FTC Approves Final Order Against AI-Enabled Consumer Review Platform Sitejabber

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order against Sitejabber, the provider of an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled consumer review platform, prohibiting the company from making or facilitating misrepresentations about ratings and reviews.

The FTC charged in a November 2024 complaint that Sitejabber collected consumer ratings and reviews for its online business clients at the time of purchase, before the consumers experienced the product or service; used these ratings and reviews to inflate its clients’ average ratings and review counts; and provided its clients with the means to misrepresent that ratings and reviews were from customers who had used their products, the agency said in a Friday (Jan. 3) press release.

When announcing the enforcement action in a Nov. 6 press release, Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said: “Platforms don’t have free rein to mislead people about the consumer reviews shown for companies and their products.”

The Friday press release announcing the approval of a final order said: “The final order settling the Commission’s complaint prohibits Sitejabber from making, or assisting anyone else in making, misrepresentations about any ratings, average ratings, or reviews it collects, moderates or displays.”

Sitejabber did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

In a response to the FTC’s allegations posted on its website on Nov. 7, Sitejabber said that the FTC’s allegations relate to the company’s display of point-of-sale reviews prior to updates Sitejabber made in early 2024.

Sitejabber said that point-of-sale reviews capture authentic feedback about customers’ purchasing experiences; that the FTC announced proposed new rules and updated guides in June 2023 that implied that point-of-sale reviews are misleading; and that Sitejabber began separating and more clearly labeling point-of-sale reviews in late 2023 when it became aware of the FTC’s changes.

“While we disagree with the implied intent and impact of the FTC’s allegations, we have always supported increased transparency and regulation around reviews,” Sitejabber wrote in its Nov. 7 response. “It was a difficult decision, but we ultimately chose to settle, as most of the FTC’s concerns had already been addressed by our earlier changes, and the agreement did not involve any further significant alterations to our practices or any civil penalties.”