When AI repeats outdated information about your company, the cause is usually an old page that an engine can still read, so the fix is to find that page, update or redirect it and publish a dated, accurate source. Then report the error through the engine's feedback channel and check the answer monthly. Engines change how they pick sources, so results take time and are never guaranteed.
By Ronn Torossian. Last updated: November 6, 2026. Citation-behavior points are attributed to Muck Rack, Pew Research Center and FixAEO. The five-step plan is my own judgment, and no step guarantees a change.
Why does AI repeat outdated information?
AI engines repeat outdated information because they summarize pages they can retrieve, and old pages stay retrievable long after the facts change. A former headquarters, an old product name or a past leadership team can all live on in directories, news archives and forgotten company pages.
Engine behavior also shifts over time. Muck Rack's December 2025 report warns that citation behavior changes as models are updated, so a source that is ignored one month can be used the next. FixAEO's summary of Semrush tracking reported steep swings in how often Reddit was cited by ChatGPT within a few weeks in 2025. A wrong answer today may disappear or reappear without any action by the company.
Why does a wrong AI answer matter so much?
A wrong AI answer matters because many readers stop at the summary. Pew Research Center analyzed March 2025 browsing data from 900 U.S. adults and found that users clicked a traditional search result in 8% of visits when a Google AI summary appeared, against 15% of visits without one. Only 1% of visits with a summary led to a click on a link inside the summary.
Those figures describe Google's summaries, not every engine, but they show the pattern. When the summary is wrong, the reader may never open the corrected page. The correction has to reach the source the summary draws on.
Which pages keep old facts alive?
Old facts usually survive on a short list of page types, and most can be found in an afternoon. The table lists them with who can change each one. It is editorial judgment and not a study.
| Page type | Example of old fact | Who can fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Your own old pages | A retired product page or a former leadership page | Your web team |
| Old press releases | A release naming a past headquarters or officer | Your communications team, by adding a dated note |
| Business directories | A listing with a former address or phone number | The directory, on your request |
| News archives | A story about a past executive | The publisher, for factual errors only |
| Partner and vendor sites | A customer page that names a retired product | The partner, on your request |
| Social and profile pages | A bio with a former title | You or the profile owner |
How do you find the source of an outdated answer?
You find the source by asking the engine where the answer came from, then searching for the exact wording on the open web. Many engines show links. Where they do not, search distinctive phrases from the answer, and check the pages that appear.
- Record the question, the answer, the engine and the date.
- Open any cited links, and note their publication dates.
- Search the exact wording of the outdated claim.
- List every page that repeats it, starting with pages you own.
Run the question twice before you record the answer. Muck Rack notes that asking the same question again can produce a different set of citations, according to Unite.AI, so one run can miss the page that carries the old fact.
What are the five steps to correct it?
The five steps are to update owned pages, fix redirects, ask third parties, publish a dated fact page and report the error. The table lists each step and who owns it.
| Step | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Update owned pages | Correct the facts, and show a last-updated date | Communications |
| 2. Fix old URLs | Redirect retired pages to the current one with a permanent redirect | Web team |
| 3. Ask third parties | Request corrections from directories, partners and publishers | Communications |
| 4. Publish a fact page | One clear page with current name, leaders, location and key dates | Communications |
| 5. Report the error | Use the engine's feedback form, citing the corrected pages | Communications |
Illustrative example: if an engine says a company is still led by a former CEO, update the leadership page, redirect the old team page, ask the main trade directory to change its entry and publish a dated "About" page that names the current team.
What does a good fact page contain?
A good fact page states the current facts in short sentences with a visible date. It gives an engine one clean page to read when pages disagree. The example below is a hypothetical for a fictional company.
"Northwind Foods is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and has been since March 2026. Maria Lopez has been chief executive since January 2026. Northwind Foods sells packaged soups and sauces. Last updated: November 6, 2026." The page names the company, the place, the person, the product and the date, so a retrieved sentence carries its own context.
Add the same facts to the About page, the leadership page and the newsroom page, and keep the wording identical. Conflicting wording across owned pages is a common reason an engine picks the old version.
How do you check whether the fix worked?
You check by repeating the same questions in the same engines each month and logging the answers. Keep the screenshots with dates, so a change can be traced to an action. The CEO AI reputation audit describes the routine, and the AI brand monitoring guide and the Citation Share definition describe how to track change over time.
Expect weeks or months, not days. If an answer stays wrong after several months, repeat the search for pages that still carry the old claim, because a single forgotten page can keep it alive.
How long should you wait before escalating?
Wait about a month between checks and escalate after a few checks that show no change. This schedule is editorial judgment, because no source gives a fixed refresh time.
- Week one: fix owned pages, add redirects and send third-party requests.
- Week five: repeat the questions twice in each engine and compare with the baseline.
- Week nine: repeat again, and search for any page that still carries the old fact.
- After three checks without change: send a second round of requests, name the page in each engine's feedback form and consult counsel if the claim is false and damaging.
How is this different from a false or invented claim?
An outdated claim was once true, while a false claim never was, and the second needs more care. For invented claims about a person or company, the ChatGPT wrong CEO biography guide and the guide to AI hallucinations and reputation explain the legal limits and the response plan. The generative engine optimization guide explains how engines choose sources.
Frequently asked questions
Why does ChatGPT give old information about my company?
It summarizes pages it can read, and old pages stay readable. Fix or redirect the old pages and publish a current, dated source.
How long does it take for AI to update?
There is no fixed time. Engines update sources at different speeds, so expect weeks or months and check monthly.
Can a company force an AI engine to correct itself?
No. A company can fix sources and use feedback channels, but answers can still vary between queries.
Should I ask a news site to delete an old article?
No, ask only for correction of factual errors. An old article that was accurate when published is a record, and the fix is a newer dated page that states the current facts.
Does a redirect remove the old page from AI answers?
Not by itself. A redirect points readers and crawlers to the current page, but copies of the old facts on other sites can still be read, so repeat the source search after redirecting.
Run the five questions in your top three engines today, and trace the first outdated answer to its source page. That one page is where to start.