Entity

Search engines and AI systems are thinking less and less in terms of loose words and more and more in terms of "things". A thing with its own identity like this is called an entity: a person, a business, a place, a product or even a concept. "Manchester" is an entity, as are "Manchester Town Hall", "Manchester City Council" and the bakery on the corner. Each of them has properties and relationships with other entities.

The difference from a keyword is essential. A keyword is a string of letters someone types in; an entity is what they mean by it. Someone searching "jaguar" might mean the animal or the car brand. By recognising entities and looking at the context, a search system understands which meaning is most likely.

How do search engines recognise entities?

Google has been building a knowledge graph for years, a huge database of entities and the connections between them. That information comes from many sources: websites, public databases, business listings and more. Signals that probably help get your business recognised as an entity include:

• consistent NAP details (name, address, phone number) on your site and on other platforms;
• a fully completed Google Business Profile;
• structured data such as Organization or LocalBusiness markup;
• mentions on other websites, such as trade media, local news sites or industry bodies.

Why do entities matter for AI search?

The language models behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity don't work with a classic list of rankings. They try to understand who or what is relevant to a question. If someone asks "which roofer in Yorkshire specialises in slate roofs?", the system looks for businesses that are clearly linked to "roofer", "Yorkshire" and "slate". The clearer and more consistent those connections are online, the greater the chance your business turns up in an answer like that.

Ambiguity works against you. If you use three different business names, an old address is still listed in a directory or you describe your services differently everywhere, it is harder for a system to link all that information to a single entity. In the worst case, details from two different businesses get mixed up.

How to make your business a clear entity

1. Choose one official business name and use it consistently everywhere.
2. Describe clearly what you do, for whom and in which area, on your homepage and about page.
3. Add structured data with your name, address, logo, contact details and links to your social profiles.
4. Check external listings in directories and on platforms, and correct outdated information.
5. Build relationships: mentions by partners, suppliers or local organisations strengthen your context.

An example: an installer in Bristol

A heat pump installer in Bristol was listed online under two names: his own name and a brand name he chose later. His address hadn't yet been updated in an old directory. By using the same name everywhere, adding structured data and cleaning up external profiles, a clear, unambiguous picture of the business emerges. Want to understand how AI systems see your business today? The Spacebird platform gives you insight into your visibility in both traditional and AI search.