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To get Google reviews, ask every real customer right after the service, using the Google review link or QR code from your Business Profile. Don’t offer a discount or a gift in return. Negative Google reviews, on the other hand, call for a short, polite public reply, and Google only removes them if they break its policies.
In short
- To get Google reviews, ask all your customers. The policy bans incentives, asking only happy customers and reviews from employees or relatives.
- The Google review link and QR code come from your own Business Profile. However, the QR code can only be created in a computer browser.
- Google only removes a negative review that breaks its policies. Disagreeing with it isn’t enough, so a public reply is the way to go.
- In 2025, Google blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating reviews. In addition, profiles with fake reviews can get a public warning.
How do you get Google reviews without breaking the rules?
Ask every real customer for a review, with no incentive and without picking only the happy ones. Google allows businesses to ask for reviews of a genuine experience. However, the business can’t offer anything in return or try to influence the rating or the text. So the rest of the policy lists what is banned, and that list is longer than it looks.
According to the Google Maps content policy, reviews must reflect a real, genuine and unbiased experience. Therefore, if you want Google reviews without risk, follow this table:
| Practice | Allowed? | What the policy says |
|---|---|---|
| Asking all customers | Yes | Genuine experience, no incentive |
| Giving a discount or gift in return | No | Fake engagement |
| Asking only happy customers | No | Selective request |
| Demanding a review at the counter | No | On-site pressure |
| Suggesting the text or someone’s name | No | Specific content |
| Giving staff a review quota | No | Set number of reviews |
| Employees or relatives reviewing | No | Conflict of interest |
| Reviewing a competitor | No | Harm to reputation |
Conflict of interest also goes beyond current employment. According to Google, it includes former employees, consulting relationships, industry competitors and family members. Likewise, the policy bans reviews paid for directly or indirectly, and content posted from several accounts by one person. For example, a prize draw among people who leave a review is also an incentive, in our reading of the policy.
In practice, then, the best time to ask for Google reviews is right after delivery, while the customer still remembers the experience. Google’s tips for getting more reviews note that customers need a Google Account, which can use a non-Gmail address. Google also says that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy.
How do you create a Google review link or QR code?
The simplest way to get Google reviews is the Google review link or QR code from your own Business Profile, with no paid tool. First, open your profile, go to “Read reviews” and choose “Get more reviews”. Then send the Google review link by email and WhatsApp, and put the QR code at the counter, on receipts or on packaging.
The step-by-step process, according to Google’s help page on the review link and QR code, looks like this:
- Go to your Business Profile with the account that manages it.
- Select “Read reviews” and then “Get more reviews”.
- Copy the link with the “Copy” button.
- Download the QR code by right-clicking it and choosing “Save image as”.
For now, the reviews QR code can only be created in a computer browser, not on mobile devices. Google suggests putting the Google review link on receipts, in thank-you emails and after a chat. Similarly, it suggests printing the QR code and displaying it in your store. You can also send the request by email, WhatsApp message or Facebook post.
People who search for a “Google My Business review link” end up on the same path, because Google My Business is the old name of the Business Profile. On every channel, however, the message must follow the policy. That means one request for everyone, no prize and no request for five stars. Here is a fictional example: “Thanks for your visit. If you can, tell us on Google how your experience was.”
How should you respond to negative Google reviews?
Reply in public, quickly and politely, without exposing the customer. Google recommends finding out what happened, admitting any mistake and explaining what is outside your control. Then invite the person to solve the issue by phone or email. After all, your reply also speaks to everyone who reads it later.
To respond to negative Google reviews, the same official tips list five points:
- Privacy: never share the customer’s private details or make personal attacks.
- Records: check your records of the visit before replying.
- Honesty: admit mistakes, but don’t take the blame for what you can’t control.
- Personal touch: apologize when it fits, and sign with your name or initials.
- No selling: keep it short and don’t use the reply to promote offers.
First of all, the business must have a verified profile to reply. According to Google’s help page on managing reviews, Google reviews every reply before posting it. Usually this takes up to 10 minutes, but sometimes it takes up to 30 days. The reply appears in the business’s name, and the reviewer gets a notification. The reviewer can also change the review after reading your reply.
Therefore, negative Google reviews are also a shop window for people who haven’t bought yet. Write for the next reader, not to win the argument.
Sample replies to negative Google reviews (fictional examples)
The two replies below are fictional and are only a starting point. Change the details to fit the real case, because the same reply pasted under all your negative Google reviews sounds automated.
Fictional example, a late order at a restaurant: “Hi, Marina. You’re right: Saturday’s order came out 40 minutes later than promised, and that isn’t our standard. We have already changed the kitchen schedule on weekends. If you can, call us at the store so we can sort out your case. Carlos, manager.”
Fictional example, no record of the visit: “Hello. We couldn’t find a visit under this name or on the date you mention. If you were here, please email us at the address on our profile so we can understand what happened. The Example Clinic team.”
In the second case, the business replies and, at the same time, can report the review, as the next section shows.
