How to Claim a Google Knowledge Panel: Step-by-Step With Real Screenshots

You’ve done the hard work. You’ve built your personal brand site, claimed your social profiles, and started generating real mentions. Now there’s a Knowledge Panel floating in Google’s system with your name on it — but you don’t own it yet.

Claiming your Google Knowledge Panel is how you take control. It’s how you go from “Google knows I exist” to “I manage how Google presents me to the world.” And unlike social media verification, which anyone can buy for a few dollars a month, this is earned through real proof.

If you don’t have a Knowledge Panel yet, start with our 7-step guide to triggering one. This article is for people who already have a panel (or one hiding in the API) and are ready to claim it.

Before You Claim: The One-Page Checklist

Before you click anything, assemble your materials. This reduces rejection risk and gives you an audit trail. Here’s what you need ready (from our book, How to Get a Google Knowledge Panel):

• Google (Gmail) account — the one you’ll manage the panel from
• Panel link + your KGMID — find this using our Knowledge Graph Explorer
• Government-issued ID + a clear selfie holding it — passport works best (Google prefers it)
• Your official website URL (Entity Home)
• Social profile URLs — LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok (ideally 5+)
• Logged-in screenshots of each social account — homepage shots don’t count, you must show you’re logged in as admin
• A written explanation of why you’re claiming the panel — this is where most people get rejected

Save everything in a Google Drive folder labeled with the submission date. Google does NOT provide a copy of your request. If you get rejected, you’ll need to know exactly what you submitted.

Step 1: Find Your Panel and Copy the KGMID

Go to our Knowledge Graph Explorer and search your name. This taps into Google’s Cloud Enterprise Knowledge Graph API and shows your Knowledge Graph Machine ID (KGMID) and confidence score.

When Scott Shagory searched his name, his confidence score was 24. That meant Google kinda knew who he was but wasn’t confident enough to display the panel publicly. Even so, the panel existed in the API — and that’s all you need to start the claim process.

Sometimes you’ll find more than one KGMID associated with your name, each with a different confidence score. That means Google has created duplicate entities for you. (If that happens, see our guide to merging Knowledge Panels.)

Copy your panel link and KGMID. Save both.

Step 2: Click “Claim This Knowledge Panel”

Search your name on Google. Find the three dots in the top-right of your Knowledge Panel and click “Claim this knowledge panel.” Then click “GET VERIFIED.”

Google will ask you to sign in with your Google account. Select “Search Console” as your verification method, then choose the account that has access to your website’s Google Search Console property.

Step 3: Write a Killer Explanation (Don’t Skip This)

This is where most people self-disqualify. The “Tell us why you’re claiming this panel” box is not a formality — it’s your pitch to a Google reviewer.

What gets rejected: “I want to claim this panel because it’s mine.”

What gets approved: A detailed explanation that includes who you are, what the panel contains, your affiliations, and why verification matters. Dennis Yu’s trick: use ChatGPT with a custom prompt that explains who the person is, what their panel includes, and why it should be verified. Include affiliations, academy memberships, certifications, podcast appearances, and published work.

That’s exactly what Dennis did during Scott Shagory’s live claiming session. Scott had affiliations with Steve Sims, a Hapkido certification, podcast appearances, and an academy — all of which went into the explanation. The panel was claimed and verified within 1-2 days.

Step 4: Upload Your ID and Proof of Ownership

For yourself:

• Your name, organization, or entity name
• Your full legal name as shown on government-issued ID
• Your country and language
• A clear selfie holding your government ID (passport preferred — JPEG format, not HEIC)
• Web profiles: your website URL and social media links
• Screenshots proving you’re logged into each social account as admin

For another entity (if you’re claiming on someone’s behalf):

• Proof that you represent the entity in an official capacity
• A business document explaining your relationship
• The entity’s website and social profile URLs (not yours)

Critical: Screenshots must show you’re logged in. A homepage screenshot of your LinkedIn doesn’t prove anything. You need the admin view, the dashboard, the logged-in state.

Step 5: Submit and Wait

Upload everything, agree to the terms, and hit submit. Google usually responds within 1-3 days. Scott Shagory’s panel was successfully claimed and verified within two days.

Real Case Studies: What Claiming Looks Like in Practice

Scott Shagory — Claimed in 2 Days

Scott is a professional speaker, author, business strategist, and branding expert. Despite growing his brand across platforms and appearing on podcasts, he didn’t have that central piece of credibility on Google. Dennis walked him through the process live during a Power Hour session — even while about to fly from Italy to Austin. Scott came prepared, and the claim went through cleanly on the first try.

Parisa Rose — 14 People With the Same Name

When Dennis searched “Parisa Rose” live during a session with her and Michael Silvers, Google returned results for at least 14 different people with the same name. Only one or two matched the real Parisa. Using the Knowledge Graph Explorer, Dennis located her unique entity ID (KGMID) — the anchor Google uses to connect all the right information to the right person. The key was tying consistent, verifiable data back to that specific ID.

Darby Rollins — Had the Panel, Never Claimed It

Darby had published books, hosted podcasts, and interviewed experts — but never claimed his panel. That’s like having a driver’s license you’ve never activated. Once Dennis pointed this out during the Gen AI University Podcast, Darby claimed his panel and it’s now fully verified. See more Knowledge Panel examples here.

What If You Get Rejected?

Rejections happen. The most common reasons:

• Weak explanation — Google wants verifiable facts, not opinions. Say “I spoke at Social Media Marketing World 2024” with a link, not “I’m a leading expert.”
• Blurry ID photo — Make sure text is legible. Use JPEG, not HEIC.
• Missing proof of ownership — You need logged-in screenshots, not homepage shots.
• Inconsistent identity — If your name, title, or photo varies across platforms, fix it first.
• No citations backing claims — Every statement in your explanation should link to a verifiable source.

If rejected, review what you submitted (this is why you saved everything), fix the gaps, and resubmit with stronger supporting material.

After Claiming: What Happens Next

Claiming is just step one. Once verified, you can “Suggest edits” to update descriptions, images, social links, and other details. But the real work is raising your confidence score so the panel shows up consistently and completely.

• Raise your confidence score — Learn the technical signals that strengthen your panel
• Browse real examples — See before-and-after case studies from other clients
• Understand entity SEO — Learn why entities matter for both Google and AI rankings

Want It Done For You?

If you’d rather have an expert handle the entire process — from building your personal brand site to triggering your panel to managing the claim — we offer a full Done-For-You Knowledge Panel Service. Our team builds your site, triggers your Knowledge Panel, and handles all the technical work for you.

Get started with our Done-For-You package here.

Download the Skill File

This article has a companion Claude skill file that automates the process described above. Download it below, rename from .zip to .skill, and install it in Claude to get step-by-step guidance.