Google's AI Overview Is Wrong About Me: How to Fix It

If Google's AI Overview says something wrong about you, start with the links it shows. An AI Overview is a generated summary that draws on web pages Google can find for that search. A lasting fix often starts at the source: correct the page that's wrong, report the overview through Google's feedback tool, and strengthen accurate pages so they have a better chance of being surfaced.

It's unsettling to search your own name and see a confident paragraph at the top of the page that gets your job, your history, or your identity wrong. But an AI Overview is not a permanent verdict. It can reflect information found on the web—and the web can change. A summary can also misinterpret or blend that information.

What an AI Overview actually is

Google describes AI Overviews as an AI-generated snapshot with key information and links to dig deeper. They appear when Google's systems determine generative AI would be especially helpful, so they don't show up for every search.

Two points from Google's own documentation matter most here:

• Google acknowledges mistakes happen. Its help page states that AI Overviews “can and will make mistakes,” and encourages people to check important information in more than one place.
• Supporting links come from the regular index. According to Google Search Central, to be shown as a supporting link in AI Overviews, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet. There's no special markup or separate submission.

In practice, source accuracy matters. If your name is attached to an outdated bio, someone else's news story, or a thin directory listing, the summary may repeat or blend that material. For a deeper look at how AI systems form a picture of a person, see how ChatGPT decides what to say about you—many of the same principles apply.

Step 1: Record exactly what it says

Before you do anything, document the problem:

1. Note the exact search you used (for example, your full name plus city or profession).
2. Copy the overview text and take a private screenshot with the date.
3. Identify the specific sentence that's wrong. Separate factual errors from information that's accurate but unwelcome.
4. Write down the correct fact and where it can be verified.

Results can vary by search wording, location, and device, and AI Overviews may not appear every time. Try a few natural variations of your name search and record each one.

Step 2: Find the sources it's citing

AI Overviews display links to supporting pages alongside or within the summary. Depending on your device and layout, you may need to select Show more to see the full overview and all of its links.

Open every cited page and ask:

• Does this page actually say the wrong thing? Sometimes it does.
• Is it about you at all? Name confusion is common, especially with shared names.
• Is it outdated? An old employer, title, or city can linger for years.
• Does it support the claim? Occasionally the summary says something the source doesn't.

Each answer points to a different fix.

Step 3: Report the AI Overview to Google

Google provides a feedback option on each AI Overview. According to Google's help page:

1. At the bottom of the overview, select the thumbs down icon if it's inaccurate or problematic.
2. Select Report a problem and choose the category that best describes the issue.
3. Add details in the text field (Google recommends this), then select Submit.

You can also reach feedback through the three-dot menu at the top right of the overview. Google notes that the feedback you submit includes your most recent search query and its results.

Be specific and calm: state what's wrong and what's correct. Google describes feedback as helping it improve AI Overviews; it doesn't promise a specific change to a specific answer, so treat this as one step, not the whole fix.

Step 4: Fix the sources you control

If the error comes from a page you own or can edit—your website bio, LinkedIn, a professional profile—update it first. Keep your name, current role, location, and other key details consistent across profiles. Don't add claims you can't support.

Once your page is updated, Google needs to recrawl it. Google's documentation says crawling can take anywhere from several days to several months, depending on how often its systems revisit a page. If you've verified your site in Google Search Console, you can request recrawling.

Step 5: Address sources you don't control

For third-party pages:

• Ask for a correction. Many publishers and directories have a correction or contact process. Send a short, factual request with evidence.
• Refresh outdated content. If a page has already been changed or removed but Google still shows the old version, Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool can ask Google to update its result. It only works when the content is actually gone or significantly changed on the live page.
• Personal contact information. If a page shows your phone number, home address, or email, Google's Results about you tool lets you request removal of those results under its policies. Google notes that it generally won't remove such results from pages it considers valuable to the public, such as government, educational, or news sites. A contact-information listing alone is not evidence of a negative reputation.

Step 6: Build accurate pages that outrank the problem

Sometimes a source won't change. That's where reputation work comes in. If accurate, well-maintained pages about you rank strongly for your name, they're more likely to be among the pages Google surfaces—though no one can guarantee what an AI summary will say or which page will rank above another.

Strong foundations usually include:

• A personal website with a clear, factual biography
• A complete, current LinkedIn profile
• Professional or industry profiles that match each other
• Substantive articles or videos under your name

If you're a professional, profession-specific details matter too. Our article on Google AI Overviews for attorneys covers that angle, and the broader strategy is in our guide to suppressing negative search results.

How long does it take?

There's no fixed timeline, and anyone who promises one is guessing. Several things move at different speeds:

• Your own edits may take days to months to be recrawled.
• Third-party corrections depend on the publisher's responsiveness.
• Ranking changes for new content often take months. See how long online reputation suppression takes for realistic expectations.
• The overview itself can change from search to search, so check periodically rather than once.

Keep a simple log of what you changed and when, and recheck the same searches every few weeks.

See what AI says about you

The hardest part is often knowing what's out there. Mirror.fyi's Free Reputation Snapshot checks one search term across Google—including its AI Overview when available—plus Bing & Yahoo, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, then gives you a reputation grade and one recommended first action.

The full Mirror.fyi platform—$99 to start, then $99 per month, with no setup fee—provides a Full Reputation Report, a monthly step-by-step strategy, content writing tools, and ongoing tracking. You publish everything on accounts you own. See how Mirror.fyi works.