What does Google, and ChatGPT, say about you?

Try this. Open a private browser window and search your own name, or your business name. Then ask ChatGPT, Gemini or another AI tool: “Who is [your name]?”

For a lot of people, the results are a shock. An old article sits at the top. A story that was later corrected still appears in its original form. An allegation that was withdrawn is easy to find, while the withdrawal is nowhere to be seen. And an AI tool confidently summarises you using whichever sources it happened to pick up.

This is now a huge part of reputation management, and it’s one of the areas we work on most.

Why the worst version of you is often the easiest to find

News coverage of an accusation is usually bigger, louder and more widely shared than coverage of what happened next. An arrest gets headlines. An acquittal months later might get a paragraph, if anything. A dramatic claim gets picked up by several outlets. The correction is quietly added to one of them.

Search engines and AI tools tend to favour content that’s widely linked, shared and published by established sites. So the original story often stays on top, even when it’s out of date or wrong.

AI has made this more complicated

When someone searched for you in the past, they at least saw a list of sources and could decide which to trust. Now, more and more people ask an AI tool and read a single confident answer.

Those answers are built from what’s available online. If the available information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, the answer may be too, and the reader often has no way of knowing. This is where generative engine optimisation, or GEO, comes in: looking at what information exists about you and which sources an AI tool is likely to draw on.

What can actually be done?

We can’t tell Google to rearrange its results, and nobody can control every AI answer. Anyone who promises that is overselling. But there’s usually a lot more that can be done than people expect.

Correcting the source. If an article contains a factual error, the publisher can be asked to correct it. For UK publications regulated by IPSO, the Editors’ Code sets clear standards on accuracy and correcting significant mistakes. A specific error, backed by evidence, is much more likely to be fixed than a general complaint.

Updating the story. If a case was dropped, an allegation withdrawn or you were cleared, publishers can be asked to add that outcome to the original article. That way anyone who finds it sees the full picture.

Using Google’s own tools. Once a page has been changed or removed, Google’s outdated content tool can help update what shows in search results. Google also has processes for removing certain personal information and for legal removal requests.

Data protection rights. In the UK and EU, people can sometimes ask search engines to delist results about them that are inaccurate, outdated or no longer relevant. This doesn’t apply in the same way in the US, and it doesn’t delete the original page, but it can make a real difference.

Making accurate information easier to find. Your own website, professional profiles, interviews and properly sourced coverage all help give search engines and AI tools something more accurate to work with.

What not to do

Please don’t pay someone who promises to “delete” negative coverage overnight. Be very wary of anyone suggesting fake reviews, fake articles or flooding the internet with low-quality content. These tactics can be spotted, can make things worse and can become a story of their own.

And don’t try to argue with the internet in the comments. It rarely ends well.

This takes time, but it works

Fixing your online reputation is rarely a quick job. It means working out exactly what’s wrong, where it’s coming from and what can realistically be changed. But we’ve seen how much difference it makes when the information people find about someone finally matches what actually happened.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a news article removed from Google?
Sometimes, but not always. It depends on whether the article is inaccurate, out of date, unlawful or covered by data protection rights. Often the more realistic route is correcting or updating it.

How do I change what ChatGPT says about me?
You can’t edit it directly. But AI answers draw on information available online, so correcting inaccurate sources and making accurate information easier to find can change what these tools say over time.

What is GEO?
Generative engine optimisation is the work of shaping the information AI tools draw on when they answer questions, so that what they say about you or your business is accurate.

Does the right to be forgotten apply in the US?
Not in the same way. It’s a UK and EU data protection right. In the US, other routes such as corrections, updates and improving accurate content are usually more important.

Need help?

If what people find about you online doesn’t reflect what actually happened, contact us with a brief outline. We’ll tell you honestly what can be done.