AI visibility after a rebrand or a new domain

A rebrand or a move to a new domain resets a lot of what assistants know about you. Their training data still holds the old name, and their live searches may find old pages first. We went through this ourselves with a new domain, so this is written from experience as much as from client work.

Tell everyone the same story

Write one short, factual line about the change, such as "Northline, formerly Acme Logistics, rebranded in 2026", and use it on your About page, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Wikidata and directory profiles. That sentence helps assistants connect the old name with the new one.

Redirect properly

• Set up permanent (301) redirects from every old URL to its closest new page, not all to the homepage.
• Keep the old domain registered and redirecting for years.
• Use the change of address tool in Google Search Console and update the site in Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Submit the new sitemap to both, and switch on IndexNow.

Update the profiles that assistants read

Change your name and URL on every review site, directory and profile you control. Ask partners and customers who link to you to update their links when they next edit the page. Old mentions don't disappear, but new consistent ones gradually outweigh them.

Use structured data to connect the names

In your Organization structured data, list your current name as the name, and include the old name as an alternate name. Link to all your official profiles. This gives search engines and assistants an explicit link between the two.

Expect a gap, and track it

For a while, assistants may use the old name or describe the old business. Ask them directly each week what your company is called and what it does. Search-based answers usually catch up within weeks of the profiles changing. Built-in knowledge catches up with new model versions.

A rebrand checklist

• 301 redirects from every old URL to its closest new page.
• Change of address in Google Search Console, and Bing Webmaster Tools updated.
• New sitemap submitted, IndexNow on.
• One rebrand sentence on your About page and main profiles.
• Organization structured data with the old name as an alternate name.
• Every directory, review and social profile updated.
• Weekly check of how assistants describe you under both names.

Our AI visibility audit includes a check of how assistants describe you under both names.