According to a 2023 survey, “The Ever-Growing Power of Reviews,” 74% of shoppers say that ratings and reviews are a key idea to learn about products they are buying for the first time. The same survey revealed that around 45% of shoppers won’t buy a product if there are no reviews available for it. So, these stats demonstrate how important customer reviews are, and Amazon is making the most out of this fact.
But the problem is there are “fake reviews” plaguing Amazon, and the company is grappling with fake review “brokers,” who use third-party platforms to buy, sell and host fake reviews. Fake reviews misguide shoppers, thus hurting the reputation of Amazon.
Now, the shopping giant is taking strict action against fake reviews.
In 2022, Amazon reported 23,000+ social media groups, with more than 46 million members and followers, that provided fake reviews. In September this year, two review brokers were sentenced to 2.5 years for facilitating fake reviews in Amazon’s store.
As the newest effort, Amazon is using AI to ensure authentic customer reviews. Here is how it works:
Amazon uses AI to analyze the review against indicators for fake reviews before being published online. Reviews that pass the company’s authenticity bar get posted right away. But if reviews are found to be fake, Amazon quickly blocks or removes the review and takes further actions, including revoking a customer’s review permissions, blocking bad actor accounts, and even litigating against the parties involved. In case a suspicious review needs additional evidence, Amazon’s well-trained and expert investigators look for other signals before acting.
Josh Meek, senior data science manager on Amazon’s Fraud Abuse and Prevention team, says:
“Fake reviews intentionally mislead customers by providing information that is not impartial, authentic, or intended for that product or service. Not only do millions of customers count on the authenticity of reviews on Amazon for purchase decisions, but millions of brands and businesses count on us to accurately identify fake reviews and stop them from ever reaching their customers. We work hard to responsibly monitor and enforce our policies to ensure reviews reflect the views of real customers and protect honest sellers who rely on us to get it right.”
Amazon uses advanced AI tools to spot and stop millions of fake online reviews, fake ratings, fake customer accounts, and other abuses before customers discover them. There are large language models that are used with natural language processing techniques to identify anomalies in data that might indicate fake reviews. In addition, the company uses deep graph neural networks to understand complex relationships and behavior patterns for uncovering and removing bad actors or to prevent suspicious activities.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.
