# Entity

> An entity is a uniquely identifiable thing in the real world, such as a person, company, place or product. Search engines and AI systems link entities to attributes and relationships.

- URL: https://techtafel.com/en/glossary/entity/
- Published: 13 November 2026
- Other languages: DE https://techtafel.com/glossar/entitaet/

In 2012 Google introduced the Knowledge Graph under the motto “things, not strings”. From then on, Search was meant to understand things rather than just match character strings. At launch, Google said the Knowledge Graph held more than 500 million objects and more than 3.5 billion facts.

For SEO and [GEO](https://techtafel.com/en/glossary/geo/), what matters is that a brand is clearly recognisable as an entity. That means a consistent name, identical details on offer, location and people across all channels, and structured data based on Schema.org. Entries in knowledge bases such as Wikidata can further support the match.

In our assessment, AI search tools benefit from clear entities because they combine statements from several sources. Contradictory details make that harder. Related terms are [E-E-A-T](https://techtafel.com/en/glossary/e-e-a-t/) and [Schema.org](https://techtafel.com/en/glossary/schema-org/).

## Sources

1. [Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings](https://blog.google/products/search/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not/), Google, 2012-05-16
2. [Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content), Google Search Central, 2026-11