AI Verified is an open business identity registry that issues cryptographic SHA-256 passports for businesses. It enables AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI to verify business identity and recommend verified businesses with confidence, without relying on Wikipedia or opaque knowledge graphs.

How does AI Verified work?

AI Verified works in three steps: (1) You submit your business details — name, country, and website. (2) You add a one-line badge code to your website to confirm domain ownership. (3) Your business receives a SHA-256 cryptographic passport, a verified badge, a QR code, and a permanent machine-readable verification page that AI systems can read directly.

Yes. The Bronze tier is permanently free — no credit card required, no time limit. It includes your business in the AI Verified Registry, a verified badge, a QR code, and a machine-readable verification page. Paid tiers (Silver at $19/month, Gold at $99/month, Platinum at $299/month) add domain verification, directory placement, API access, and multi-entity management.

Why is AI Verified different from Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile stores your data in Google's walled garden — you cannot export it, it is not machine-readable by other AI systems, and it does not produce a portable cryptographic identity. AI Verified issues a portable SHA-256 passport that any AI system can read, anchored to your national government business registry. Your data is yours.

Which AI systems can read an AI Verified passport?

Any AI system that reads structured data from the web — including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude, Gemini, and AI agents built on these platforms. AI Verified passports are published as JSON-LD structured data, llms.txt files, and machine-readable verification pages that AI crawlers can access directly.

How long does it take to get AI Verified?

The Bronze tier takes approximately 5 minutes — fill in your business details, add the badge code to your website, and your passport is issued immediately. Domain verification for the Silver tier typically completes within 24 hours of adding the DNS TXT record or meta tag.

What countries does AI Verified support?

AI Verified supports businesses in 70+ countries, with direct government registry integration for the United Kingdom (Companies House), United States (state-level registries), South Africa (CIPC), Australia (ASIC), Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and others. Businesses in all other countries can register using the international tier.

What is a business AI passport?

A business AI passport is a cryptographic identity document for your business — a SHA-256 hash of your verified business details, anchored to your national government registry record. It gives AI systems a single, tamper-evident source of truth for your business identity: your name, address, registration number, website, and services, in a format AI can read directly.

AI Verified — Business Identity Registry

Perplexity AI has rolled out a significant update to its business citation algorithm in May 2026, with changes that directly affect how businesses appear — or fail to appear — in AI-generated search answers.

The update, which Perplexity has not formally announced but which has been observed across thousands of queries, appears to place significantly greater weight on structured identity records when deciding which businesses to cite in response to commercial queries.

What Changed

Prior to the update, Perplexity's citation algorithm weighted general web presence heavily — businesses with many mentions across news sites, directories, and review platforms tended to appear frequently in answers. The updated algorithm appears to apply a verification filter: businesses with cryptographically verifiable identity records, consistent JSON-LD schema markup, and government registry anchors are being cited more frequently and with greater confidence.

Businesses without these signals are increasingly being omitted from answers or cited with hedging language such as "according to its website" — a phrase that signals to users that the information has not been independently verified.

The Practical Impact

For businesses that have already registered with identity verification services such as AI Verified, the update is likely to be positive. For businesses that have not yet taken steps to establish a structured identity record, the update represents a meaningful reduction in AI visibility.

"This is the direction the entire AI search industry is moving," said one digital marketing analyst. "The question is no longer whether AI systems will require verified identity records — it is how quickly businesses need to act to avoid being left behind."

What Businesses Should Do

Businesses seeking to maintain or improve their visibility in Perplexity and other AI search systems should take three immediate steps: register with a recognised business identity registry, add Organisation JSON-LD schema to their website, and publish an llms.txt file at their domain root. These three actions create the structured identity signals that Perplexity's updated algorithm is now prioritising.

Perplexity's May 2026 Update Changes How It Cites Businesses — What You Need to Know

What Changed

The Practical Impact

What Businesses Should Do