Why engines get information wrong
AI engines synthesize information from multiple sources: training data, web crawling, structured data feeds, and aggregated review platforms. When those sources contradict each other or contain outdated information, the engine may surface incorrect details about your business — wrong address, wrong category, wrong founding year, wrong services.
This is more common than most businesses realize. It is also one of the most important issues to find and fix in your AI visibility audit.
The correction hierarchy
Step 1: Fix your primary sources
AI engines weight some sources much more heavily than others. Fixing incorrect information at the primary source is faster and more reliable than trying to correct engines directly.
Highest priority:
- Google Business Profile — the highest-weight local entity source for most engines. Corrections go live within 24–72 hours in most cases.
- Your own website schema — JSON-LD structured data on your site is read directly by every engine that crawls it. Correct your schema and submit the page for re-indexing in Google Search Console.
- Your About page — rewrite any factual information that contradicts what engines are currently showing.
Step 2: Correct secondary sources
Fix incorrect information in Yelp, Facebook Business, LinkedIn, industry directories, and any other platforms in your sameAs array. These corrections take longer to propagate into engine knowledge models but are necessary for full corroboration.
Step 3: Direct engine feedback
- Google AI Overviews: Use the "More about this result" feedback link on AI Overview cards
- Bing Copilot: Bing Webmaster Tools has a correction submission pathway
- ChatGPT / Perplexity: No direct correction tool — fixing your source pages is the primary lever
What to do about persistent errors
If incorrect information persists after 60+ days of source corrections, the error may be coming from a source you have not yet identified. Run a broader audit: search your business name across 15+ platforms and look for the source that still carries the wrong information.
