How to reply to a fake Google review, and how to report one.

A reply, then a report

A reply does not file the report, and a report does not hide the review from the next reader while it is still up. The next person still reads the review and the reply under it. Write the reply for that person. Send the report in Google’s own flow, as a second step.

A harsh review from someone you did serve belongs on /guides/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews, not here. This page is the other job: you cannot match the review to a visit, or the review is about a different business, a competitor, a former employee, or a stack of one-line posts. A one-star review that describes a visit you remember belongs on the 1-star guide. A star rating with no text belongs on /guides/google-reviews-with-no-comment. The other reply guides are listed on the guides page.

What stays off a public reply

Five things stay off the page. Do not use the word “fake” as an accusation. Do not threaten the reviewer, a lawsuit, or the police. Do not repeat a competitor’s name. Do not copy a private phone number or a street address out of the review. Do not claim that Google will remove the review. A threat and an accusation tell the next reader you are fighting the reviewer. A copied number or address puts someone else’s details under your name.

Saying you have no record is not the same as calling the person a liar. “We have no record of this visit” leaves the story unconfirmed. It does not concede that the wait, the missed stop, or the insult happened at your business. Then stop. Invite them to write or call, with a named person and a direct email or phone number that belongs to the business, not a number copied from the review.

The reply shape

Use the same three moves on every example except the last one. Say you have no record of this visit. Invite them to write or call. Do not concede the story. Two to five sentences is enough. Sign with a first name and a role. “Alex, Owner” reads as a person. “The Team” reads as a form letter under a review the next customer is already unsure about.

The last example is different on purpose. It is a harsh review from someone you did serve. That reply apologizes for the experience and does not say you have no record. The rest of that job stays on the negative-review guide. Do not paste the no-record reply under a visit you remember. Readers can tell when the reply denies a day that happened.

The reviews below are invented to show the shape of a reply. They are not quotes from real customers, and they are not from a real business. Replace the names and the contact details with your own, and delete any sentence that is not true of your business. A reply does not change the average. If you want the arithmetic of how many new 5-star reviews it takes to move a rating, use the review calculator.

Example replies

What Google’s policy page listed

Checked November 11, 2026. Google’s Maps user-generated content policy says a review should reflect a genuine experience. The categories below are the ones that page still showed that day. If Google changes the page, follow the page. This guide does not add a category the policy page did not print.

Fake engagement, on that page, includes a contribution that is not based on a real experience, a review that was paid for, content posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person, and content posted through an emulator or another tampered device. The same page says a business may not offer an incentive, such as a payment, a discount, or free goods or services, in exchange for posting a review, revising one, or removing one.

Conflict of interest, on that page, includes current or former employment, a competitor, and family. Off-topic content is a general, political, or social comment, or a personal rant that is not about an experience at that place. Harassment includes a threat of harm, posting someone’s private information to harass them, and unwanted sexualization. Personal information, posted without consent, includes a full name, a face in a photo, financial information, medical information, and an identification number. The policy page also covers other categories, including impersonation, hate speech, and profanity. Use the page itself for the full list.

That policy page does not print a removal rate or a number of days. Do not invent one. An unfair review that is true does not become eligible because it is harsh. Only a review that breaks a category on that page is eligible for removal, and removal is Google’s decision.

How to report it

The policy page does not print the report clicks. The steps below are from Google’s article on reporting an inappropriate review, opened the same day, November 11, 2026. On your Business Profile, go to the profile, select Read reviews, and next to the review you want to flag, select Report. Select the reason. The article’s examples are “Spam” or “Profanity.” Then select Send report.

The same article describes a second path in the Reviews Management Tool: confirm the email on the Business Profile, select the business, continue to report a new review for removal, select Report next to the review, choose the reason, and select Submit. The article says review evaluation typically takes several days. It lists a status, Decision pending, for a review that is flagged and has not been evaluated yet. It does not say the review is hidden while that status is pending.

Do not report a review only because you disagree with it. The article says Google does not get involved in a conflict between a business and a customer. If a flagged review is found not to violate a policy, the article describes a one-time appeal in that same tool. This page does not add a clock, a success rate, or a promise that the appeal will succeed.

Frequently asked questions