Entity resolution is the unglamorous job underneath every clean answer. “Pines Roofing Miami” and “Pines Roofing Inc.” might be one truck. They might be cousins who stopped speaking in 2019. A person can call. Software has to pick a rule.
Signals that join records
A website the owner still controls. A map place that matches the site. A government number on a Gold file. A stable public URL other pages can cite. Phone and address that did not drift.
Signals that only look like proof
A logo in a directory you paid to unlock. A wire story you bought. Five stars you cannot audit. A Wikidata item a volunteer can delete by Friday.
Why SMEs feel this first
Famous brands already have one page the world agreed on. A local firm has twelve half-pages. Resolution is how those half-pages become one company — or stay twelve rumors.
Related: disambiguation and named entity recognition.
Read why this exists. Check a name in the registry. Or start with a free check. Gold is $297 a year for a fuller identity. Paying does not itself verify the website.