Fake reviews are rampant on Google Maps, and Google doesn’t intend to stay idle. With the help of its AI Gemini, the company is seriously beefing up its strategy to clean up business profiles. And this is just the beginning.
Key takeaways:
- Google removed over 240 million fraudulent reviews in 2024 thanks to Gemini.
- Suspicious profiles are detected earlier thanks to automated behavior analysis.
- Alerts now appear on some listings after dubious reviews are removed.
- Fake business profiles are actively hunted, with removal and prosecutions as a result.
- Local pros will need to rely on clean practices to stay visible without risk.
When the stars shine a little too brightly
Have you ever come across an unknown restaurant that racks up five-star reviews with not a single drawback? A small neighborhood café hailed as an "unforgettable experience" by dozens of users with empty profiles? If it smells reheated, maybe it isn’t very fresh.
Google knows it. And the giant is starting to react. Thanks to its technology Gemini, the firm blocked or removed more than 240 million fraudulent reviews in 2024. Yes, you read that right. 240 million. That’s starting to add up.
AI scrutinizes every contribution
The goal isn’t to police internet users. It’s to ensure a basic level of reliability in local recommendations. After all, a review is a promise: that of a lived experience. Not a disguised advertisement.
Google now combines advanced machine learning models with increased monitoring: suspicious profiles, incoherent changes in business categories, or waves of identical comments in a few minutes… all of that is being watched closely.
The headache of fake profiles
The case that triggered action at Google in 2024? A gang of scammers who hijacked unclaimed listings to pose as locksmiths…and overcharged for emergency call-outs. Result: more than 10,000 fraudulent profiles removed, a complaint filed, and adjustments made to detection nets.
Because a business that suddenly switches from 'cozy café' to 'urgent repair' at 2 a.m. raises some questions.
What can Gemini do? Learn to sniff out scams from just a few examples. A handful of signals, a bit of context, and the algorithm generalizes across thousands of cases.
Visible alerts… and useful?
In the United States, the United Kingdom and India, Google is already testing an alert system: when a place loses a large batch of suspicious reviews, a message appears on its listing. A kind of red flag that tells you: 'Warning, this looks like cheating here.'
These notifications should quickly roll out to other countries.
It's still hard to measure the real impact on user behavior. But on paper, it's a strong signal. A bit like TripAdvisor adding an "under review" banner to restaurants that rely a little too much on friendly friends.
The big clean-up continues
Some telling numbers
A quick overview of what Google cleaned up in 2024:
- 70 million of dubious changes to blocked or removed listings
- 12 million fake profiles removed
- 900,000 accounts restricted for repeat offenses
Strong numbers. And a pretty clear message: laxness is over.
And what about SEO?
Local SEO professionals will need to be extra vigilant. Managing customer reviews is fine — but with clean methods. Google is sharpening its detectors, and once AI starts to sniff out a scheme, it doesn't let it go.
We recommend you follow our Google Business Profile training to discover concrete optimization tips without being perceived as a cheater by Google!
The article “Fake profiles, bogus ratings: Google says stop to abuse on Maps with Gemini” was published on the site Abondance.
