To fix wrong information about your business in ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, find which source the answer drew on, correct that source (your website, Business Profile or a listing), then send feedback through each vendor’s own channel. A feedback report alone does not change an answer, and no vendor page I read promises a correction or timeline.
By Donnie Strompf. Updated October 2026.
Key takeaways
- AI tools state wrong facts for two reasons. The tool can produce incorrect output, and the pages it draws on can be wrong or out of date. You can fix the second cause yourself.
- Save the wrong answer and open the sources it cites. The wrong fact may be sitting on a page you can edit.
- Fix the source in this order: your own website, your Google Business Profile, then the directories and third-party pages that repeat the fact.
- Each AI engine has its own feedback channel. The table below lists them with the vendor page each comes from.
- Google says crawling can take a few days to a few weeks and does not guarantee inclusion. Treat every fix as slow, and check again monthly.
Why do AI tools get facts about a business wrong?
I read each vendor page cited below on October 15, 2026. Most show no absolute date. OpenAI’s Help Center says ChatGPT “can produce incorrect or misleading outputs” (OpenAI, “Does ChatGPT tell the truth?”). Its ChatGPT search article adds that search results and citations can be outdated or incorrect (OpenAI, “ChatGPT search”).
Google’s AI Overviews page says “AI Overviews can and will make mistakes” (Google Search Help, AI Overviews). The Gemini Apps Help page says Gemini “may provide inaccurate or inappropriate responses about people, so double-check its responses” (Gemini Apps Help, “Learn about responses from Gemini Apps”).
A wrong answer can come from the tool misreading a correct source, or from the tool repeating a source that is wrong, such as an old phone number on a directory page or a discontinued service still listed on your own site.
You can correct a source you control. If the source is right, the vendor channels below are the route. Local businesses have an extra reason to check their listings.
BrightLocal’s study of 1,967,762 citations, published August 26, 2026, found Google Business Profile made up about 28.6% of citations across Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT, and called Yelp the most common source for ChatGPT in local search. The study did not cover Gemini or Perplexity.
How do I find out where a wrong answer came from?
First, save the wrong answer and check its cited sources.
- Save the answer. Write down the exact prompt and which engine answered, and take a screenshot dated that day. We measure AI visibility three ways each month: referral traffic in GA4, and live buyer-style prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, with every answer and URL saved. Keep the same kind of record yourself for any vendor report.
- Open the sources. In ChatGPT, OpenAI says to select Sources, when available, and to open a cited source to check that it supports the answer. Gemini shows a Sources button on some responses, but its help page says not all responses include related links or sources. Perplexity says each answer includes numbered citations linking to the original sources (Perplexity Help Center, “How does Perplexity work?”).
- Compare the sources to the truth. Look for the wrong fact on each cited page and on your own pages.
- Ask again on another day. Repeat the question with different wording. If the wrong fact appears once and the cited pages are correct, the tool probably misread them. If it appears every time and a cited page repeats it, fix that page.
Use the table to find which page or listing to check.
| What the AI said that was wrong | Source to check first | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Hours, phone, address or website | Your Business Profile and the map listing | Edit the profile as a signed-in owner. Google says it reviews changes before they go live. |
| A service you do not offer, or a missing service | Your own website pages | Rewrite the page so the fact sits in plain text, then ask Google to recrawl it. |
| Closed, moved or renamed | Old directory listings and third-party pages | Ask the site owner to update the page, then ask Google to refresh the old result. |
| Prices or service area | Your website, then directories that copy it | Fix the website first, then each directory entry. |
| A fact you cannot find on any page | The tool itself | Send feedback to the vendor. You cannot edit a model. |
What should I fix first?
Start with your website, then your Business Profile, then directory listings.
Your own website. Change the wrong statement in plain text where a visitor and a crawler can both read it. Then use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to request a recrawl, or submit a sitemap if many pages changed.
Google’s page says “Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks” and that “Requesting a crawl does not guarantee that inclusion in search results will happen instantly or even at all” (Google Search Central, “Ask Google to recrawl your website or URLs”, last updated December 10, 2025).
Your Google Business Profile. Sign in with the Google Account linked to the profile, select Edit profile, make the change and save it. Google’s help page says “We review your changes before we update them live on your profile” and gives no timeframe (Google Business Profile Help, “Edit your Business Profile”). If you find something wrong on a profile you do not own, the same page says you can suggest an edit.
Directories and third-party pages. BrightLocal’s advice is to claim your Google Business Profile and your Yelp profile, then keep them up to date. For a page you do not own, ask its owner to correct it. Google also has a Refresh outdated content form (Google Search Help) for old text that still shows in Google Search results.
Once a source is fixed, ask the engine again. OpenAI suggests asking ChatGPT to search again using a specific source, date or location when a result looks wrong. That helps in your own session and says nothing about what other people will see.
