What the registry actually holds
Registry records
Not every file is a local shop. Search the registry by name. Do not assume Type A means “everyone here.”
The short version
Who AI Verified is for explains why different business models may want one identity. This page explains what record and file types exist in the registry.
Records can be local businesses, online businesses, brands, creators, professionals, software companies, franchises, nonprofits, and other supported identities. A Google Business Profile, a city, or a physical storefront can be evidence. None of those is required for every record.
Type A is a classification for some local public records. It is not the door every identity must pass. What Type A is.
Company and locations
A group with many Google Business Profiles gets one parent file for the operating company and one file per public location. Example: a Tempe office plus branch listings in nearby cities.
We do not clone the same company onto every suburb page. The location file points up to the parent. Gold on the parent is not a free Gold stamp on every branch. A business with no map listing does not need a location file.
Shops that are not on a street corner
Shopify / own-site shop. The file hangs off the live store URL, not a walk-in address.
Marketplace seller. Amazon, Etsy, and similar — public seller page plus the brand site when there is one.
National or software firm. Headquarters or public site is enough. They are not forced into a “near me” roofing hub.
Nonprofit or church. Same idea: a real public identity, not a maps scrape of every hall.
Brand, publication, person
Brand. A product or service mark with its own site — not the LLC and not the founder’s name.
Publication. A live news or magazine site. Badge says Publication. It does not wear Gold.
Person. A named human with a personal site. Badge says Person. It must not open the company Gold file.
A creator, a professional, or an independent representative can be the business identity itself. That is not automatically a Person add-on, and it is not a second company.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold
Bronze is a free public business identity. It is not only a local snapshot. An existing record can be reviewed and claimed. If no record exists, an eligible business can apply. An application is reviewed before a new record is published. Some Bronze records are assembled from publicly available business information.
Silver is free. It is the website connection, recorded after the supported website-control check. Silver is not Gold.
Gold is $297/year. It is the fuller owner-managed identity, with supporting sources the owner adds. Gold does not mean the owner proved control of the domain, and it is not the website check.
A publication, a personal site, or an extra brand URL can be its own file after a company has Gold. Those add-ons are not required before a creator, a trading name, or an independent representative can have a business identity. What the seals mean.
What this is not
Not a scrape of every Google pin. Not a paid “top 10.” Not a promise ChatGPT will name you first. A record is published only when it meets the bar for that kind of identity.
Create or claim my business identity How it works Open the registry