Guide

Google's review rules in 2026, in plain English

updated September 26, 2026

Google tightened its rules on reviews and on owners' replies in April 2026, and the US Federal Trade Commission has had a rule on fake and incentivized reviews in force since October 2024. Here is what a small business actually needs to know. This is a practical summary, not legal advice.

1. Your replies are now screened before they show

Since April 2026, Google checks every owner reply before it appears. A reply can be pending (still being checked), approved (live), or rejected (never shown). Businesses report that rejections are easy to miss: the reply looks submitted, but the public never sees it.

What tends to get rejected:

Promotional replies that read like an ad (“Book now and get 20% off!”)
Stuffing in keywords and town names (“best plumber in Springfield for emergency plumbing”)
The same templated wording pasted under review after review
Offers or incentives tied to the review

What works: short, specific replies that respond to what the person actually said.

2. Don't ask customers to name your staff

Under the April 2026 update, businesses shouldn't ask customers to mention a specific employee in their review, or reward staff for getting named. A customer who mentions someone on their own is fine. Coaching them to do it isn't.

3. Ask everyone the same way (no “review gating”)

Review gating means asking customers how it went first, then sending only the happy ones to Google and routing the unhappy ones to a private form. It has long been against Google's rules and is now being enforced. Ask every customer the same way, with the same link. (More on doing that well: how to get more Google reviews.)

4. Never pay or reward for reviews

No discounts, freebies or entries into a draw in exchange for a review. The FTC rule bans incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, and Google's own policy goes further and prohibits incentives for reviews at all.

5. Fake reviews are illegal, not just against the rules

The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (in force since October 21, 2024) bans buying or writing fake reviews, including AI-written reviews from people who never used the business, and suppressing negative reviews through threats or intimidation. Violations can bring civil penalties.

6. Health and legal practices: stay general

Doctors, dentists, therapists and lawyers have an extra rule: a reply can't reveal that the reviewer is a patient or client, or anything about their care. US regulators have fined dental practices from $10,000 to $50,000 for replies that did. Thank them, keep it general, and invite them to call.

7. A review that breaks the rules can be reported

The rules cut both ways. Reviews from people who were never customers, from competitors or ex-employees, with swearing, personal attacks or someone's phone number, or about something else entirely, can be reported to Google for removal. Honest bad reviews can't. Paste one into the free review removal checker to see which, and how to report it.

How WinBack follows these

Every reply is written fresh for that review. A draft that uses a stock phrase or reads too much like a recent reply gets another try, and a reply that promises money or could break privacy rules is held back for a person.
Local keywords are optional, never in privacy mode, and used sparingly.
Once Google approves WinBack's access, it will check the status of each Google reply, rewrite a rejected one once, and flag it to me if that fails too.
Review requests go to every customer you choose, the same way, with no incentive and no request to name staff.
Health and legal practices get privacy mode automatically: no names, no visits, no treatments.

Sources

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