Trustpilot, the global online consumer review platform, has released its latest Transparency Report, showcasing its efforts to uphold trust between businesses and consumers during a record year for reviews published on the platform.
In 2023, 54 million reviews were published on Trustpilot globally, a 17% increase from 2022. Meanwhile, over a million businesses were reviewed, one-fifth of them for the first time, helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions.
Despite a surge in reviews on the platform, the removal of fake reviews has remained steady year-on-year, with Trustpilot removing 6% of total reviews in both 2023 (3.3 million) and 2022 (2.6 million). The majority of fake reviews were identified by Trustpilot’s automated detection systems, up from 68% in 2022 to 82% in 2023. This follows Trustpilot’s continued investment in technology and systems, including AI, to automatically identify unusual behavioural patterns and anomalies, while analysing hundreds of data points to detect reviews that breach the platform’s guidelines.
Trustpilot’s active community of reviewers and businesses has also played a key role in maintaining trust. Both groups can flag a review to moderators on the platform at any time if they believe it breaches guidelines. Trustpilot also provides a whistleblower functionality, for people to confidentially report any problems.
Anoop Joshi, Trustpilot’s chief trust officer, said: “It’s essential that we keep on proactively fighting fake reviews and defending genuine reviews, through investment in our bespoke technology and specialist teams, in order to maintain the integrity of our platform. Our vision is to be the universal symbol of trust for businesses and consumers alike, and in a world where misinformation is rife, that’s never been more important.”
Trustpilot has taken decisive measures in 2023 to help consumers make informed decisions about where to spend their money. Last year, Trustpilot published almost 7,000 public consumer warnings on the company profiles of offending businesses – more than double the number compared to the previous year – and issued 46,000 warnings to businesses violating guidelines.
This led to Trustpilot also taking legal action against 10 businesses over the past two years, with all damages from successful cases donated to consumer rights charities such as Citizens Advice in the UK. At the same time, misuse among reviewers has not been tolerated, with Trustpilot suspending or blocking access to 575,000 consumer accounts in 2023, for repeatedly violating guidelines, such as posting fake reviews or threats to businesses.
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