Identity and Entity Signals — The 48 Signals Explained
What Are Identity and Entity Signals?
Identity and Entity signals are the 48 atomic data points that establish who a business is in the AI knowledge graph. They answer the most fundamental question an AI system asks before it considers recommending a business: Does this entity exist, and can I reliably identify it?
These 48 signals are the prerequisite category. AI systems cannot process Trust and Proof signals or Intent and Governance signals for a business whose identity they cannot confirm. A fragmented or inconsistent entity identity means that trust signals from external sources cannot be attributed to the correct knowledge graph node — they float without attachment, contributing nothing to the business's authority score.
Every other signal category depends on Identity and Entity being correctly deployed first. Without a correctly modelled entity, the entire signal architecture is built on sand.
The Six Identity and Entity Signal Groups
The 48 signals are organised into six functional groups. Each group addresses a distinct dimension of entity identity.
Group 1 — Name and Designation
8 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.legal-name | Full legal registered name of the business entity — must match company registry exactly | High | ai.json |
| entity.trading-name | Commercial or brand name used in market-facing contexts | High | ai.json |
| entity.name-variants | All known abbreviations, acronyms, and alternate spellings | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.previous-names | Former legal or trading names with date ranges | Low | entities.json |
| entity.name-language-variants | Official name in all operating languages | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.tagline | Canonical value proposition statement | Low | ai.json |
| entity.acronym | Officially used acronym if applicable | Low | entities.json |
| entity.brand-name | Primary brand identifier separate from legal name | Medium | ai.json |
Group 2 — Classification
7 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.category | Primary business category — the type of business e.g. Accounting Firm, IT Consultancy | High | ai.json |
| entity.subcategory | Specific subcategory within the primary category | High | ai.json |
| entity.nace-code | NACE Rev. 2 sector classification code — EU standard | High | ai.json |
| entity.sic-code | SIC sector code — for non-EU markets | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.type | Entity type — Corporation, Partnership, Sole Trader, etc. | Medium | ai.json |
| entity.status | Current operational status — Active, Dormant, Dissolved | High | ai.json |
| entity.sector | Broad sector classification — Finance, Technology, Healthcare, etc. | Medium | ai.json |
Group 3 — Legal Identity
6 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.registration-number | Company registration number from national registry | High | ai.json |
| entity.vat-number | VAT / tax identification number | High | ai.json |
| entity.lei-code | Legal Entity Identifier — for financial sector entities | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.duns-number | Dun and Bradstreet identifier | Low | entities.json |
| entity.founding-date | Date of legal entity formation — must be consistent across all sources | High | ai.json |
| entity.jurisdiction | Legal jurisdiction of incorporation | Medium | ai.json |
Group 4 — Location and Geography
9 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.headquarters | Primary business address — city, country, postcode | High | ai.json |
| entity.registered-address | Official registered address if different from headquarters | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.operating-locations | All office and facility locations with addresses | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.service-geography | Geographic area served — countries, regions, cities | High | ai.json |
| entity.country-coverage | Explicit list of countries where services are offered | High | intents.json |
| entity.language-coverage | All operating languages for service delivery | High | ai.json |
| entity.timezone | Primary operating timezone | Low | entities.json |
| entity.currency | Primary currency for transactions | Low | entities.json |
| entity.market-segment | Primary market segment — Local, Regional, National, EU, Global | Medium | ai.json |
Group 5 — Digital Presence
10 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.canonical-url | Single authoritative URL for the business — must be consistent everywhere | High | ai.json |
| entity.linkedin-url | LinkedIn company page URL | High | entities.json |
| entity.crunchbase-url | Crunchbase organisation profile URL | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.x-url | X / Twitter profile URL | Low | entities.json |
| entity.github-url | GitHub organisation URL — relevant for technology companies | Low | entities.json |
| entity.youtube-url | YouTube channel URL if content is published | Low | entities.json |
| entity.primary-contact | Primary contact method — email or phone | Medium | ai.json |
| entity.whatsapp | WhatsApp business contact number | Low | ai.json |
| entity.logo-url | URL to canonical logo file | Medium | ai.json |
| entity.primary-color | Brand primary colour — hex code | Low | entities.json |
Group 6 — Entity Relationships
8 signals| Signal | Description | Weight | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| entity.same-as | Array of all authoritative external profile URLs for cross-reference verification | High | entities.json |
| entity.parent-entity | Parent company or holding entity if applicable | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.subsidiaries | All subsidiary entities with canonical URLs | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.founder | Founding person entity with LinkedIn and professional profile | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.key-persons | All key team members as linked person entities | Medium | entities.json |
| entity.registry-url | Direct URL to company registry entry for this entity | High | entities.json |
| entity.wikidata-id | Wikidata entity ID if applicable — secondary signal only | Low | entities.json |
| entity.industry-body-id | Identifier in relevant professional or industry body registry | Medium | entities.json |
The Most Critical Identity Signals
Of the 48, these eight have the highest impact on AI knowledge graph entry quality and must be correct and consistent across all sources:
- entity.legal-name — must match the national company registry exactly
- entity.category — determines which buyer queries the business appears for
- entity.nace-code — enables sector-specific AI query matching
- entity.canonical-url — the single authoritative URL — must be identical in every file
- entity.founding-date — must be consistent across website, LinkedIn, registry
- entity.same-as — enables cross-source verification by AI systems
- entity.registration-number — enables registry verification
- entity.status — Active status must be declared — absence is interpreted as uncertainty
The sameAs Chain — How AI Verifies Entity Consistency
The sameAs property is how AI systems verify that the business entity they found on your website is the same entity referenced in LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and the company registry. If the sameAs chain is broken — dead links, mismatched names, or missing references — AI confidence in the entity drops. Every sameAs URL in entities.json must be validated and active before deployment. See: What Is AEO? →
Where Identity Signals Are Deployed
Identity and Entity signals are deployed across four locations, each serving a different AI system access pattern:
- ai.json at domain root — primary machine-readable entity definition. Read by all AI systems on first crawl.
- entities.json at domain root — complete entity graph with all relationships.
- Organization JSON-LD in homepage head — Schema.org structured data for search engine and AI crawler consumption.
- entity-graph.public.jsonld at domain root — linked data format for knowledge graph integration.
All four locations are deployed and served by EDGE INJECTOR™ from the Cloudflare network edge — ensuring sub-10ms response to any AI crawler globally, regardless of origin server state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Identity and Entity signals?
Identity and Entity signals are the 48 atomic data points that establish who a business is in the AI knowledge graph — legal name, category, location, founding date, legal identifiers, and sameAs references to authoritative external profiles.
Why are Entity signals the prerequisite category?
AI systems cannot process Trust or Intent signals for a business they cannot identify. Without a correctly modelled entity identity, the business's knowledge graph entry is fragmented — Trust and Intent signals cannot be attributed to the correct entity node.
What is sameAs in entity signals?
sameAs is a Schema.org property that links a business entity to its external representations — LinkedIn company page, Crunchbase profile, national company registry URL, and sector directories. It allows AI systems to confirm entity consistency across independent sources.
Which file contains the Identity and Entity signals?
The primary file is ai.json — deployed at the domain root. The complete entity graph is published in entities.json and entity-graph.public.jsonld. Schema.org Organization markup in the page head is also a key delivery mechanism.
How many of the 48 signals does the average B2B website have?
Based on AI AUDIT™ assessments, the average B2B website has between 8 and 16 of the 48 signals correctly deployed. Most have a name and URL, but lack NACE code, sameAs references, legal identifiers, and machine-readable subsidiary or team entities.