Entity
Definition: In search, an entity is a distinct, well-defined thing, such as a person, organization, place, product or concept, that a search engine can identify and connect to facts and to other entities, regardless of the exact words used.
Also called: named entity, search entity
Updated
Things, not strings
When Google introduced its Knowledge Graph in 2012, it described the shift as searching for “things, not strings” (Google). A string is the word “jaguar”. The things behind it include an animal, a car maker and an American football team. Entity understanding is how a search engine works out which one a query, or a page, is about.
Each entity has properties (a founding date, a location, a price) and relationships to other entities (a founder, a parent company, a product line). Once a search engine has a stable picture of an entity, it can connect mentions of it across many pages, even when they use different wording.
How engines recognize entities
- Names and context: the words around a name usually settle which entity is meant.
- Links to known references: official sites, Wikipedia and Wikidata entries, business profiles and social accounts.
- Structured data: schema.org markup such as
OrganizationorProduct, especially thesameAsproperty that points to other profiles of the same entity. - Consistency: the same facts repeated across independent sources.
Why it matters for AI answers
Language models summarize what they have read about an entity. If your company shares a name with another one, or your facts conflict between your site, directories and press coverage, answers can blend the two or repeat outdated details. Our view: consistent, corroborated entity information is one of the cheapest ways to reduce wrong AI answers about a brand.
The practical side is covered under entity SEO. The schema markup validator checks that your Organization markup is valid and complete.