One of the biggest problems in the world is water contamination, which is bad for people and the planet. There has been an increase in the discharge of wastewater into water resources due to the development of industrial and human activities. Common water contaminants include phenolic compounds from refineries, herbicides, insecticides, and medicines. Activated charcoal, clays, zeolites, membranes, and nanomaterials are often used materials for the adsorption-based removal of phenolic compounds. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of research conducted on the removal of phenol utilizing different methodologies. This research aims to use commercial Activated Charcoal (AC) to remove phenol from aqueous solutions. SEM, i.e., scanning electron microscopy and FTIR, i.e., Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize commercial AC. The effects of initial phenol concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH, and contact duration (10–100) mg/l, (1–2.5) g, pH (3–10), and (20–100) min, respectively, on removal capacity have been investigated. The effect of starting phenol concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH, and contact time was investigated using batch kinetic, thermodynamic, and isotherm analysis. The pseudo-second-order model, i.e., R2 = 0.99 and the Langmuir isotherm, i.e., R2 = 0.99, respectively, fit the phenol kinetics and equilibrium adsorption data extremely well. Phenol could be adsorbed onto activated carbon spontaneously and exothermically, as demonstrated by the thermodynamic parameters, which were negative. Results demonstrated that commercial ACs are excellent adsorbents for the removal of phenol from wastewater.