In Google Maps, you can easily check how well a store or restaurant ranks by reviews left behind. But are they accurate?
If you are looking for a restaurant to eat out at night, Google Maps is an ideal source of information. In the app, you immediately see a score of people who have been there before, and often there is a full review to read as well.
Sometimes, however, these reviews are abused by companies. They write fake reviews to make their business look better than it actually is. Google Maps is now going to put a stop to that.
Google Maps is going to flag fake reviews
Most people are virtuous, but unfortunately this is far from true for everyone. Some businesses lie to potential customers by posting fake reviews. This is how they try to polish their image and attract more customers. These stores and restaurants are now coming out of a cold shower.
Stores and restaurants that post fake reviews in Google Maps are being targeted by the company. Not only will suspicious fake reviews be removed, but a notification will appear at the review box: “Suspicious fake reviews recently removed.”
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In the UK suspected review abuse can lead to a 30 day review ban pic.twitter.com/m2eMY5hFrp
– Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) September 16, 2024
Yet this does not have to be all negative for businesses. At some stores or restaurants, bad reviews are sometimes intentionally posted by people who want to harm the business, such as competitors or individuals who write multiple bad reviews even though they have only been to the business once. So this can cause some businesses to make their score fairer on Google Maps.
Time for action
Although the feature has not yet been officially announced by Google, it is certain that it is coming. A support page already mentions the new feature, and the feature itself appears to have already rolled out in the United Kingdom. However, the exact date when the feature will be introduced worldwide is not yet known.
It is not surprising that this feature is coming. Back in 2021, Google was under fire in the United Kingdom. According to the British equivalent of the Authority Consumer & Market (ACM), the company would not do enough against fake reviews and it subsequently launched an investigation. Now, three years later, there is finally a solution to this problem in Google Maps. Recently, the app also came out with new features that you can read more about below.