How do I report a wrong answer to each AI vendor?
Use the channel the vendor documents for the engine where you saw the error.
| Engine | Channel the vendor describes | What the vendor says about it | Page read October 15, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Thumbs down under a message, then Select an issue. A content reporting webform also exists. | Thumbs-down feedback goes through “Select an issue” and “Safety or Legal concern.” The webform covers content that may violate OpenAI’s Terms of Use or applicable laws. OpenAI says its Model Quality team may review reported domains and may apply filters to help prevent ChatGPT relying on unreliable sources. | OpenAI, “Reporting Content in ChatGPT and OpenAI Platforms” (shows “Updated: last month,” no absolute date) |
| Google AI Overviews | Thumbs down at the bottom of the overview, then Report a problem. The three-dot menu also works. | Google says to use thumbs down if an overview is “unhelpful, inaccurate, biased, or otherwise problematic.” The feedback includes your most recent search query and its results. | Google Search Help, AI Overviews (no date) |
| Google AI Mode | Thumbs up or down under the response, then Share more feedback and Submit. | Google says the feedback it receives includes your most recent search query and its search results. | Google Search Help, AI Mode (no date) |
| Gemini | Thumbs down on a response. Settings & help, then Send feedback. Under More, Report legal issue. | Google says the conversation, including your prompts and Gemini’s responses, is added to your feedback. | Gemini Apps Help, “Send feedback or report a problem with Gemini Apps” (no date) |
| Perplexity | The flag icon below the answer, or create a ticket through Perplexity’s support window. | Perplexity asks for the URL of the query and a description of the error and the expected result. | Perplexity Help Center, “How can I report incorrect or inaccurate answers?” (no date) |
Write the report as a plain statement of fact. Name the wrong detail, give the correct one, and point to a page that shows it.
My reading of the OpenAI pages is that a wrong opening time belongs in the thumbs-down route. A false statement that harms your business may fit the content reporting webform better, and whether it is a legal matter is a question for a lawyer.
Reporting does not guarantee a correction. Google says feedback “helps us improve AI Overviews for everyone,” which is not a promise to change your answer. No page I read gives a response time.
How do I stop the wrong information from coming back?
Check for outdated copies of your details on other sites. Search for your business details and look for old listings, an old domain or an out-of-date press page. Keep the details identical on your site, your Business Profile and each directory.
Then repeat the same prompts every month. eMarketer reported on April 2, 2026 that between 40% and 60% of cited sources change month to month in Google’s AI Mode and ChatGPT, so a correct answer this month can turn wrong next month when a different source gets cited.
Our guide on how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews covers the broader work of being cited at all.
When does it make sense to hire help?
If one field on one profile is wrong, fix it yourself. The work grows when the same wrong fact sits on many directory pages, or a cited page belongs to someone who will not answer your email.
I’m Donnie Strompf, and I’ve done SEO since 2008. Our AEO services cost $950 to $2,000 a month alongside SEO, and Business Profile management is $450 to $650 a month. The pricing page lists every service, reviewed October 2026. Our guide to how much AEO costs sets out the ranges. For background on how search work pays off over time, see our guide to what to expect from SEO.
Nobody can guarantee a corrected answer on a given date.
FAQ
Does one thumbs-down report fix the answer for everyone?
No page I read says it does. Vendors describe feedback as input for improvement or review. OpenAI says reported domains may be reviewed and filters may follow. Fix the source pages as well, because those are what the tool reads the next time someone asks the question.
How long until a corrected fact shows up?
No vendor gives a date. Google’s recrawl page says crawling takes a few days to a few weeks and does not guarantee inclusion, and its Business Profile page gives no review time. After you fix a source, repeat the same prompt each week for a month and write down what changes.
Can I ask OpenAI to correct information about me as a person?
OpenAI has a Privacy Portal at privacy.openai.com for requests to remove personal data from ChatGPT responses. Its page says you should explain why information is incorrect and provide reliable evidence, that OpenAI cannot independently investigate disputed facts, and that removal from ChatGPT does not remove content from external sites (OpenAI Help Center, personal data removal, shows “Updated: 2 months ago”).
What if the wrong fact comes from a site I do not own?
Send that site’s owner the correct fact and a link to proof. Once the page is updated, Google’s Refresh outdated content form can address old text still showing in results. Meanwhile, state the correct fact clearly on your own pages and profiles so the tools have a better source to cite.
Which engine should I report to first?
Report to the engine where you saw the error, and repeat the report in each other engine that shows it. Each vendor’s channel is separate. Start with ChatGPT and Google if you serve a local market, since BrightLocal’s study covered AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT.
Related reading
- Does AI Make Mistakes in Digital Marketing? A Channel-by-Channel Reality Check
- What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
- How AI search engines choose their sources, compared
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