Rosa's shop has only six online reviews. A competitor down the street has hundreds.
Late one night she thinks: a chatbot could write twenty glowing reviews in a minute. Nobody would know.
Then she opens a real review from a customer named in her order book. It has one fair complaint about a late delivery.
Which one should get her time tonight?
A review is a customer's account of using a product. An endorsement is a statement by a person that praises or recommends it.
The Federal Trade Commission, the FTC, has a rule on consumer reviews and testimonials.
Under it, a business may not write, create or sell a review that misrepresents that the reviewer exists.
It also may not misrepresent that the reviewer used or had experience with the product. The rule calls this unfair or deceptive.
The FTC Endorsement Guides add a related point. Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions or experience of the endorser.
The SBA lists writing courteous, thoughtful replies to online reviews as one everyday business use of AI.
So the honest use is the reverse of Rosa's late-night idea. A tool may help draft a reply to a real review.
The SBA also says a person should check every message AI generates. Rosa reads and edits the reply before she posts it.
| Request to an AI tool | Honest? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write twenty five-star reviews for my shop | No | The reviewers do not exist and never used the product |
| Draft a polite reply to this real customer review | Yes | A listed SBA use, checked by a person before posting |
| Write a quote from a happy customer for my website | No | It is not a real person's honest opinion |
| Suggest a short note asking real customers for a review | Yes | Real customers write their own words |
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Under the FTC rule, a business may not create a review from a reviewer who does not exist. | ? |
| Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions or experience of the endorser. | ? |
| The SBA lists replies to online reviews as an everyday AI use. | ? |
| A fake review is fine if an AI tool wrote it, not the owner. | ? |
Sources: FTC, 16 CFR Part 465, Consumer Reviews and Testimonials · FTC, 16 CFR Part 255, Endorsement Guides · US Small Business Administration, AI for small businesses
Tomorrow: spot the problems on a page an AI tool drafted.