Why ChatGPT and Google describe your business wrongly, and the places they’re reading

By Alleo Gordon, founder of WonderlandSites · Published 6 November 2026 · 8 min read

Short answer
ChatGPT, Google and other AI tools describe your business using what they find on the web: your own site, including hidden text in its code, plus your profiles, directory listings and old pages elsewhere. If those places are out of date or disagree, the AI repeats the wrong version. The fix is to make your site say clearly who you help, what you do and where, then correct every profile and listing so they all say the same thing.

You ask ChatGPT about your business, or search your own name on Google, and the answer is wrong. It lists a service you stopped offering years ago. It puts you in the wrong town. It describes you as something you’re not.

It’s unsettling, because it feels like the AI has made it up. Usually it hasn’t. It’s repeating something it read about you, somewhere on the web, that nobody has updated.

This guide explains where AI tools and Google get their descriptions, what I found when I looked at my own business and the places to check and correct. For the wider question of being found, see why your business website isn’t showing on Google.

Key takeaways

• AI tools such as ChatGPT describe a business using pages they find on the web, and repeat what those pages say.
• Google mainly builds search snippets from a page’s content, and sometimes uses the page’s meta description.
• Hidden text in a website’s code, such as the meta description and structured data, can still describe a business wrongly after the visible page has changed.
• Old profiles, directory listings and résumé pages elsewhere on the web can be cited instead of the business’s own website.
• A short, clear facts paragraph on each key page gives AI tools accurate words to quote.
• Correcting every profile so it matches the website is usually free and done by the owner.

In this guide

• Why does ChatGPT describe my business wrongly?
• Where do AI tools and Google read about your business?
• How do you fix the hidden text on your own site?
• How do you correct profiles and listings elsewhere?
• How do you get your business described correctly in ChatGPT?
• What I found, what I did, what changed
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources and references

Why does ChatGPT describe my business wrongly?

ChatGPT describes your business wrongly because it’s repeating the sources it found. When it searches the web, it gathers pages, writes an answer and can cite them (OpenAI). If the clearest page about you is an old profile, it uses that. OpenAI itself warns that search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.

It’s usually not made up

AI tools can get things wrong on their own, but the most common cause I see is simpler: an old or wrong description that’s still online, and nothing clearer on the business’s own site to outweigh it.

Why your own site might not be the source

If your website doesn’t say plainly who you help, what you do and where, an AI tool has little to quote. A directory or profile that does say it, even wrongly, becomes the easier source.

Where do AI tools and Google read about your business?

AI tools and Google read your website, including text you can’t see on the page, and the other places your business appears: social profiles, directories, review sites and official registers. Google says it builds snippets mainly from page content and sometimes from the meta description (Google Search Central).

Here are the places I check, what can go wrong in each and who fixes it.

Where	What can go wrong	Who usually fixes it
Your homepage and service pages	No clear line saying who, what and where	You or your care provider
Hidden meta description	Still describes an old service	Whoever looks after the site
Structured data (schema)	An old job title or business type	Whoever looks after the site
Social and company profiles	An old category or description	You, in each profile
Directories and listings	Wrong email, old address	You, often free
Official registers	No website listed	You, through the register
Old pages elsewhere	An old CV or “under construction” page	You, or request removal

How do you fix the hidden text on your own site?

You fix hidden text by checking what your site’s code says, not just the page. The meta description, social sharing text and structured data can all keep an old description after you’ve changed the words people see. Look at them, update them to match the page and then ask Google to look at the page again through Search Console.

How to see it

In most browsers, right-click the page and choose “View page source”, then search for “description”. You’ll see the text Google and social sites may use. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong everywhere that text is shown.

Then ask Google to look again

Once it’s fixed, use Search Console to request indexing of the page. Changes can take days or weeks to show.

How do you correct profiles and listings elsewhere?

You correct profiles and listings by finding every place your business appears and making each one say the same thing as your website. Search your business name and your own name, list every result that describes you, and update each one. Most profiles and directories let the owner edit for free.

