Review gating means filtering clients before they are allowed to review you: asking how they feel first, then sending only the happy ones to Google and steering the unhappy ones to a private form. Google's review policy forbids it, the US Federal Trade Commission names it as misleading, and the UK's competition regulator treats cherry-picked review information as a problem under the law that came into force in April 2025. The safe rule is simple: ask every eligible client the same way, offer nothing for a review, and publish what you get. This guide explains what each set of rules says, and how to audit and run review requests on the levelpartner.ai platform so they stay inside them.
The view this guide takes
Most firms that gate reviews do not think of it as cheating. It looks like good customer service: catch the unhappy client privately before they go public. The intention is fine. The filter is the problem, because it turns your public rating into a picture of your happiest clients only, and every set of rules below is written to stop exactly that.
You can still catch unhappy clients early. You just cannot make the review link depend on the answer.
What the rules actually say
This is a plain summary of public rules, not legal advice. If you work in a regulated profession, your own regulator's rules on testimonials may go further.
Google's review policy
Google's prohibited and restricted content policy for Maps reviews lists, among other things:
- no paying for reviews, in money or in kind, and no discounts or free services in exchange for a review;
- no incentives to change or remove a negative review;
- no discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews, and no selectively soliciting positive ones;
- no staff quotas for collecting reviews;
- no reviews from current or former employees, which Google treats as a conflict of interest.
Asking genuine clients for genuine reviews, with no reward, is allowed. Reviews that break the policy can be removed, and Google can apply restrictions to the profile.
The FTC rule and guides in the US
The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials took effect on 21 October 2024. It bans fake reviews, buying reviews that must be positive or negative, undisclosed reviews from insiders such as staff and relatives, company-run review sites that pretend to be independent, and suppressing reviews through threats or intimidation. It also bans claiming that the reviews you display are all or most of the reviews you received while you hide some because they are negative.
The rule itself does not use the phrase "review gating". The FTC's updated Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, do: they give gating as an example of conduct that distorts what consumers think, and the FTC has said that asking only satisfied customers can still break the FTC Act.
The DMCC Act in the UK
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 added fake reviews to the list of banned commercial practices from 6 April 2025. The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance (CMA208) covers fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews, and false or misleading review information. Legal commentary on that guidance highlights suppressing negative reviews and cherry-picking positive ones for publication as examples of misleading presentation. The CMA can now enforce these rules directly and has opened investigations into review practices.
Gating, incentives and fakes, side by side
| Practice | Why it is a problem |
|---|---|
| Asking "how did we do?" and sending only high scores to Google | Selective soliciting under Google's policy; named as gating in the FTC guides |
| A prize draw or discount for leaving a review | Incentive for reviews under Google's policy; must be disclosed under UK law, and conditioned rewards break the FTC rule |
| Staff writing reviews, or asking friends to | Conflict of interest for Google; undisclosed insider review under the FTC rule; fake review under UK law |
| Showing only five-star reviews on your site as "what our clients say" | Misleading presentation if it implies completeness, under the FTC rule and the CMA guidance |
| Review targets in staff bonuses | Google bans quotas for soliciting reviews |
How to keep a satisfaction check without gating
A satisfaction check is useful. It tells you about a problem while you can still fix it. Keep it, but separate it from the review request:
- Every client who reaches your finish point gets the review request, whatever they answered in the check.
- The request does not wait for the check, and its timing does not change based on the score.
- A low score creates a task for a named person to call the client. That is service recovery, not filtering.
- Nobody is told, in the check or anywhere else, that a review is only welcome if they were happy.
How to audit and run compliant requests on the platform
- In Automation, list every workflow that sends a review request.
- Open each one and look for conditions that depend on a rating, score or survey answer.
- Remove any branch that sends the review link only to high scores.
- Make the request fire for every contact who reaches your finish stage, skipping only open complaints and missing consent.
- If you use a satisfaction survey, move it to its own workflow that creates a follow-up task for low scores.
- In the reputation settings, reread your request messages and delete any mention of rewards or star ratings.
- Check your review widget shows all reviews, or label it clearly if it shows a selection.
- Write a one-page reviews policy for staff and save it where the team can find it.
Skipping a client with an open complaint is different from gating. You are pausing a request during an active dispute, for a reason unrelated to whether their review would be positive, and you resume once the complaint is closed. Document that rule so it stays honest. Our workflow automation examples show how to branch on a tag like this.
Suppose a practice set up a feedback form two years ago that asks clients for a score from one to five. Anyone scoring four or five sees a button to review on Google; anyone scoring lower sees a thank-you page and an email goes to a partner. Nobody built it as a gate, but it is one. The fix would be to send every finishing client the review request directly, keep the form as a separate check, and let low scores create a call task for the partner instead of hiding the link.
Assuming a third-party review tool's default setup is compliant. Many older templates include a "happy or unhappy" screen before the review link. If yours does, remove the screen or route everyone to the same review link.
What to write in your staff policy
The UK guidance expects businesses that publish reviews to have a policy against fake reviews and a way to deal with them. Even if you only collect reviews on Google, a short internal policy keeps everyone aligned:
- who sends review requests, and that every eligible client gets one;
- that nobody offers anything for a review, or asks for a particular rating;
- that staff, their families and contractors never review the firm;
- how to report a suspected fake review, and who replies to negative reviews;
- that review counts are not part of anyone's targets.
Troubleshooting
A colleague wants to give a gift card for reviews
Explain that Google removes incentivised reviews and that the US and UK rules restrict them. Thank clients generally if you like, but never tie anything to leaving a review.
Your rating dipped after removing the gate
That is the honest picture, and a few critical reviews among many positive ones read as real to prospects. Reply well to each, and see our guide on how to respond to negative reviews.
A client was promised a discount before you changed the process
Honour the promise privately if you must, but ask them not to mention it in a review, and do not repeat it.
Frequently asked questions
Is review gating illegal?
It breaks Google's policy outright. In the US the FTC treats it as misleading under the FTC Act and its guides, and in the UK cherry-picking review information can be a misleading practice under the DMCC Act. Whether a specific setup breaks the law depends on the facts, so take advice if you are unsure.
Can we send a satisfaction survey before the review request?
Yes, as long as every client still receives the review request regardless of their answer, and the survey is not used to decide who gets the link.
Can we thank clients who leave a review?
Reply to their review and thank them publicly. Do not send gifts or discounts because they reviewed, as that turns into an incentive.
Where do we start if our process may already be gated?
Audit every workflow that sends a review link, then rebuild the request so it goes to everyone. Our guide to writing a review request message helps with the wording, and the GMB reviews guide covers the connection and trigger.