"AI-enabled" reviews website Sitejabber inflated ratings for businesses that paid the company, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.
The FTC said Sitejabber collected ratings and reviews from customers before they had a chance to receive the product or service, asking them to "rate your overall shopping experience so far" on a five-star scale at the time of purchase.
Sitejabber also asked customers, "Why did you choose the [product] today?" and requested a rating on a five-star scale, the FTC said.
Then, Sitejabber used what it collected before purchases to inflate the ratings and reviews for its business clients, which appeared in Google and other search results, the FTC said.
Sitejabber didn't immediately respond to ConsumerAffairs's emailed request for comment.
"By providing clients with product review tools that allowed them to publish this feedback on their own websites as product reviews and ratings, Sitejabber provided its clients with the means to misrepresent that the reviews and ratings were from customers who had received their purchases," the FTC said.
The FTC said a proposed court order will prevent Sitejabber from misrepresenting ratings and reviews.
“Platforms don’t have free rein to mislead people about the consumer reviews shown for companies and their products,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.