If you run a business in the US, two sets of rules apply to your Google reviews. The first is Google's own policy for content on Maps, which covers every review on your Business Profile. The second is the Federal Trade Commission's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, a federal regulation that took effect on October 21, 2024. They overlap a lot, but they aren't identical, and in several places Google is stricter than the law.
This guide explains both in plain English, using Google's and the FTC's own wording. We checked every source linked here on October 26, 2026. If you want the practical how-to (where to find your review link, what to say, when to ask), read how to get more Google reviews without violating Google's policy. This page is the rulebook behind it.
Can a business ask customers for Google reviews?
Yes. Google's Prohibited and restricted content policy says merchants may "solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review."
That sentence gives you three conditions. The review must come from a real experience, you can't give anything in return, and you can't steer the star rating or what the customer writes. Everything else in the policy follows from those three.
What Google prohibits
Google groups the review rules under Fake Engagement and Rating Manipulation. Summarized from the policy page:
- Incentives of any kind. No payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for posting a review. This includes paying a customer to change or remove a negative review.
- Review gating. Google says merchants may not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." You can't send the review link only to people you expect to be happy.
- Conflict-of-interest reviews. Google lists current or former employment, contractual or consulting relationships, competitors and family relationships as conflicts of interest. Reviews from those people get removed.
- Fake or bought reviews. Reviews that aren't based on a real experience, reviews "paid for, directly or in kind", and reviews posted from multiple accounts by or for one person.
- Attacking competitors. Posting content on a competitor's profile to hurt its reputation.
- Pressure on the premises. Merchants "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises."
- Dictating content. You can't ask customers to include specific content. Google gives two examples: telling staff to collect a set number of reviews, and telling staff to collect reviews that mention a specific employee.
- Unusual patterns. Google also removes content "exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions" that suggest someone is trying to manipulate a rating.
Two of these trip up honest businesses more than the others. Staff review quotas ("get five reviews a week") and "please mention my name" requests are common, and Google's policy specifically names both.
What is review gating, exactly?
Review gating means filtering customers before they reach your Google review link. The classic version is a "How did we do?" survey where 4 and 5-star answers get a Google link, while 1 to 3-star answers get a private feedback form instead. Other versions:
- Only texting the review link to customers a manager has marked as "happy"
- Asking "Did you enjoy your visit?" and only following up with people who said yes
- Review software set up to send unhappy customers somewhere other than Google
Private feedback forms are fine in themselves. The problem is only showing the Google link to some people. If every customer gets the same Google link, whatever they answered, you aren't gating.
What happens if Google finds a violation
Google removes reviews that break the policy. On top of that, its help page on Business Profile restrictions for policy violations says a business that breaks the Fake Engagement policy may face restrictions such as:
- the profile being blocked from receiving new reviews or ratings for a set period
- existing reviews or ratings being unpublished for a set period
- a warning shown on the profile telling customers that fake reviews were removed
Google says it emails business owners before it applies a restriction, and you can appeal. Its appeals help page says decisions can take up to 5 business days, and asks you not to send several appeals for the same issue or create a new profile for the same business.
The FTC's fake review rule (2024)
In August 2024 the FTC announced a final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials. It's codified at 16 CFR Part 465 and took effect October 21, 2024. It applies to reviews anywhere, not only on Google. In short, it prohibits:
- Fake or false reviews and testimonials. Reviews by people who don't exist (the FTC names AI-generated fake reviews), by people with no real experience of the business, or that misrepresent the reviewer's experience. Businesses can't write, create or sell them, and can't buy them or spread them when they knew or should have known they were fake.
- Buying positive or negative reviews. No compensation or incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, whether that's said outright or implied.
- Undisclosed insider reviews. Certain reviews by officers, managers, employees or agents that don't clearly disclose the relationship.
- Fake "independent" review sites. Presenting a site or entity you control as an independent reviewer of your own category.
- Review suppression. Using unfounded legal threats, physical threats, intimidation or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative review, or claiming your website shows all or most reviews when you've hidden negative ones.
- Fake social media indicators. Buying or selling fake followers or views to misrepresent influence for a commercial purpose.
According to the FTC's questions and answers on the rule, courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Ad agencies, review brokers and reputation management companies can be liable too. Ordinary consumers can't be liable for what they write, and the rule gives no private right of action.