Can you remove a fake Google review?
Only when it breaks Google’s policies, for example a fake review, a review from a competitor, an offensive one or an off-topic one. Disagreeing with negative Google reviews isn’t enough, because Google says it doesn’t get involved in conflicts between businesses and customers. You report the review in your Business Profile or in the Reviews Management Tool, and the evaluation usually takes several days.
According to Google’s help page on reporting reviews, the process has four steps:
- Open “Read reviews” in your Business Profile.
- Select “Report” next to the review and choose a reason, such as spam or profanity.
- Track the status in the Reviews Management Tool.
- Appeal only once if the report is rejected, with up to 10 reviews per appeal.
The tool shows three statuses: decision pending, report reviewed with no policy violation, and escalated. After an appeal, you get the result by email. However, Google also uses automated spam detection and admits that it sometimes removes legitimate reviews by mistake. In that case, the advice is to contact support.
What if someone asks for money to remove negative Google reviews?
That is extortion, and Google has a separate channel for this scam. Sometimes it starts with a sudden wave of 1-star and 2-star negative Google reviews, followed by a demand for payment to remove them. According to Google’s page on extortion, the business shouldn’t pay or negotiate, because that doesn’t guarantee removal. Instead, collect screenshots with the date and the scammer’s contact details, and report it through the dedicated form.
Does buying Google reviews get you penalized?
Yes. Google removes bought reviews and can restrict the profile. For example, it can block new reviews for a period, hide the existing ones or show a warning to customers. In Brazil, in addition, fake reviews used to sell may run into the Consumer Defense Code, in a reading we explain below.
According to Google’s help page on Business Profile restrictions, Google notifies the owner before restricting a profile, and the business can appeal. The page gives three example restrictions:
- Block: the profile can’t receive new reviews or ratings for a period.
- Unpublishing: the reviews and ratings are taken down for a period.
- Public warning: the profile tells consumers that fake reviews were removed.
Enforcement also happens at scale. In its 2025 report, Google says it blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating reviews. That same year, it also published more than 1 billion reviews and removed over 13 million fake Business Profiles. In April 2026, Google also announced that, when it sees a spike in spam reviews, it removes the fake content and pauses new reviews. Then it alerts the owner and shows a notice to consumers.
What does Brazilian law say about fake reviews?
Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code (CDC) doesn’t mention reviews. But Article 37 of the CDC bans misleading advertising: advertising information that is wholly or partly false and can mislead the consumer. In our reading, a review that a business bought or wrote itself and uses to sell may fall under this article. However, we found no specific guidance on fake reviews from Senacon (Brazil’s national consumer office) or from a Procon. This section isn’t legal advice, so for a real case, talk to a lawyer.
Do Google reviews affect local rankings and AI?
In local rankings, yes, and Google says so itself. In AI, the link is more indirect, because the engines don’t publish how much reviews weigh. Gemini uses Google Maps data, which includes reviews. On the other hand, a vendor study found high ratings among recommended businesses, but without proving cause.
According to Google’s Business Profile help page on local ranking, reviews feed into prominence, one of three factors alongside relevance and distance. For Google, more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. That is why getting Google reviews every month is part of local SEO. Likewise, positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out. The technical base of your site, from crawling to indexing, is in the SEO and AI guide.
In AI, SOCi found that locations recommended by ChatGPT had an average rating of 4.3 stars, in an index of US chains. SOCi sells local marketing and AI visibility tools, and the data shows association, not cause.
What drives AI recommendations for a local business is in the guide on how to get AI to recommend a local business. Meanwhile, the role of reviews and of Reclame Aqui (a Brazilian complaints site) in AI answers is in the guide to the third-party sources AI cites. Finally, the rules change for software, because G2 and Capterra accept incentives within limits.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. To help you get Google reviews, Google itself suggests sending the Google review link by email, WhatsApp message or Facebook post. However, the message must be the same for every customer, with no prize, no request for five stars and no suggested review text.
According to Google, the rating can take up to two weeks to update after a new review. The rating is the average of all ratings published on Google for the business, on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.
No. The Google Maps policy treats reviews from employees, former employees or relatives as a conflict of interest. Your team can ask customers for reviews, but without a quota and without asking the customer to name someone in the review.
Google uses automated spam detection to remove reviews, and it admits that the system sometimes removes legitimate reviews by mistake. In that case, Google’s advice is to contact Business Profile support.
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Main sources
- Google Maps content policy, Prohibited and restricted content (2026).
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to get more reviews (2026).
- Google Business Profile Help, Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews (2026).
- Google Business Profile Help, Manage customer reviews (2026).
- Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile (2026).
- Google Business Profile Help, Business Profile restrictions for policy violations (2026).
- Google, New ways we’re protecting businesses on Maps, with the 2025 trust and safety report (2026).
- SOCi, In AI-Driven Discovery, Few Brands Are Chosen, Most Disappear, on the Local Visibility Index (2026).
