.
Which route you take depends on the box you found. Work through them in this order.
1. Local business with a Business Profile: edit the profile (table above). If the wrong info is on a profile you don't own, Google lets anyone "suggest an edit". Most local owners stop here. You don't need to go hunting for a Knowledge Panel to claim.
2. Brand with a claimable Knowledge Panel: per Google, search your name, click "Claim this knowledge panel" at the bottom of the panel, and sign in to one of the official profiles listed: YouTube, Search Console, X (Twitter) or Facebook. If Google can't match you to those, you'll be "prompted to provide more information". Claim walkthroughs from other SEOs describe that step as a selfie plus a government photo ID, so be ready, but go by what the screen asks. And "Not all knowledge panels are claimable as of now."
Once verified, click "Suggest edits" at the top of the panel and fix each fact separately, with "publicly accessible URLs" that back it up. Google says it reviews verified feedback "within a few days", sometimes longer. It's priority review, not a free editor. Descriptions "come from various data sources and can't be edited", so you fix the source (your About page, a directory, a Wikipedia entry) and the panel follows.
3. Wrong text in an AI Overview: click thumbs down at the bottom of the overview, then "Report a problem", pick a category and add details. The three-dot menu at the top right works too. Google admits AI Overviews "can and will make mistakes", so say exactly what's wrong and what's right.
One gap Google hasn't filled: it hasn't said whether Knowledge Panel "Suggest edits" covers the new AI-written paragraph. So do both. Report the AI text, and fix the sources it reads.
What should freelancers and agencies tell clients about this?
Keep it calm. Google hasn't confirmed this layout, it's been seen on US desktop brand searches, and it may change. But the first description of a client's business on Google may now be AI-written, and that's worth a monthly look.
What I'd do for every client: run the two-minute check monthly, save the dated screenshots, and fix the sources in the order above. No promises the panel will change by a set date. Google reviews edits and reports in its own time.
Here's a short message you can adapt. It's a template, not a real client message:
"Hi [name], quick heads-up. Since late October, SEOs have seen Google show an AI-written summary beside the results for some brand searches. Google hasn't confirmed it, and it may change. Here's what Google shows for [business name] today (screenshot attached). [One line on what's right or wrong.] This month I'll update [Business Profile / About page / directory] so Google's AI has accurate facts, and I'll recheck on [date]."
Want to measure how often AI Overviews show for your non-brand keywords? That's a different job: here's how to measure your AI Overview exposure.
The one idea to take away: Google's AI describes you using what's already out there. Keep your own sources accurate and it has less room to get you wrong.
Not sure what Google's AI is saying about your business, or how to fix it? Bring a screenshot of your brand search to a Premium live Q&A or a website review inside AI Ranking Premium, and we'll go through it together. Not ready for that? Start with the free AI Search Kickstarter.
Cheers,
Nico