As Google moves from keyword matching to knowledge understanding, one concept is becoming critical: entity SEO.

If your brand wants to appear in AI-generated answers, show up in Knowledge Panels, or be cited in Google’s AI Overviews, you need to think beyond traditional SEO tactics.

In this article, we explain what entity SEO is, why it matters in the age of AI, and how to make your brand machine-readable, trustworthy, and cite-worthy.

What Is an “Entity” in SEO?

An entity is something that Google can identify and understand. This can be a person, brand, product, location, or concept.

Entities are stored in Google’s Knowledge Graph, which connects them to facts, attributes, and relationships. For example:

“Tesla” is an entity that connects to:

• Category: Automotive Company

• Founder: Elon Musk

• Products: Model S, Model 3

• Website: tesla.com

• Socials, Wikipedia, and News Sources

Unlike a keyword, an entity is not just a string of text. It is a concept Google understands, recognises, and links to other verified facts.

Why Entity SEO Now Matters More Than Ever

AI search systems do not simply crawl your website and hope for the best. They rely on a network of known, structured, and trusted sources.

If your brand is not an established entity, with consistent signals across the web, it is likely to be left out of AI summaries and search responses.

According to Google’s patents and technical documentation, entity understanding is central to how information is retrieved, ranked, and reasoned about by AI systems.

That means brands must now optimise for being understood, not just found.

Five Signs Your Brand Is Not Recognised as an Entity

1. No Google Knowledge Panel for your business or founders

2. Inconsistent naming across your website, social profiles, and directories

3. No or limited structured data using schema.org markup

4. Few backlinks from trusted, industry-relevant sources

5. Not listed in third-party data sources like Crunchbase, LinkedIn, or Wikipedia

How to Optimise Your Brand as an Entity

1. Add Schema Markup to Key Pages

Use structured data on your homepage (Organization), team pages (Person), product pages (Product), and blog content (Article, HowTo). This helps machines interpret what your pages represent.

2. Secure or Build a Knowledge Panel

Claim an existing panel through Google’s verification process. If no panel exists, focus on being listed in official directories, reputable databases, and high-authority media.

3. Standardise Your NAP

Make sure your brand’s Name, Address, and Phone Number appear exactly the same across your website, Google Business Profile, and all external listings.

4. Build Expert Profiles for Key Staff

Establish your team members as subject matter experts. Include detailed bios, links to their work, and structured Person schema.

5. Create Structured, Factual Content

AI prefers content that is clear, specific, and trustworthy. Use concise formatting, citations, and helpful data that can be easily referenced or cited by machines.

Final Thought: Entities Are the Foundation of AI Search

The future of SEO is not just about targeting the right keywords or writing longer content. It is about being a trusted, recognisable entity in your space.

Google’s AI does not cite pages. It cites known entities.

If your brand is not machine-readable, then it is invisible in AI search.

At AI See You, we specialise in helping businesses build Entity SEO foundations that get them seen, cited, and trusted.

Want to know how visible your brand is to AI?

Book your free AI Visibility Audit today.