How to Fix Wrong Information on Google

To fix wrong information on Google, first work out where it comes from. Google mostly displays information from other places: your Business Profile, websites it has crawled, and data it has gathered about you. Correct the source (edit your Business Profile, ask the website owner to update the page, or submit verified feedback on your knowledge panel), then use Google’s own tools, such as Refresh Outdated Content or AI Overview feedback, to get the corrected version shown.

Reporting the error to Google without fixing the source usually doesn’t stick. If the underlying page still says the wrong thing, Google tends to show it again after the next crawl.

First, identify the type of error

Each kind of wrong information on Google has a different fix. Find yours in the table, then jump to the matching section.

What’s wrong	Where it appears	Main fix
Hours, phone, address, website, category	Google Business Profile in Search and Maps	Edit the profile you manage, or suggest an edit
Facts about a person or organization	Knowledge panel	Get verified, then suggest edits with supporting URLs
An old title or description for a page	Search result snippet	Update the page, then Refresh Outdated Content
Wrong details on a directory or news site	Third-party page ranking for your name	Contact the site, and correct data aggregators
A wrong summary of you or your business	AI Overview or AI Mode	Fix the cited sources, then send feedback
False, damaging claims about you	Any page	Document it and talk to a lawyer

Wrong hours, phone number or address on your Business Profile

This is the most common fix and the easiest, as long as you manage the profile.

1. Sign in to the Google account that manages the profile. Search for your business name on Google or open Google Maps, and the management tools appear above the listing.
2. Choose Edit profile and update the field: hours, special hours for holidays, phone, website or address.
3. Save and wait for review. Google reviews edits before they go live. Simple changes like hours often appear quickly; name, address and category changes can take longer and may trigger re-verification.
4. Check again in a few days. Google sometimes updates profiles using information from users and other sources. If your edit has been overridden, the profile shows it, and you can review and correct the change.

If you don’t manage the profile yet, claim or request access to it first. If you’re a customer who has noticed an error on someone else’s listing, use “Suggest an edit” on the listing in Maps.

Consistency matters here. If your old address still appears on your website footer, Facebook page and three directories, Google may keep picking it up. For multi-location businesses or profiles that keep reverting, our Google Business Profile management service handles the edits and monitoring.

Wrong facts in a knowledge panel

Knowledge panels are the boxes that appear for people, organizations, and other entities, and they’re built from sources across the web. You can’t edit one directly, but you can get verified and submit feedback that Google weighs more heavily.

1. Search for your name or organization and find the panel.
2. Claim it. Use the option to claim the knowledge panel and verify that you’re the person or authorized representative, usually by signing in to an official profile Google already links to you. For businesses with a local listing, the Business Profile is managed separately.
3. Once verified, click Suggest edits at the top of the panel, then Edit next to the fact that’s wrong.
4. Explain the error and add publicly accessible URLs that support the correct version, such as your official bio, a company page or a news article.

Google says it reviews feedback from verified users and emails the outcome. It doesn’t accept custom subtitles, and it won’t create or delete a panel on request. If the wrong fact comes from Wikipedia or another source, fixing that source is often what finally changes the panel. Our guide to getting a Google knowledge panel covers claiming and verification in more depth.

An outdated snippet in search results

Sometimes the page itself is fixed but Google still shows the old title or description, for example a job title you left two years ago or a price list you withdrew.

1. Confirm the page has actually changed. Open it in a private window. If it still shows the wrong text, contact the site owner first.
2. If it’s your own site, use Google Search Console to request that the updated page be recrawled.
3. If it’s someone else’s site, use Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool and enter the URL, along with a word that no longer appears on the page.

The tool only works when the live page no longer matches what Google shows. Our guide to removing outdated content from Google explains when requests are accepted and why they get denied.

Wrong information on third-party websites

Directories, review sites, business databases and news articles often rank for your name, and Google shows what they say. Google won’t correct those pages for you, so you need to go to the source.

