Definition
What this term means
A structured database that maps entities and the relationships between them, creating a web of interconnected knowledge. Google's Knowledge Graph, Wikidata, and similar systems store billions of facts about people, places, organisations, and concepts, powering the knowledge panels, rich results, and AI-generated answers that appear across search and AI platforms.
Why it matters
The business impact
Knowledge graphs are a primary source of structured information that AI systems use to understand and describe brands. If your brand has a well-connected knowledge graph presence, linked to industry, products, leadership, and awards, AI models can draw on this structured data for accurate, confident recommendations. Gaps in the knowledge graph lead to gaps in AI visibility.
Used in context
How you might use this term
“A technology startup had no knowledge graph presence. After creating a comprehensive Wikidata entry, earning a Wikipedia article, and implementing Organisation schema markup, their brand began appearing in Google's Knowledge Panel and AI-generated summaries within three months.”
Related terms
Explore connected concepts
Entity
A uniquely identifiable concept, such as a company, product, person, or location, that AI systems recognise as a distinct 'thing' in the world. Entities have attributes (like founding date, industry, or location) and relationships to other entities (like 'manufactures', 'competes with', or 'is headquartered in'). AI models use entity understanding to connect information across sources and form coherent knowledge.
Structured Data
Machine-readable code embedded in web pages that explicitly defines entities, attributes, and relationships using a standardised vocabulary. JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is the preferred format. It sits in a script tag on the page and tells AI systems exactly what the page is about: the organisation behind it, the author's credentials, the product details, the article's topic, and more.
Authority Signals
The collective evidence that demonstrates a brand's credibility, expertise, and trustworthiness to AI systems and search engines. Authority signals include expert authorship with verifiable credentials, citations from reputable sources, industry awards, professional certifications, longevity of domain, quality of backlink profile, and consistent representation across authoritative platforms such as Wikipedia, industry publications, and government databases.