Make a list first

1. Search your business name, your own name and your old business name on Google.
2. Ask ChatGPT and other AI tools who you are and what you do, and note the sources they cite.
3. List every profile and directory with what it says now and what it should say.
4. Update each one, using the same words for who you help, what you do and where.

Link the official record

If you’re on an official register, such as a charity register or professional body, make sure it links to your website, and link to it from your site. That connects the two for anyone checking, including AI tools.

How do you get your business described correctly in ChatGPT?

There’s no form to submit to ChatGPT. What you can do is give it clear, consistent facts to find. Add a short facts paragraph to each key page, saying who you help, what you do, where you work and anything checkable, such as qualifications. Make every profile match it. Then check what AI tools say each month.

A simple facts paragraph

One or two sentences near the top of each key page, for example: “[Name] is a [what you do] helping [who] in [where]. [One checkable fact, such as a qualification or years in business].” Plain, specific and true.

Check monthly

Ask the same few questions in ChatGPT and Google each month, such as “Who is [your business]?” and “Who offers [your service] in [your area]?”, and note which sources they cite. You can’t control the answer, but you can control what your site and profiles say.

What I found, what I did, what changed

I started with my own business, because it’s the one I can name. Here’s what I found in October 2026.

What I found: my own business, October 2026
What I found. Google was still showing an old “under construction, London” page for my brand. My site’s hidden description and structured data still called me a web developer after I’d changed the visible words. AI answers cited my company profile on a professional network, which described the business as “wellness and fitness services”, and an old CV page. For three questions a buyer might ask about website care, my own site was cited by none of the six AI tools I checked.

What I did. I requested fresh indexing for 7 pages and resubmitted the sitemap, gave the homepage a new title, and changed the hidden description and structured data to match the page, then checked them live. The company profile correction went on my list, with the same wording as the site.

What changed. The site’s own text, seen and hidden, now says the same thing. In Website Checks for clients I see the same pattern, such as directory listings with an old address, so this is now a standard part of what I look at.

Frequently asked questions

Why does ChatGPT give wrong information about my business?

Because it repeats what it finds online. If an old profile, directory or page describes your business wrongly, and your own site doesn’t say clearly what you do, ChatGPT may use the wrong source. OpenAI notes its citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect, so check the sources it cites.

How do I get my business mentioned in ChatGPT?

There’s no way to submit a business directly. Make your website say clearly who you help, what you do and where, keep every profile consistent with it and get listed accurately in relevant directories and registers. Then check monthly. Nobody can promise a mention, but clear facts make you easier to describe.

Why does Google show the wrong description for my business?

Google builds snippets mainly from your page content and sometimes from your meta description. If the hidden description is old, or the page doesn’t say clearly what you do, the snippet can be wrong. Update both, then request indexing in Search Console and allow time for Google to revisit.

How long does it take for AI tools to update information about my business?

It varies and isn’t in your control. Google can take days or weeks to revisit a page after you request indexing. AI tools that search the web pick up changes when they next find the updated pages. Older, training-based answers can take much longer to change.

Can I remove old information about my business from the web?

You can update or delete profiles and pages you control. For pages someone else controls, such as an old directory listing, ask the site owner to update or remove it. Google has a process for outdated content, but removing pages from other sites depends on their owners.

What should my business description say?

Keep it short, specific and the same everywhere: who you help, what you do, where you work and one checkable fact, such as a qualification or how long you’ve been running. Use the same words on your website, profiles and listings, so every source tells the same story.

Sources and references

• Searching the web with ChatGPT – OpenAI Help Center.
• Control your snippets in search results – Google Search Central.
• AI features and your website – Google Search Central.
• Ask Google to recrawl your URLs – Google Search Central.

Keep reading

• Why isn’t my business website showing on Google? Five plain-English checks
• Domain expired and your email stopped?
• WordPress site hacked? What to do first

About the author

Alleo Gordon, founder of WonderlandSites. Studied Computing at London South Bank; IT technician at a sixth form college in Bethnal Green for 3 years; looking after websites since 2018. Read my story

Written with AI help, ideated, checked, and confirmed by Alleo.

Last reviewed 6 November 2026.