Where Google and the FTC differ
Following the federal rule doesn't mean you're following Google's policy. The FTC's own Q&A shows where the rule is narrower:
| Practice | FTC rule (16 CFR 465) | Google's policy |
|---|---|---|
| Incentive for any review, good or bad | Not prohibited by the rule if it isn't conditioned on sentiment. The FTC notes that undisclosed incentives can still violate the FTC Act. | Prohibited |
| Asking only happy customers | No specific prohibition in the rule, but the FTC says it "could violate the FTC Act" | Prohibited (selective solicitation) |
| Family members reviewing your business | Allowed if they clearly and conspicuously disclose the relationship | Not allowed (family relationships are a conflict of interest) |
| Paying someone to remove or change a negative review | Not covered by the rule, but the FTC says it may violate the FTC Act | Prohibited |
| Contacting an unhappy reviewer to fix the problem | Allowed | Allowed, as long as no incentive is tied to changing the review |
For Google reviews, follow Google's policy. It's the stricter of the two in every row above, and it decides whether your reviews stay up.
Common questions
Can I run a monthly prize draw for everyone who leaves a review? Not for Google reviews. A contest entry is an incentive, and Google's policy bans incentives whatever the review says.
Can I write the review for a customer, or give them suggested wording? No. Google doesn't allow requests for specific content, and the FTC's Q&A warns businesses not to supply testimonial text without a reasonable basis to believe it's true. Let customers use their own words.
Can my employees review us if they've been customers too? On Google, no. Current and former employment are listed conflicts of interest. If an employee happens to receive a routine review request sent to all customers, the FTC says the business isn't liable under the rule for that. Google can still remove the review.
Can I use AI to write reviews? No. A review must reflect a real customer's real experience. The FTC rule specifically targets AI-generated fake reviews. Using AI to help draft your replies is a different thing: you're the author, and you should read every reply before it's posted.
Can I ask a customer to update a review after we fixed their problem? The FTC's Q&A says the rule doesn't stop you contacting customers to resolve issues or asking satisfied customers to update their reviews. On Google, don't offer anything in return and don't pressure them.
A competitor or ex-employee left a fake review. What can I do? Report it. Google's help page on reporting inappropriate reviews explains how, using the Report option on the review or Google's Reviews Management Tool. Only reviews that break the policy are removed, so explain the conflict of interest briefly and factually. Reply calmly in public too; see how to reply to negative Google reviews. Don't threaten the reviewer without a real legal basis, because the FTC rule bans unfounded legal threats and intimidation used to remove reviews.
Can I show my best reviews on my website? Yes, as long as they're real and you have the right to use them. The FTC notes that once you feature reviews in your marketing they become testimonials, and that showing an unrepresentative selection could be deceptive under the FTC Act. Never invent or edit testimonials.
Hiring a review or reputation company? Watch for these red flags
- They promise a set number of 5-star reviews, or sell "review packages"
- They offer to post reviews for you, or to remove negative reviews for a fee
- Their software only sends the Google link to customers who rate you highly
- They suggest giving customers discounts, gift cards or prize entries for reviews
- They guarantee rankings. Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking.
The FTC's Q&A is clear that agencies and reputation companies can be liable under the rule. That doesn't protect the business that hired them, and on Google it's your profile that gets restricted.
A compliance checklist you can share with staff
- Ask every customer the same way, with the same Google link
- Offer nothing in return for a review, positive or negative
- No reviews from owners, staff, ex-staff, family or contractors
- No review quotas for staff, and no "mention my name" requests
- Customers review on their own phone, in their own time, in their own words
- Reply to reviews calmly, and never threaten reviewers
- Report policy-breaking reviews through Google, not through public arguments
- Only show real reviews on your website, and don't present a cherry-picked set as the whole picture
With several locations, apply this checklist the same way at every one. Our guide to managing Google Business Profiles for multiple locations covers handling reviews per location.
Where we can help
Buildzaro's review tools send the same request to every customer, with no gating and no incentives, and draft replies that you approve before anything is posted. We don't buy reviews, write reviews for customers or guarantee results.
Sources
- Google: Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user-generated content policy)
- Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile restrictions for policy violations
- Google Business Profile Help: Appeal Business Profile content & profile restrictions
- Google Business Profile Help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
- FTC press release: final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 14, 2024)
- FTC: The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, Questions and Answers
- eCFR: 16 CFR Part 465, Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials
General information, not legal advice. Platform policies and laws change; check Google's current policies and the FTC's guidance before acting, and talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.