Short answer: Google's Maps review policy bars merchants from offering incentives, pressuring customers to review while on the premises, setting staff review quotas, asking for reviews that name a staff member or contain specific content, and asking only happy customers (review gating). Asking every customer for an honest review after the visit, with a direct link, is still allowed.
1. The five prohibitions, in plain English
No on-premises pressure. Google prohibits requiring or pressuring users to leave ratings or reviews while at your location. A tablet handed across the counter or a "leave us 5 stars before you go" puts the customer on the spot, which is the pressure the policy describes. Why: reviews written under social pressure at the till are not independent.
No staff review quotas. Requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews is prohibited. Google added this to its rating manipulation rules in April 2026.
No name-drop solicitation. Asking customers to mention a staff member by name - or to include any specific content - is prohibited. Employees can ask for honest reviews; they cannot script them.
No incentives. Payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for reviews are prohibited, and Google removes incentivized reviews from Maps.
No review gating. Discouraging negative reviews or selectively asking only happy customers is prohibited. Ask everyone the same way and let them self-select.
2. What happens when Google finds a violation
Most of these rules are not new. Google does not publish how it detects violations, but its Help Center describes what it can do once it finds fake engagement: remove the reviews and restrict the profile. If a competitor is the one posting fake reviews about you, see our fake review removal service. If your reviews disappeared recently, our guide on why Google reviews disappear covers the diagnosis; if the profile itself got suspended, start with the suspension fix guide.
What the April 2026 update changed. In April 2026 (reported April 17), Google added two practices to the rating manipulation section of its policy: asking staff to collect a certain number of reviews, and asking staff to collect reviews with specific content, including a staff member's name. Google's restrictions page lists what can follow a fake-engagement finding: the profile cannot receive new reviews for a set period, existing reviews are unpublished for a set period, or customers see a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google emails the owner before applying a restriction, and you can appeal it through the form on that page. If an appeal has already been turned down, our denied appeal help covers the next steps. If your legitimate reviews vanished after a suspension was lifted, that is a different problem again; see reviews missing after reinstatement.
3. The compliant system that still works
Ask after the visit, not during. Email or SMS soon after the service, while the visit is fresh, keeps the ask away from on-premises pressure.
Treatment-based businesses, see GMB optimization for med spas, should also avoid asking for before-and-after photos in reviews.
Use a direct review link. Every extra click loses people. Request yours free through our review link generator, where we build it for you (link + QR code for receipts and follow-up emails - QR on a receipt is fine; a kiosk demanding a review before you leave is not).
Ask everyone, identically. Same message, every customer, built into the workflow (CRM, invoice, booking confirmation) rather than into anyone's judgment about who seems happy.
Respond to everything. Google recommends replying to reviews; it shows customers you read and value their feedback. Templates by industry: free response templates.
Want the whole system run for you, compliantly? That is exactly what our review velocity management service does - steady, policy-clean review growth without your staff ever having to ask.
Frequently asked questions
Are review kiosks or tablets at my counter against Google policy?
Yes. Google's contribution policy prohibits requiring or pressuring users to leave ratings or reviews while on the premises - which is exactly what a review kiosk or handed-over tablet does. Ask afterward instead, by email or SMS, with a direct link.
Can my staff ask customers to mention them by name in reviews?
No. Google prohibits requesting reviews that include specific content, explicitly including content that identifies a staff member. Staff can ask for honest reviews - they cannot ask for name-drops or steer what the review says.
Can I set review quotas for my team?
No. Requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews is prohibited. Build the ask into your post-service workflow instead of into individual performance targets.
Is asking for reviews still allowed at all?
Yes - solicitation itself is fine. Google allows asking customers for genuine reviews as long as there are no incentives, no on-premises pressure, no content steering, and no filtering of who gets asked (review gating). Ask every customer the same way, after the visit.
What happens if I break these rules?
Google can remove the reviews and restrict the profile: no new reviews for a set period, existing reviews unpublished for a set period, or a public warning that fake reviews were removed. Repeated or serious abuse can lead to suspension. If your profile was suspended, see our suspension recovery guide.
Related guides: How to get more Google reviews · Remove fake Google reviews · Response templates by industry
Updated October 9, 2026: replaced unsourced claims about automated and Gemini-based detection with the restrictions Google actually lists, corrected the April 2026 change, and removed an unsourced ask-timing claim and a ranking claim. Sources: Google: Maps user contributed content policy · Google: Business Profile restrictions for policy violations · Google: manage reviews · Search Engine Roundtable, April 17, 2026.