This is how Google Maps makes reviews accurate and relevant to you

This is how Google handles map reviews.

what you need to know

• Google has highlighted the way it moderates Maps reviews.
• Google uses machine learning to ensure reviews are relevant and authentic.
• Maps also takes user input into account to help keep reviews accurate.

While we are still in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are traveling again as we get used to this new normal. Google Maps on iOS or any of the best Android phones is one of the main apps people use to get around, and on Wednesday, Google offered some insights into how it keeps business reviews relevant, accurate and authentic.

Machine learning is a big part of most of what Google does, and extends to the way it handles reviews. As Google’s “first line of defense,” machine learning can identify patterns to help determine whether content is legitimate. It does this by identifying objectionable or off-topic content, checking accounts for any suspicious behavior history, and checking for any unusual activity.

However, Google product lead Ian Leader noted how necessary human operators are to help train models to better understand the context of reviews.

Training a machine to distinguish between acceptable and policy-violating content is a delicate balance. For example, the word “gay” is sometimes used as a derogatory term, which is not something we tolerate in Google reviews. However, if we teach our machine learning model that it only uses hate speech, we may mistakenly delete comments that promote gay business owners or LGBTQ+ safe spaces.

This machine learning training is the difference between a legitimate comment that goes up in seconds or a comment that violates the policy immediately blocked.

Google also encourages users to flag anything they find that might be missing, and provides links for businesses and consumers to report reviews that violate the policy. For example, Google banned comments criticizing companies for complying with COVID-19-related health regulations. These reports are reviewed by human operators who will respond accordingly.

To learn more about how Google Maps handles reviews, you can view the full report.