AI Giving Out the Wrong Contact Details? How to Fix Them

When an AI assistant gives the wrong phone number, email or address for your business, it is usually repeating an outdated or conflicting source somewhere on the web. You cannot edit the AI’s answer directly, but you can fix the sources it relies on. Once those sources agree, assistants that search the web tend to pick up the correct details, and models relying on older data catch up over time.

Why This Happens

• You moved, changed numbers or switched email domains, and old listings remain.
• A directory scraped your details years ago and never updated them.
• A similarly named business is being mixed up with yours.
• Your own website shows different details on different pages, such as an old footer.
• The assistant is using training data collected before your change.

Step 1: Record Exactly What the AI Says

Ask several assistants: “What is the phone number for [business name] in [city]?” and “What is the address of [business name]?” Save the answers with the date. If Perplexity or ChatGPT’s search shows source links, note them; they point straight at the problem pages.

Step 2: Fix Your Own Website First

Search your site for the old number and address. Check the footer, contact page, About page, PDF brochures and any location pages. Add or update structured data (LocalBusiness or Organization) so the correct name, address and phone are machine-readable. Make sure the contact page is indexable and not blocked by robots.txt.

Step 3: Update the Main Listings

Update the profiles most likely to be read by AI tools and search engines:

1. Google Business Profile, which feeds Google Search and Maps.
2. Bing Places, which matters because Copilot uses Bing.
3. Apple Business Connect, used by Apple Maps.
4. Major industry directories, for example legal, medical, trade or software review sites.
5. Social profiles: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.

Step 4: Hunt Down Old Copies

Search the web for your old phone number in quotation marks. Every result is a page still spreading it. Ask site owners to update, use directory “claim this listing” options, or request removal of duplicate listings. Keep a spreadsheet with the URL, the date you asked and the outcome.

Step 5: Publish the Change Clearly

If you moved or rebranded, publish a short news post on your site stating the new details and the date of the change. Local press or trade publications may cover a move or new office. A clear, dated public statement helps both people and assistants understand which details are current.

Step 6: Use Feedback Tools

Most assistants let users flag a bad answer with a thumbs-down or feedback option. It is worth using, but treat it as a minor step. Fixing the sources is what lasts.

What If It Is a Mix-Up With Another Business?

Make your distinguishing details explicit: full legal name, city, founding year and what you do. A sentence like “Smith Plumbing Ltd, a plumbing company in Cardiff since 2009, not affiliated with Smith Plumbing in Bristol” on your About page can help reduce confusion.

How Long It Takes

Assistants that browse the web may show corrected details within weeks of the sources being fixed. Answers based on older training data can take longer. Re-check monthly. For other kinds of errors, such as prices or services, see correcting wrong AI information and fixing inaccurate hours and locations.

How Keboost Helps

Keboost tracks what AI assistants say about your business over time, so you can see when wrong details appear and when fixes take hold. It also helps create and distribute accurate content about your business. Run a free AI visibility check to see what assistants say today.