1. List every page with the error. Search your name or brand along with the wrong detail, such as your old phone number, in quotes.
2. Claim listings where you can. Yelp, the BBB, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places and many industry directories let owners claim and edit their listing.
3. Contact the site for pages you can’t edit. Send a short, polite email naming the page, the error and the correct fact, with evidence. For news articles, ask for a correction or an update rather than removal.
4. Fix the data aggregators. Many local directories take their business data from large data providers such as Data Axle and Foursquare. If the same wrong address keeps reappearing on sites you’ve never touched, correcting it with the aggregators can stop the spread.
5. Refresh Google once pages change, using Refresh Outdated Content if the snippet is still wrong.

A wrong AI Overview

AI Overviews and AI Mode write summaries from pages Google finds, so a wrong summary usually traces back to a wrong or ambiguous source. Google itself warns that AI responses can include mistakes.

1. Screenshot the answer with the date and the query you used.
2. Check the linked sources shown with the answer. Often one page is wrong, outdated or about a different person or business with a similar name.
3. Fix those sources using the steps above.
4. Send feedback. Use the feedback option on the AI Overview (the thumbs-down icon) and explain the error specifically, with a link to an accurate source.

Feedback doesn’t come with a promised outcome or timeline. Chat assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity have their own reporting options; our guide on managing your reputation in AI search covers those and how to monitor answers over time.

False statements about you

If a page makes false, damaging statements of fact about you or your business, such as claiming you were convicted of a crime you weren’t, that goes beyond a correction request. Google generally doesn’t remove pages because they are negative, but it does accept legal removal requests, and a court order finding content defamatory can support a request to have it removed from results.

Before you act, save copies of the page with dates, don’t reply publicly in anger, and talk to a lawyer. Not everything unfair is defamatory; opinion and substantially true statements usually aren’t. Our guide on defamation vs. opinion explains the difference.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. A dental practice moves across town. Three months later, patients are still turning up at the old address.

The office manager finds four problems. The Business Profile address was updated, but Google Maps still shows the old hours from a user edit. The practice’s own website has the old address in the footer. Two directories and an insurance provider’s network list still show the old location. And an AI Overview for “dentist near [neighborhood]” describes the practice at the old address.

1. She corrects the hours on the Business Profile and removes the old address from the website footer and contact page.
2. She claims both directory listings and updates them, and emails the insurance provider’s network team with the new address.
3. She corrects the practice’s record with the data aggregators, since one of the directories she never set up had the old address too.
4. After the pages change, she sends feedback on the AI Overview with a link to the practice’s updated contact page.

Most listings update within weeks. The AI Overview takes longer to change, and one small directory never responds. Outcomes like that are normal: most errors can be fixed at the source, but a few sites move slowly or not at all.

Common mistakes

• Reporting to Google before fixing the source. If the page is still wrong, the error comes back.
• Making the same edit repeatedly. Repeated edits to a Business Profile can slow review. Make the change once and check back.
• Creating a second profile. Duplicate listings confuse Google and customers, and can break Google’s guidelines.
• Threatening site owners. A polite request with evidence gets more corrections than a legal threat.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Google keep showing wrong information about my business?

Usually because another source still has the wrong detail. Google collects data from your Business Profile, your website, user suggestions and other sites, so an old address in one directory can keep resurfacing. Fix every source, then check your profile for changes Google or users have made.

How long does it take Google to update my business information?

It depends on the change. Simple edits like hours often appear quickly, while name, address and category changes go through more review and can take longer. Updates to search snippets and AI Overviews depend on when Google recrawls the source page.

Can I edit my knowledge panel directly?

No. You can claim it and, once verified, suggest edits with supporting links. Google reviews the feedback and decides whether to change the panel.

Can Google remove a page that says false things about me?

Not just because it’s wrong or negative. Google accepts certain legal removal requests, and a court order finding content defamatory can support one. Talk to a lawyer about your options, and try asking the site owner for a correction first.