# Knowledge Graph

Category: [Structured Data & SERP Features](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/) › [SERP features & Google services](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/serp-features-google-services/) · Also known as: Google Knowledge Graph

The **Knowledge Graph** is Google's database of entities, such as people, places, organizations, and things, and the relationships between them. Google uses it to understand which real-world thing a query refers to and to show facts directly in search results. Outside of search, "knowledge graph" is a general term for any data model built from entities and relationships; this entry covers Google Search.

## Origin and purpose

Google introduced the Knowledge Graph on May 16, 2012, under the line "things, not strings." At launch, Google said it held more than 500 million objects and more than 3.5 billion facts about the relationships between them, drawn from sources including Freebase, Wikipedia, and the CIA World Factbook. Google's help pages today describe it as a database of billions of facts.

The 2012 announcement named three goals: telling apart things that share a name, summarizing the key facts about an entity, and helping people discover related topics. Google's own example was the query "taj mahal," which can mean the monument, a musician, a casino, or a local restaurant.

## Knowledge Graph and knowledge panel

The Knowledge Graph is the data; the **knowledge panel** is one place where it becomes visible. Panels appear for searches about entities that exist in the graph. According to Google, the facts come from a range of sources that compile factual information, from licensed data for things like sports scores and stock prices, and from suggestions by verified entity owners. Google says it mainly improves results by improving its automated systems.

## What can site owners do?

There is no form to add an entity directly. People and organizations shown in a knowledge panel can claim it after verification and then suggest changes. Anyone can report errors through the "Feedback" link on a panel. Organization structured data on the home page helps Google understand an organization's details and tell it apart from others; properties like `logo` can influence which logo appears in search results and in the knowledge panel. The `sameAs` property links to profiles on other sites.

## Example

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Outdoor Inc.",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q00000000",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-outdoor"
  ]
}
```

## Common mistakes

- **Logo doesn't meet the requirements.** For `logo` in Organization markup, Google requires at least 112 × 112 pixels, a crawlable and indexable URL, and an image format supported by Google Images.
- **Markup that breaks the guidelines.** Organization markup has to follow Google's general structured data guidelines. Violations can lead to a manual action.
- **Counting on a display.** Google doesn't guarantee that features based on structured data will appear. According to Google, automated systems decide when a knowledge panel is shown.

## FAQ

**Can you query the Knowledge Graph?**
Yes, through the Knowledge Graph Search API, which returns entities as JSON-LD with schema.org types. Google states the API isn't suitable as a production-critical service and recommends Cloud Enterprise Knowledge Graph to new users.

**What is a knowledge graph in AI and LLM applications?**
According to reports, AI systems often use a knowledge graph as a structured source of facts that a language model can retrieve, for example in retrieval-augmented generation. It shares the principle with Google's Knowledge Graph, but it is a separate dataset.

## At a glance

- **Type:** database of entities and their relationships
- **Since:** May 16, 2012
- **Size:** billions of facts (according to Google)
- **Visible?:** e.g. in knowledge panels
- **Query access:** [Knowledge Graph Search API](https://developers.google.com/knowledge-graph)
- **Docs:** [How Google's Knowledge Graph works (Knowledge Panel Help)](https://support.google.com/knowledgepanel/answer/9787176?hl=en)

Last checked: October 8, 2026

*Diagram: Entities and relationships.* A knowledge graph describes entities such as people, places, organizations and things and connects them through named relationships. sameAs points to pages that unambiguously identify an entity. Google generates knowledge panels automatically. Fictional example; how Google stores entities internally is not public.

## Not to be confused with

- [Knowledge panel](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/knowledge-panel/index.md): is the info box in search results that shows facts about an entity. It makes part of the data visible.

## Related terms

- [Knowledge panel](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/knowledge-panel/index.md)
- [Entity](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/entity/index.md)
- [Structured data](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/structured-data/index.md)
- [Semantic search](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/semantic-search/index.md)
- [Open Graph](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/open-graph/index.md)
- [Knowledge cutoff](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/knowledge-cutoff/index.md)

## Sources

- [Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings – Google Blog (Amit Singhal, May 16, 2012)](https://blog.google/products/search/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not/)
- [How Google's Knowledge Graph works – Knowledge Panel Help](https://support.google.com/knowledgepanel/answer/9787176?hl=en)
- [Google Knowledge Graph Search API – Google for Developers](https://developers.google.com/knowledge-graph)
- [Organization structured data – Google Search Central (updated Sep 8, 2026)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/organization)
- [General structured data guidelines – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies)

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Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/knowledge-graph/