Knowledge Graph

The Knowledge Graph is where Google keeps what it knows about entities, including, possibly, your brand. Google's help page calls it "our database of billions of facts about people, places, and things." When Google announced it in May 2012, it said the graph held more than 500 million objects and more than 3.5 billion facts, and summed up the idea as "things, not strings."

Where the facts come from, per Google: "a variety of sources that compile factual information", data Google licenses, and facts received directly from content owners. Knowledge panels are "created automatically" by Google when there is enough information about an entity on the open web.

What a marketer can do:

• If a panel exists for your organization or a person you represent, an official representative can claim it and suggest changes. Businesses manage their details through Business Profile.
• Use Organization structured data. Google says it can help Google "disambiguate your organization in search results" and can influence elements such as the logo in your knowledge panel.

Google's Knowledge Graph Search API lets you look up entities in the graph, though Google says it is not suitable for production-critical use.

Related terms

• Entity
• sameAs
• JSON-LD
• Structured data
• E-E-A-T

Sources

1. How Google's Knowledge Graph works (opens in a new tab) · Knowledge Panel Help (Google) · Checked 28 Oct 2026
2. Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings (opens in a new tab) · Google (The Keyword) · Published 16 May 2012
3. Organization (Organization) structured data (opens in a new tab) · Google Search Central · Updated 8 Sep 2026
4. Google Knowledge Graph Search API (opens in a new tab) · Google for Developers · Updated 26 Apr 2024