Google has updated its reviews policy and added two important points that businesses should pay attention to.
First, Google now says merchants should not ask staff to collect a certain number of reviews. Second, businesses should not request reviews that mention a staff member by name or include identifying details about that employee.
This update was added to the user-generated review policy section related to rating manipulation.
The newly added lines say:
- Merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews
- Merchants requesting that staff solicit reviews that include specific content, including content that identifies a staff member
Amy Toman noticed this change and shared it on LinkedIn. She wrote, “I expect they’ve seen too many review contests or requirements.” That seems like a reasonable take, especially as Google continues to tighten its review quality rules.
She also added, “Be sure to update your staff on this; don’t want your reviews being filtered even more than they are currently.” That is a smart reminder for businesses that rely on customer reviews for visibility and trust.
This change suggests Google is paying even closer attention to how reviews are collected. So, businesses should make sure their review requests stay natural, honest, and free from scripts that ask for specific wording or staff mentions.
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
