Google Deploys AI to Fight Fake Reviews and Business Listings

Google strengthens its fight against misleading content on Google Maps with artificial intelligence.
The goal? To ensure users have reliable information about local businesses and protect establishments from fraudulent practices.

Google intensifies its efforts against fake business listings

In 2024, Google dismantled a fraud network where scammers posed as locksmiths to take control of unclaimed business listings. The fraudsters would change details (like the phone number) to send technicians to unsuspecting clients and overcharge them. The result: over 10,000 fraudulent listings were removed, and a lawsuit was filed against the perpetrators.

Gemini, a new key ally in moderation

To anticipate and detect such behavior, Google now relies on Gemini, its most advanced artificial intelligence model. With just a few examples, Gemini can identify suspicious behaviors on a large scale. For example, an inconsistent business category change — from “cafe” to “plumber,” for instance — can trigger an alert. This new model has already enabled Google to block thousands of suspicious edits to business listings.

Fake 5-star reviews under Google’s scrutiny

AI is also being used in the fight against fake reviews. Many businesses still attempt to buy glowing reviews from people who have never visited their establishment, which goes against Google’s rules.

Thanks to its algorithms, Google can now regularly analyze reviews and detect new patterns of abuse, even months after they have been posted. The search engine has also started displaying alert banners to users when suspicious 5-star reviews have been removed recently.

Efforts intensified in 2025

Throughout 2024, Google was able to:

• Remove or block 240 million reviews that violated its rules,
• Eliminate 70 million non-compliant listing edits,
• Remove more than 12 million fake business listings,
• Restrict more than 900,000 repeat offenders.

For Google, the reliability of information on Maps is crucial. “Abusive behavior erodes user trust, which is why we continue to invest heavily to preserve it,” stated the American giant in its press release.

With the integration of Gemini into its moderation system, Google is stepping up its efforts to make Google Maps an even safer space for both users and local businesses.