Bot ReviewsBot reviews are counterproductive for companies too, for, it drives down their average star ratings.

It is a fact that people buy products based on reviews that have essentially been paid for. While they largely influence a buyer’s purchase decision, not every review is real. E-commerce is the one major sector that is affected by bot reviews, generated by companies to garner more business. This trend is counterproductive for companies too, for, it drives down their average star ratings and erodes their credibility too. It is still unknown who’s behind the reviews. It can be the company, the competitor, or a third party paid to write a review. Here are a few ways to check the authenticity of a bot’s reviews.

Verify the credentials of the reviewer:

Check for the reviewer’s identity by verifying their social media credentials. See if the reviews come from the same location as the reviewer’s location. In addition, taking note of account creation date, review activity, and work information, gives a clear idea, of whether the profile belongs to a real person.

Specifics hold clues

A genuine reviewer would always speak in specific details, as to how they came about the product, what are the specific features they like, or how they resolved certain issues using the product. Online bot reviews don’t use specifics in their reviews, instead, they generate a description that dwells in the general description of the product with some positive adjectives.

Red flag repeat brand mentions

The bots are generally programmed to generate marketing content. Therefore, the reviews would carry the brand name number of times in the review more than required. For example., “Toshiba 108cm TV is a smart TV. I highly recommend this Toshiba 4K Ultra Vidaa Smart LED TV with Dolby Vision”.

Bots are not human and so the wording

A normal person’s vocabulary is quite different from that of a bot. If you find highly technical jargon and sophisticated vocabulary in the review, probably it is generated by a fake review bot. Words like ‘robust wireless technology, and ‘explosive speed’ wouldn’t be in the average consumer’s word bank. Therefore, the presence of such jargon is a sure sign that it is not a genuine review.

Bots speak in black and white

Yes, they either have a positive or negative opinion. There is no space for ideas like maybe, what-ifs, and possibilities in online bot reviews. When reviews are worded either in completely positive words or in completely negative words, be wary of them, as there is a possibility that they are bot-generated. Real people who have bad experiences still may leave a positive remark on a feature they like or someone they knew, liked.

Fake review rating is a booming industry with around $152 Billion at stake. An extra star on a restaurant’s Yelp rating can increase revenue by 5% to 9%. Therefore, it is quite clear that businesses will continue to thrive on fake online reviews. It is the user who needs to check the authenticity of online reviews.