Last verified: October 23, 2026, against Google's Maps user-generated content policy, the eCFR text of 16 CFR Parts 465 and 255, and the FTC's Q&A on the rule. General information, not legal advice.
Review gating means asking patients how they feel first, then sending only the happy ones to Google while unhappy ones land in a private feedback form. Google's review policy prohibits it in plain words. The FTC's 2024 review rule doesn't name it, but the FTC says the practice could violate the FTC Act, and its Endorsement Guides describe the same scheme as potentially deceptive. Incentives for reviews (discounts, gift cards, raffle entries) are banned by Google and restricted by the FTC. The compliant alternative is simple: ask every patient, the same way.
Practices look this up often, and advertisers pay a striking amount for one of the terms:
| Search (US, monthly) | Volume | Avg. CPC |
|---|---|---|
| incentivized reviews | 390 | $98.52 |
| google review policy | 210 | — |
| review gating | 170 | — |
| google review guidelines | 170 | — |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026.
What review gating is, with the flow drawn out
Gating usually lives inside review-request software, often as a default setting called something like "sentiment routing" or "feedback first."
Not compliant (illustrative): the gated flow
- Patient finishes a visit at a fictional clinic, Bayside Physical Therapy.
- A text arrives: "How was your visit today? Reply 1 to 5."
- Patients who reply 4 or 5 get: "Great! Please share that on Google: [link]."
- Patients who reply 1 to 3 get: "Sorry to hear that. Tell us privately: [form]."
- The Google profile collects mostly five-star reviews; complaints go to an inbox nobody else sees.
The variations count too: a kiosk that shows the Google button only after a high rating, a front desk told to hand review cards only to patients who seem pleased, or staff who ask only after a patient says thank you.
Compliant (illustrative): the same clinic, no gate
- Every patient seen that week gets the same text.
- "Thanks for visiting Bayside Physical Therapy. We'd value your feedback on Google: [link]. If you'd rather tell us privately, reply here."
- Every patient sees the Google link, whatever they think of the visit.
The difference isn't the private feedback option. It's whether the Google invitation depends on the patient's answer.
What Google's review policy prohibits
Google's prohibited and restricted content policy (opens in a new tab) lists what merchants may not do. In its Rating Manipulation section, Google says it does not allow merchants to:
- "Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review."
- "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers."
It adds that "merchants should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included," and that this includes asking staff to collect "a certain number of reviews" or reviews that identify a staff member.
What Google does allow: merchants may "solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review." Google's review link help page (opens in a new tab) repeats that offering incentives "is considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited."
Consequences go beyond deleted reviews. Google's restrictions page (opens in a new tab) says a profile with fake engagement can be blocked from new reviews, have existing reviews unpublished for a set period, and show consumers a warning that fake reviews were removed.
What the FTC rule says about incentives and suppression
The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (opens in a new tab), was published on August 22, 2024, and "went into effect on October 21, 2024," per the FTC's Q&A (opens in a new tab). Three provisions bear on gating and incentives.
Incentives tied to sentiment (465.4). It's a violation "to provide compensation or other incentives in exchange for, or conditioned expressly or by implication on, the writing or creation of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative." "A $10 credit for a five-star review" breaks this. So does an implied condition, such as an incentive offered only after a patient says they loved the visit.
Incentives not tied to sentiment. The FTC's Q&A says the rule "does not prohibit giving incentives for reviews, as long as there isn't an express or implied requirement that the reviews have to express a particular sentiment." It adds that failing to disclose incentives could violate the FTC Act, citing the Endorsement Guides (opens in a new tab) at 16 CFR 255.5. For a Google profile this gap doesn't help you: Google bans incentives outright. The rule also defines buying a review to include giving "money, gift certificates, products, services, discounts, coupons, contest entries, or another review" (465.1).
Selective asking. The Q&A addresses gating directly. Asked whether a business can request reviews only from customers it thinks are happy, the FTC answers: "The rule does not contain a specific prohibition against such conduct. But this practice could violate the FTC Act." It cites 16 CFR 255.2(d), which says advertisers "should not take actions that have the effect of distorting or otherwise misrepresenting what consumers think of their products."
Suppression (465.7). On review sections of your own website, you can't imply that the reviews shown "represent most or all the reviews submitted" while hiding ones based on their rating or negative sentiment. Neutral criteria applied to every review, such as removing another person's personal information or content that's wholly unrelated, are allowed.
For the full rule, see the FTC review rule explained, and for disclosure rules on paid or connected endorsers, the FTC endorsement guides.
Is a satisfaction survey before the review allowed?
