AI says it wrong.
Fix the source.
If an AI answer gives the wrong information about your business, first trace the claim to a visible source: your website, a directory, Google Business Profile, or no identifiable source. Correct what you control and request publisher corrections where needed. Platform feedback is another route, not a guarantee that the answer changes. The table distinguishes five error types.
Save exactly
what you see.
| Error type | Likely source | Correction path | Expected timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong service listed | Your own website (outdated page) | Correct the page and its structured data; preserve useful URLs | After the source is reprocessed; no fixed schedule |
| Wrong address or phone | Google Business Profile or directory | Edit GBP; contact directory publisher | Publisher review and processing vary; no fixed schedule |
| Wrong price or offering | Your website or a third-party listing | Correct the published source with verified facts | Depends on source recrawl |
| Wrong photo | GBP, your site, or a cited publisher | Replace your own image; report policy violations | No guaranteed timeline |
| Generated claim with no source | No identifiable source | Ensure your pages state the correct facts clearly | No guaranteed correction |
Before you fix anything, record the evidence:
- The exact question you asked
- The platform (ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, Perplexity)
- The date and time
- The complete answer, including any source links shown
- A screenshot of the full answer
This record matters because AI answers change between checks. Without a dated capture, you cannot prove what was wrong or verify whether a correction worked.
Not all wrong answers
come from the same place.
The source of a wrong fact determines the correction path:
Your own website contains the wrong fact. If the answer cites a page carrying an outdated or inaccurate statement, correct that page. A matching error is evidence to investigate; it does not prove exactly how the AI generated its answer.
A third-party directory or listing says it wrong. Yellow Pages, industry directories or aggregator sites carry outdated addresses, phone numbers or service lists. Identify the specific listing and request a correction from that publisher.
Your Google Business Profile says it wrong. The profile may show an old address, wrong hours, incorrect categories or outdated service descriptions. You can edit your own profile through Google Business Profile manager. Edits to managed profile facts (name, address, category) may require verification.
A map or location boundary is wrong. The AI may place your business in the wrong suburb or neighbourhood based on map data. Do not move your registered address or pin to correct a map boundary issue without evidence that the boundary is wrong. Map locality names can differ from postal addresses.
The AI generated a statement with no clear source. Some AI answers produce claims that do not appear on your website, your profile or any identifiable directory. These are harder to correct because there is no single source to fix. Correcting your own website and verified public profiles gives the AI better facts to use in future answers, but there is no guaranteed timeline for when or whether a generated statement will change.
Fix the page
the AI can read.
Your own website: Update the page with the correct fact. Make the correction in the page heading and body text, not only in metadata. If you have structured data (JSON-LD), update it to match the corrected page content.
Google Business Profile: Edit the incorrect field through your Business Profile dashboard. For managed facts like business name, address and primary category, Google may require verification before publishing the change. See Google's edit and verification guidance.
Third-party directories: Contact the publisher with the verified correction and its source. Record the request date, response and whether the published page actually changed. Publisher handling varies; do not promise a turnaround.
Do not fabricate a correction. If the wrong fact is about pricing, do not invent a price to replace it. If the wrong fact is about a qualification, do not claim one you do not hold. Correct with verifiable information only.
Report the error
to the platform.
Google AI features in Search: If a Google AI Overview or featured snippet shows wrong information about your business, you can use the feedback control on the result. Google does not guarantee a specific correction or timeline. Ensuring your website and Business Profile carry the correct facts gives Google a better source.
ChatGPT Search: Correct the public pages that carry the wrong fact and inspect the sources shown beside the answer. OpenAI documents its search, training and user-request agents separately. Access controls do not force a correction or a new recommendation.
Perplexity and Gemini: Both platforms cite sources in their answers. If the cited source contains the wrong fact, correcting that source is the primary path. Each platform has its own feedback mechanism, but none guarantees a correction timeline.
A source edit or feedback submission does not force a new answer. Record the actual public source change separately from a later answer check.
Wrong photograph: Save the answer and image association, then check whether the image comes from your own profile, website or a cited publisher. Fix an image you control or request a factual correction from its publisher. For a customer photo on a Google Business Profile that violates policy, use Google's photo reporting process. A removal request is reviewed, not guaranteed. Correcting a profile image does not give you control over an AI service's image selection.
Verify processing,
not just submission.
After you correct a source, check the same question on the same platform at 14 and 28 days. Record the date and result each time.
A submitted correction is not proof that the AI answer has changed. A directory update is not proof that the AI has recrawled the directory. Verify by running the same check and recording the new answer.
If the wrong answer persists after 28 days despite a corrected source, the platform may be using a cached version or a different source. Record this as an ongoing issue and investigate which sources the answer actually cites.
What this
looks like.
Example 1: Wrong service listed. A hypothetical renovation company finds that ChatGPT says they offer kitchen renovation when they only do bathroom work. The company website still has an old page mentioning kitchen services from a previous partnership. Fix: remove the outdated page or update it to reflect the current scope. Check ChatGPT 14 days later with the same question.
Example 2: Wrong location. A hypothetical clinic finds Perplexity shows an address from three years ago. The Google Business Profile has the current address, but a health directory still lists the old one and Perplexity cites that directory. Fix: contact the directory to update the address. Verify the Google Business Profile is correct. Check Perplexity 14 and 28 days later.
Example 3: Generated claim with no source. A hypothetical tutoring centre finds that Gemini says they specialise in a subject they do not teach. No cited source mentions this claim. Fix: ensure the tutoring centre's website clearly lists only the subjects actually offered. The generated claim may or may not change; record each recheck.
These are hypothetical examples to illustrate the diagnosis flow. They are not real businesses or guaranteed outcomes.
Avoid these
common mistakes.
- Do not change your registered postal address or move a Google Maps pin to match a map boundary name. Address records and map locality names can legitimately differ.
- Do not create fake reviews, testimonials or awards to override a wrong fact.
- Do not assume robots.txt or llms.txt will force a correction. Robots rules express access preferences for cooperating crawlers; an AI text file is not a command to change an answer.
- Do not treat a fetch with a copied bot user-agent as authentic crawler proof. Validate actual requests with published IP ranges or provider-verified crawler metadata; a user-agent string in a log is not enough.
- Do not fabricate a guaranteed timeline for when an AI answer will update. No platform publishes a specific recrawl or correction SLA for individual pages.
What's holding
your business back?
A website that needs work. Customers who can't find you. A team running on spreadsheets and messages. Start there.