Google Maps Blocked 20% More Fake Reviews In 2022

Google released spam and fraud prevention stats for Google Maps and local search. In short, Google blocked 21% more reviews, 5% more photos, 40% more videos, and 5% more fake business profiles in 2022 than they did in 2021.

ChatGPT Generated Google Business Review Spam

It looks like review spammers are using ChatGPT and other AI tools to generate fake reviews. These reviews are being posted in Google Business Profile local listings and causing a headache for small businesses.

Bing Tests Official Site Label

Microsoft Bing is testing adding an “official site” label in the search results. If you search for a specific site, you may find that Bing adds to the title of the search result snippet the words “Official Site.”

Google Search Tests Products Gaining Attention Carousel

Google Search seems to be testing a new product carousel titles “products gaining attention.” I assume this carousel shows products that are being viewed or clicked on more often than they were previously, but I am not sure.