diff --git a/.chloggen/mx-psi_component-kind-structify.yaml b/.chloggen/mx-psi_component-kind-structify.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..55dfeeb7c67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/mx-psi_component-kind-structify.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: component
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Change underlying type for `component.Kind` to be a struct.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [12214]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/component/component.go b/component/component.go
index 0a0c160fc59..5a32c5041d7 100644
--- a/component/component.go
+++ b/component/component.go
@@ -78,31 +78,20 @@ func (f ShutdownFunc) Shutdown(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 // Kind represents component kinds.
-type Kind int
+type Kind struct {
+	name string
+}
 
-const (
-	_ Kind = iota // skip 0, start types from 1.
-	KindReceiver
-	KindProcessor
-	KindExporter
-	KindExtension
-	KindConnector
+var (
+	KindReceiver  = Kind{name: "Receiver"}
+	KindProcessor = Kind{name: "Processor"}
+	KindExporter  = Kind{name: "Exporter"}
+	KindExtension = Kind{name: "Extension"}
+	KindConnector = Kind{name: "Connector"}
 )
 
 func (k Kind) String() string {
-	switch k {
-	case KindReceiver:
-		return "Receiver"
-	case KindProcessor:
-		return "Processor"
-	case KindExporter:
-		return "Exporter"
-	case KindExtension:
-		return "Extension"
-	case KindConnector:
-		return "Connector"
-	}
-	return ""
+	return k.name
 }
 
 // StabilityLevel represents the stability level of the component created by the factory.
diff --git a/component/component_test.go b/component/component_test.go
index 1cedc41af5d..830d608ef0a 100644
--- a/component/component_test.go
+++ b/component/component_test.go
@@ -10,13 +10,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestKindString(t *testing.T) {
-	assert.Equal(t, "", Kind(0).String())
+	assert.Equal(t, "", Kind{}.String())
 	assert.Equal(t, "Receiver", KindReceiver.String())
 	assert.Equal(t, "Processor", KindProcessor.String())
 	assert.Equal(t, "Exporter", KindExporter.String())
 	assert.Equal(t, "Extension", KindExtension.String())
 	assert.Equal(t, "Connector", KindConnector.String())
-	assert.Equal(t, "", Kind(100).String())
 }
 
 func TestStabilityLevelUnmarshal(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/service/service_test.go b/service/service_test.go
index 6214ef9abce..2abb433fa19 100644
--- a/service/service_test.go
+++ b/service/service_test.go
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ func TestServiceGetFactory(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, srv.host.Extensions.Factory(nopType), srv.host.GetFactory(component.KindExtension, nopType))
 
 	// Try retrieve non existing component.Kind.
-	assert.Nil(t, srv.host.GetFactory(42, nopType))
+	assert.Nil(t, srv.host.GetFactory(component.Kind{}, nopType))
 }
 
 func TestServiceGetExtensions(t *testing.T) {