Digital Marketing

Customer reviews in 2026: how to earn them honestly and what the rules say

7 min readBy Sandeep Mahajan

Reviews are one of the most-read trust signals a business has, and in 2026 they also feed the recommendations AI assistants give. The way to earn them is simple and the rules are strict: ask every customer, make it easy, reply to all reviews, and never buy, fake, filter or reward them. The FTC, Google and Canada's Competition Bureau all treat fake, paid or hidden-connection reviews as a problem, and a business can be responsible for reviews its staff write.

Key takeaways

  • In BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey (published 11 February 2026, 1,002 US adults), 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses and 49% trust them about as much as personal recommendations.
  • The same survey found that 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or more (17% in 2025), and that use of generative AI for local recommendations rose from 6% to 45%.
  • The FTC's final rule, announced on 14 August 2024, bans fake and AI-generated reviews, reviews bought for a particular sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews and review suppression through groundless threats.
  • Google's policy prohibits paid or incentivised reviews, discouraging negative reviews or selectively asking happy customers, and reviews from people with a conflict of interest.
  • In Canada, the Competition Bureau warns that employees must disclose their connection when they review their employer or its competitors, and that businesses can be liable.

Why do reviews matter more in 2026?

People read them. BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults found that 97% read reviews for local businesses and 49% trust them about as much as recommendations from people they know. Standards are rising: 31% say they will only use a business with 4.5 stars or more, up from 17% in 2025, and 68% want four stars or more.

AI is changing where reviews are read. In the same survey, 45% of consumers said they now use ChatGPT or other generative AI for local recommendations, up from 6% the year before; 82% read AI-generated review summaries, and 23% would rely on a summary alone. So your reviews do not only appear in your listing: they can be summarised and quoted elsewhere. For how AI answers choose what to cite, see How to get your business cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. This is survey data from US consumers, so treat it as a direction for other markets, not a measurement of them.

How do you ask for reviews honestly?

  1. Ask every customer, not only the happy ones. Google's policy prohibits merchants from selectively soliciting positive reviews.
  2. Ask at the right moment, shortly after delivery or a completed project, with a direct link to your profile on the platform where you want the review.
  3. Do not pay or reward. Google's policy lists payment, discounts, free goods and services as prohibited incentives.
  4. Make it easy to be honest. Say that you want their view, good or bad, and do not script the answer.
  5. Reply to every review, politely and briefly, and fix what can be fixed.
  6. Keep a record of when you asked, so you can show you asked everyone.

What do the rules say?

Source What it says
US Federal Trade Commission (final rule, announced 14 August 2024) Businesses may not create or sell fake reviews, including "AI-generated fake reviews", or buy them. They may not offer incentives "conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment". Insider reviews must "clearly and conspicuously disclose" the connection. Groundless legal threats or intimidation to remove negative reviews are prohibited.
Google, Maps user-contributed content policy Not allowed: content "not based on a real experience", reviews "paid for, directly or in kind", incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods, discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive ones, and content "based on a conflict of interest", including through employment or family relationships.
Canada's Competition Bureau Employees must disclose any connection to the business when they review it or its competitors, including on social media. Section 74.02 of the Competition Act allows a testimonial to be published only if the person has previously published it and you have their written approval. Penalties for corporations can reach $10 million for a first violation and $15 million for later ones, or three times the benefit gained.

Rules differ by country. We have covered the United States, Google's global policy and Canada here, and not India or other markets. This is general information, not legal advice.

How should you use reviews on your own website?

  • Show real ones, with permission. If you quote a customer, keep their written approval; in Canada that is a legal condition for testimonials.
  • Link to the platform where the review lives, so visitors can check it.
  • Do not expect star ratings in search results for reviews you control. Google's review snippet guidelines say that if the entity being reviewed controls the reviews about itself, its pages "are ineligible for star review feature", and that ratings "must be sourced directly from users".
  • Mark up only what visitors can see. Google requires that the review content you mark up is "readily available to users from the marked-up page".

How should you respond to negative reviews?

Reply in public, once, with facts and an offer to fix the problem offline. Do not argue and do not threaten. The FTC rule bans groundless legal threats and intimidation to remove negative reviews, and Google bans offering incentives to revise or remove one. If a review breaks a platform's policy, report it through the platform. If it is simply unfair, a calm reply helps readers more than a deleted review would.

A one-page review routine

  1. After each completed project or order, send one message asking for an honest review, with the link.
  2. Send it to every customer.
  3. Track replies and new reviews weekly.
  4. Reply to each review within a few days.
  5. Brief staff: no reviews of the business, or of competitors, without a clear disclosure, and none on platforms whose policy forbids them.
  6. Once a quarter, read the reviews for patterns and fix the causes.

If you want help with the website side, such as showing proof of quality and keeping pages current, see our SEO services and digital marketing pages, or start with a Free Website Audit.

FAQ

Can we give a discount in return for a review?

No. Google's policy lists payment, discounts and free goods or services as prohibited incentives, and the FTC bans offering compensation conditioned on a particular sentiment.

Can our staff or families post reviews?

Not on platforms that treat it as a conflict of interest: Google prohibits reviews based on employment or family relationships. Where a connection exists and a platform allows a review, the FTC and Canada's Competition Bureau expect it to be clearly disclosed.

Can we only ask happy customers?

No. Google's policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. Ask everyone.

Can we get star ratings in search results from reviews on our own site?

Not for reviews of your own business that you control: Google's guidelines say such pages are ineligible for the star review feature. Reviews on independent platforms are shown by those platforms.

What if someone leaves a fake or unfair review about us?

Report it through the platform's own process if it breaks the platform's policy, and post a calm public reply. Do not threaten the reviewer or offer them anything to remove it.

Sources

Share this article

Are you ready to partner with us?

Our good-natured team is waiting to hear your business requirements.

Book a free project call

Stay informed with our newsletter