Google lowers the follower threshold for Search profiles to 35,000

Google has cut the follower requirement for claiming a Google Search profile. Its help documentation now asks for 35,000 subscribers or followers on at least one of YouTube, Instagram or X, down from the 100,000 required when the feature launched in June 2026. TikTok now sits at 100,000, where Google’s stated figure at launch was 300,000. Robby Stein of Google said on X that the thresholds were being lowered so more creators and publishers could set profiles up, and that Google plans to expand them to more countries; Search Engine Roundtable reported both. Profiles are still US-only, and claimants must still be 18 or over.

The point of rechecking is not the profile page itself. Claiming one can create a knowledge panel for a creator who does not have a panel already, or enrich an existing one, which is the entity signal worth having. A bar that has fallen by roughly two thirds brings that within reach of a lot of independent publishers and consultants who were correctly told they were ineligible two months ago.

Before you start a new profile, check whether one already exists for you at profile.google.com. Google auto-generates unclaimed profiles for entities that already hold a knowledge panel, so the profile representing you may predate your interest in it, and claiming the existing one is a different job from creating a new one.

Sources

• Create a new Search profile — Google Search Help
• Google Lowers Subscriber Requirements For Search Profiles — Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Launches Search Profiles for Creators with 100k Followers — Search Engine Journal