Entity resolution

Entity resolution is the process by which a search or AI system decides that several mentions — a brand name, a legal name, a romanised spelling, a social handle — all refer to the same organisation. Where those mentions do not resolve to one identity, the evidence for the brand is split across several, and each carries less of it.

A model naming a brand is making an assertion about an entity. If it cannot confidently determine that the entity exists and which one it is, silence is the low-risk answer.

Unresolved · five identities

  • Seolwha
  • SEOLWHA Co., Ltd.
  • 설화
  • Sulhwa
  • @seolwha_official

Evidence divided five ways. Each one looks thin.

Resolved · one identity

  • Seolwha+ 4 known variants

The same evidence, pooled behind one name.

Names are placeholders. What resolution changes is not how much is written about a brand — it is how much of it counts as being about the same brand. Consistent naming, one canonical page and matching structured data are how the resolved state is reached.

Cross-border brands have more ways to break entity resolution than domestic ones, and they are predictable: a Korean or Japanese brand name romanised inconsistently, a legal entity name in the footer that shares nothing with the brand name, a marketplace seller name that differs from both, and social profiles under a fourth variant.

The fix is unglamorous and effective. Choose one canonical brand string. Use it byte-identical on the site, in Organization structured data, on every social profile, on marketplace storefronts, and in every guest post and press mention you can influence. Link the profiles together with sameAs.

Related: structured data.

Find out what AI says about your brand.

Send us your brand and category. We run 20 buyer questions across five engines by hand and send you the transcript within 48 hours.

What arrives
20 questions, 5 engines, every answer quoted in full
Who sends it
Snow Lee, by hand, from Seoul
Your email
Used to send the report and reply about it. Privacy.
Free report · your named rateillustrative
Buyer questionEngineNamed
best Korean sunscreen for oily skinChatGPTnot named
K-beauty sunscreen that does not pillClaudenamed
Korean skincare brands sold at UltaAI Overviewsnot named
…17 more questions, with the verbatim answer and every source cited
Three rows from what the free report looks like. Yours is built from your own category and market.