Managing your online reputation has never been more challenging, or more urgent.
While platforms like Google tout their AI advancements as a way to protect businesses from fake reviews, there’s a darker side of the AI revolution that doesn’t get enough attention. AI is also making it easier for bad actors to launch review bombs, spread misinformation, and extort businesses at scale.
Welcome to the new frontier of online reputation attacks, where AI is both a shield and a sword.
Quick Facts
1. Surge in Fake Reviews Removed by Google
In 2023, Google removed over 170 million policy-violating reviews from Maps and Search, marking a 45% increase compared to the previous year. This uptick is attributed to the deployment of a new machine learning algorithm designed to detect and eliminate fake reviews more efficiently.
https://www.techspot.com/news/101878-over-170-million-fake-reviews-removed-google-2023.html
2. Proliferation of AI-Generated Fake Reviews
A study by The Transparency Company analyzed 73 million reviews across various sectors, including home, legal, and medical services. The findings revealed that nearly 14% of these reviews were likely fake, with a “high degree of confidence” that 2.3 million were partially or entirely AI-generated.
https://apnews.com/article/fake-online-reviews-generative-ai-40f5000346b1894a778434ba295a0496
3. Consumer Reliance on Online Reviews
Approximately 89% of consumers consult online reviews when researching products or services. In the UK alone, such reviews influence £23 billion ($29 billion) in annual spending. The pervasive impact of reviews underscores the potential damage that fake or malicious reviews can inflict on businesses.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91280399/can-google-and-the-ftc-stop-fake-reviews-for-good
The Rise of AI-Driven Review Bombing
Review bombing is nothing new. But thanks to generative AI tools, it’s no longer a game of quantity over quality, attackers can now generate realistic, emotionally persuasive fake reviews at scale.
Gone are the days of poorly written, easily flagged spam. With platforms like ChatGPT or Claude, individuals can generate hundreds of 1-star reviews that read like legitimate customer complaints. These reviews often include specific, yet fabricated, anecdotes and are posted from freshly created or compromised accounts. Coordinated attacks can now simulate diverse language patterns, regional slang, and timing that mimics authentic customer behavior.
In one notable case in July 2024, a cybercrime group flooded a London restaurant’s Google Business Profile with malicious reviews, causing its rating to plummet from 4.9 to 2.3 stars. The attackers demanded £10,000 to cease the onslaught. An investigation by Maximatic Media revealed that the reviews were generated by a botnet, and collaboration with Google eventually restored the restaurant’s rating to 4.8 stars.
The implications are devastating. When 82% of consumers check online reviews before making a purchase decision, even a short-lived attack can cause permanent damage to revenue and reputation.
Extortion Goes High-Tech
AI isn’t just being used to flood profiles with fake negativity. It’s also being used as a tool for digital blackmail.
Cyber-extortion campaigns are leveraging AI to generate believable, grammatically correct threats at scale. Attackers scrape business listings and send automated emails demanding payment in exchange for not posting damaging reviews. In some cases, the reviews are posted anyway if the target refuses to comply.
Multiple restaurants across the U.S. reported receiving nearly identical extortion messages: “Send $75 in gift cards or your Google rating drops.” The follow-up reviews were well-written and referenced fabricated but plausible complaints, complete with personalized names and service details, a hallmark of AI-generated content.
“AI has lowered the barrier to entry for extortionists,” says Rick Da Silva, Director of Sales at Guaranteed Removals and Erase.com. “Now, anyone can run a reputation attack with a laptop and a language model.”
Dig Deeper with Erase: Should you take legal action against negative Google reviews?
Harder to Detect, Easier to Miss
Ironically, the same technology used to detect fake reviews is struggling to keep up with AI-generated content. Google’s AI systems blocked over 170 million fake reviews in 2023—a 45% improvement in detection accuracy. But that statistic also reflects a staggering increase in attempted abuse.
Many fraudulent reviews now fly under the radar, especially those that avoid overt policy violations. Tools designed to flag spammy language or obvious duplication often fail to catch nuanced, emotionally neutral, or subtly negative content.
“These reviews don’t read like spam anymore, they read like unhappy customers,” notes Guaranteed Removals and Erase.com Director of Operations, Roque Rodon. “That’s the terrifying part.”
For more information about how to remove a Google review, read our full guide below or check out the video guide.
The Expanding Review Fraud Economy
AI has also opened the floodgates for underground reputation services. On dark web forums like Blackhat World and freelancer platforms live Fiverr, sellers now offer AI-generated review bombs as a service.
You can order 100 custom-crafted 1-star reviews for under $300, complete with randomized usernames, rotating IP addresses, and believable narratives. These services often target small businesses who lack the resources to fight back or navigate Google’s appeals process.
Even worse, legitimate businesses are at risk of being attacked by former employees, competitors, or even disgruntled customers using these tools.
Remove negative Google reviews today
Guaranteed Removals Google Review Removal Service
AI hasn’t just changed the game, it’s rewritten the rules. The same tools that help businesses automate customer service and analyze sentiment are being weaponized to undermine those very reputations.
Managing reviews effectively isn’t just about responding to customers, it’s about actively shaping your brand’s story before someone else writes it for you.
In a world where anyone can launch a digital smear campaign with a few prompts, authenticity and vigilance are your most valuable assets.
Stay informed. Stay responsive. Stay one step ahead.
