Entity or Ghost: Does AI Know Your Business Exists?
If AI can't find you, neither can your customers. Here's how to check your entity status in 5 minutes.
- → If AI doesn't recognize your business as an "entity," you're invisible to a growing chunk of how people find businesses
- → 36% of consumers now use AI chatbots to research businesses before buying (Salesforce)
- → You can test your entity status in 5 minutes with four questions
- → The fix isn't complicated—it starts with consistency across your online presence
The Name Problem
My name is S. Matthew Cohen. That's a problem.
There's also Steve Cohen, the billionaire who owns the New York Mets. And Steve Cohen, the famous magician. And Steve Cohen, the former congressman from Tennessee.
When someone asks an AI about "Steve Cohen," who do you think it talks about? Not me.
I learned this the hard way when I started this business. I had to be strategic about establishing myself as a distinct entity—a person AI systems recognize as separate from all the other Steve Cohens.
Your business has the same problem.
The 5-Minute Entity Check
Here's how to find out if AI knows you exist. Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google Gemini and ask these four questions:
Test 1: The Direct Question
"What is [Your Business Name]?"
Good: Describes your business accurately, mentions key services, maybe your location or founder.
Bad: "I don't have specific information about [Your Business Name]" or describes a different business with a similar name.
Test 2: The Recommendation Query
"Can you recommend a [your service type] in [your city]?"
Good: Your business appears in the list.
Bad: Competitors appear, but you don't.
Test 3: The Founder Query
"Who founded [Your Business Name]?"
Good: Correct information.
Bad: No information, wrong person, or attributes your business to someone else.
Test 4: The Disambiguation Query
"Is [Your Business Name] the same as [Similar Business or Brand]?"
Good: "No, they are different. [Your Business Name] is... while [Other] is..."
Bad: Merges the two, gets confused, or doesn't know.
If you failed any of these tests, you're a ghost.
Why Entity Status Matters
In AI terms, an "entity" is a distinct, identifiable thing—a person, business, place, or concept that AI systems recognize and can retrieve facts about.
If you're not an entity, AI can't recommend you. It can't answer questions about your services. You're invisible to an increasingly large portion of how people find businesses.
And that portion is growing fast. AI Overviews now appear in 47% of Google searches (Search Engine Land, 2024). Gartner predicts 25% of all searches will be through AI agents by 2026.
If AI doesn't know you exist, a quarter of your potential customers won't find you.
Why You Might Be a Ghost
Three common reasons:
1. Inconsistent Information
If your business name is "Johnson & Associates" on your website, "Johnson and Associates LLC" on Google, and "Johnson Associates" on LinkedIn, AI might think these are three different businesses.
Consistency is critical. Same name, same address, same phone number—everywhere. That's NAP consistency.
2. Not Enough Authoritative Sources
AI trusts certain sources more than others: Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, industry directories, news mentions. If you only exist on your own website, AI doesn't have enough "votes of confidence" to recognize you as real.
3. Name Collision
If there's a bigger, more famous entity with your name, AI defaults to them. This is why I use "S. Matthew Cohen" instead of "Steve Cohen." Some businesses add location to their brand ("Smith & Co of Boston") for the same reason.
How to Become an Entity
This isn't complicated. It's just consistent.
Foundation (Do This First)
- Claim your Google Business Profile — Complete every field. This is the single most important thing you can do.
- Create a LinkedIn Company Page — Fill it out completely with the same information.
- Verify NAP consistency — Name, Address, Phone must be identical across your top 10 online listings. Audit them.
- Add schema markup to your website — Organization schema tells AI machine-readable facts about your business.
Authority Building (Do This Next)
- Get listed in industry directories — Whatever's relevant to your field.
- Claim your Yelp and review platform profiles — Even if you don't love Yelp, AI reads it.
- Ensure any news mentions use your correct business name — If you've been quoted or featured, check the accuracy.
The Disambiguation Move (If You Have a Common Name)
If you share a name with something more famous, address it directly:
In your schema markup:
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Your Business Name",
"disambiguatingDescription": "A [your service] company in [your city], not affiliated with [famous similar name]"
}On your About page:
I literally write "Not the Mets owner. Not the magician." because AI reads that and learns the distinction.
What To Do Right Now
Today (15 minutes):
- Run the 4-question entity check above
- Google your business name—check if a Knowledge Panel appears on the right side
- Verify your Google Business Profile is claimed and complete
This Week:
- Audit NAP consistency across your top 10 listings
- Update your LinkedIn Company Page with complete, matching information
- Add Organization schema to your website homepage
Or let us check for you:
Our Vector Scope diagnostic includes entity status testing across all major AI platforms.
Further Reading
- Why Is AI Lying About My Business? — When AI knows you but gets it wrong
- SEO vs GEO: What's the Difference? — How search is changing
- The Codex — Terminology definitions