Powered by KwikChexWhat is Business DNA? The complete guide to sourced business facts
By About This Business editorial team · Published · Updated
Short answer
Business DNA is a single, owner-approved record of the facts about a business: identity, story, people, locations and evidence. Every fact carries its own source, status and date. Each fact is either company-provided or authenticated by KwikChex, and no status ever means the business as a whole is authenticated or safe.
Key takeaways
- Business DNA is one record of a business's facts, where each fact has its own source, status and date.
- Facts are either company-provided or authenticated by KwikChex, and statuses apply to single facts, never the whole business.
- Gaps are labelled "Information pending". Absence of information is not evidence of a problem.
- Owners prepare, approve and publish their record, and there are no ratings, scores or badges.
What is Business DNA?
Business DNA is a structured record of the facts about one business, where every fact shows where it came from, how far it has been checked and when. It replaces the scattered, often contradictory versions of a business found across websites, directories and AI answers with one record the business stands behind.
A Business DNA record covers:
- Identity: trading name, legal name, company number and registered status.
- Story: origins, mission, what the business does and its milestones.
- People: the leadership team and their roles.
- Ground: where the business operates, shown at a general location level. Private home addresses are never published.
- Evidence: registration, insurance, licences, accreditations, professional memberships and customer protections.
- Sources: a source for each fact, with the date it was consulted.
The difference from an ordinary "About us" page is that each fact is its own record: a value plus a source, a status and a date.
Why does a business need one source of truth?
Because the web holds many versions of every business, and AI assistants blend them into a single confident answer. One site has an old address, another lists a director who left years ago, and a directory copied its description from somewhere else. A dated, sourced record gives people and assistants a version they can quote accurately.
What do the fact statuses mean?
Every fact carries one status, in plain words, and the status applies only to that fact.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Authenticated by KwikChex | KwikChex staff checked this individual fact against a named independent source. The last-authenticated date is shown. |
| Company-provided — unauthenticated | Provided by the business and not yet authenticated by KwikChex. |
| Awaiting KwikChex authentication | A claim exists but hasn't been through independent authentication yet. |
| Information pending | Not yet assessed. Absence of information is not evidence of a problem. |
| Not applicable | This category doesn't apply to this kind of business. |
| Expired | A record existed, but its stated validity date has passed. |
A profile might hold five authenticated facts and twenty company-provided ones. That's normal and honest. Nothing in a Business DNA record means the business as a whole is authenticated, approved or safe.
→ Read more: Company-provided vs authenticated: what each fact status means
What counts as evidence?
The strongest evidence comes from the body that issued the fact, not from the business's own marketing. Business DNA groups evidence into six categories: registration, insurance, licences, accreditations, professional memberships and customer protections. An accreditation logo on a website is a claim. The accrediting body's own public listing is evidence.
→ Read more: What counts as evidence for a business fact?
Why does every fact have a source and a date?
A source answers "says who?" and a date answers "since when?" Directors change, insurance renews and offices move. A fact with no source can't be checked, and a fact with no date can't tell you whether it's still current. Business DNA dates each fact individually, not just the page.
→ Read more: Why every business fact needs a source and an "as of" date
How should you read a missing fact?
"Information pending" means not yet assessed. It is never a negative finding. A profile without an insurance fact doesn't mean the business is uninsured. If a fact matters to your decision, ask the business. This rule matters most for AI assistants, which tend to turn "couldn't find it" into "doesn't have it".
→ Read more: "Information pending" isn't a red flag: how to read missing facts
How does a record get published and updated?
Owners prepare, approve and publish, and KwikChex authenticates individual facts. Nothing goes public until the owner publishes.
- The owner prepares a private draft, often starting from facts already on their website, reviewing each one before accepting it.
- The owner adds evidence links and proves they control the business's domain.
- The owner approves the wording. Approval isn't authentication.
- The owner publishes the record once the business subscribes and has confirmed domain control. Claims that need evidence show "Pending check" until staff check them.
- KwikChex staff authenticate individual facts where independent evidence allows. Later changes follow the same path and are dated.
→ Read more: How changes and corrections work in a Business DNA record and The owner's guide to building your Business DNA
Why does Business DNA matter for AI search?
AI assistants answer questions about businesses directly, and they do better with sources that are clear, consistent, dated and easy to quote. A Business DNA profile is written to be exactly that kind of source: each fact stands alone, with its status and date in the same sentence.
→ Read the companion guide: How AI assistants decide what to say about your business
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FAQ
Is Business DNA a rating or review score?
No. Business DNA has no ratings, scores or rankings. It records individual facts, each with its own source, status and date, so readers can judge for themselves what matters to them.
Does an authenticated fact mean the business is trustworthy?
No. A fact marked "Authenticated by KwikChex" means KwikChex staff checked that one fact against a named independent source on the date shown. It says nothing about the business as a whole, its service quality or its future conduct.
Who writes a Business DNA record?
The business owner prepares the record, often starting from facts already on their website, and approves the wording. KwikChex staff authenticate individual facts where evidence allows. Once the business subscribes and confirms domain control, the owner publishes the record.
Can AI assistants read Business DNA?
Yes. Each published profile is a public web page with structured data, and a public JSON record is available for each one. We don't claim that any search engine or AI system will index or cite it.