Yes, if the survey result doesn't decide who receives the Google invitation. The Endorsement Guides give almost this exact scenario as Example 11 under section 255.2. A marketer asks recent purchasers for feedback, then "invites purchasers who give very positive feedback to post online reviews" while "less pleased and unhappy purchasers are simply thanked." That "may be an unfair or deceptive practice if it results in the posted reviews being substantially more positive than if the marketer had not engaged in the practice." Had the marketer "simply invited all recent purchasers," the Guides say it would not have been unfair or deceptive, "even if it had expressed its hope for positive reviews."
| Survey setup (illustrative) | Status |
|---|---|
| Survey goes out; the Google link is sent only to people who score 9 or 10 | Not compliant |
| Survey and Google link go out together to every patient | Compliant |
| Survey first; every respondent, whatever the score, then sees the Google link | Compliant |
| Unhappy respondents get a call from the manager and also receive the Google link | Compliant |
| Unhappy respondents get a call and are asked not to post until "we fix it" | Not compliant: discourages negative reviews |
Staff, family and in-office review stations
Staff and former staff. Google removes reviews "based on a conflict of interest," including "current or former employment" and "familial relationships." Don't ask employees or their families to review the practice on Google, even if they're also patients.
Owners and managers. Under 465.5 of the FTC rule, an officer or manager who writes a review of their own business must clearly and conspicuously disclose the relationship. A manager also can't solicit reviews from employees or relatives when the resulting reviews lack disclosure and the manager encouraged non-disclosure, didn't instruct disclosure, or knew and didn't fix it. The FTC's Q&A says relatives may review a business "but ask them to clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship." On Google, the conflict-of-interest rule removes those reviews anyway.
Staff quotas and bonuses. Google bans "merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews." Bonuses per review collected push staff toward exactly that, and toward asking selectively.
In-office tablets and kiosks. A device at the desk where patients post while you watch runs into Google's line that merchants "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises." A printed QR code on the counter that anyone can scan later is a passive invitation; a staff member handing a patient a tablet open to the review box is pressure.
A compliant review request flow
Build the ask into a step every patient passes through, so nobody is picking who gets it:
- Trigger: every completed visit (or every completed course of care), pulled from your own scheduling system.
- Timing: the same delay for everyone, for example one day after the visit.
- Message: one approved script for all patients, with the Google review link, no incentive, no request for specific content, no mention of the visit type.
- Private channel (optional): an offer to share feedback privately, shown alongside the Google link, never instead of it.
- Follow-up: at most one reminder, to everyone who didn't respond.
- Records: a monthly count of requests sent against patients seen, so you can show the ask went to everyone.
Then audit your tools. Open your review software's settings and look for anything called sentiment routing, feedback-first, smart filtering, or a minimum score for showing the Google link. Ask the vendor in writing:
- Does any setting send the Google link only to patients above a score threshold?
- Is that feature on by default for our account, and can you confirm in writing that it's off?
- Do you offer incentives, sweepstakes or rewards to reviewers on our behalf?
- Will you sign a BAA before receiving our patient names and phone numbers?
Keep the replies with your compliance records. The script side of this flow is covered in asking patients for reviews. If you plan to reuse reviews in marketing, read the patient testimonials rules first, because a review copied into an ad becomes a testimonial with HIPAA and FTC requirements of its own.
Medfy doesn't send review requests or run review software. Its free marketing audit scores your Google listing, including rating and review count, so you can see where you stand. For replies, removals and choosing a vendor, see our reputation management guide.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Frequently asked questions
Is review gating illegal?
On Google it's simply prohibited: the review policy bars merchants from selectively soliciting positive reviews. Under federal law it's riskier than it looks. The FTC's review rule has no specific ban, but the FTC says the practice could violate the FTC Act, and its Endorsement Guides describe a gating scheme as potentially unfair or deceptive when it makes posted reviews substantially more positive. Treat it as off-limits.
Can we send a satisfaction survey before asking for a review?
Yes, if the survey answer doesn't decide who gets the review invitation. Send the survey and the Google review link to every patient, or send the link to everyone regardless of their score. What crosses the line is routing: low scorers get a private feedback form while high scorers get the Google link. Check your software's settings, because some tools do this by default.
Can staff leave reviews for our practice?
Not on Google. Google's policy removes reviews based on a conflict of interest, including current or former employment and family relationships. Under the FTC rule, owners and managers who review their own business must clearly disclose the relationship, and managers can't push employees to post undisclosed reviews. Staff can still tell friends about the practice; they just shouldn't post Google reviews of their employer.
Can we enter reviewers into a prize drawing?
No, not for Google reviews. Google's policy bans offering incentives such as payment, discounts, or free goods or services for reviews, and a prize entry is something of value. The FTC rule's definition of buying a review lists contest entries alongside money and discounts, and its Endorsement Guides treat the chance of winning a prize as a material connection that must be disclosed.