SmartCustomer: A New Name for a New Era of Consumer Protection
Twenty years ago, our team saw a need to bring honesty and transparency to consumers’ online purchases. With funding from the National Science Foundation, we developed the Sitejabber platform to increase online transparency and protect consumers from fraudulent businesses. And while much has changed over the years, our mission, as follows, has remained the same:
We strive to empower consumers to make smarter purchasing decisions and elevate brands they can trust.
Now we’re taking the next step toward upholding that mission.
The internet has changed dramatically. And with the rapid changes in artificial intelligence, so have the ways people shop online. Today’s consumers do more than click through static search results. They navigate a complex ecosystem in which algorithms and AI influence purchasing decisions.
AI can vastly improve the shopping experience by tailoring recommendations to individual needs. But it can also introduce significant new risks.
Amplifying authentic, human, and trustworthy resources has never been more important. To better reflect our role in this modern era, we’re moving into a new phase of our work.
A new name for a bigger responsibility
Sitejabber is now SmartCustomer.
This new name reflects how our work has evolved for the AI era. We’re more than a platform to review websites. We help people feel confident and protected when they evaluate businesses with a digital presence and learn about their products.
We’re introducing three key initiatives to increase online transparency between consumers and businesses: 1) upholding authenticity in the age of AI; 2) using SmartCustomer with ChatGPT; and 3) fighting AI-powered scams through community building and information sharing.
1. Upholding authenticity in the age of AI
AI has fueled a substantial increase of fake reviews, from low-effort spam to sophisticated campaigns, making it challenging to discern what’s real from what’s not. SmartCustomer upholds our belief that trustworthy, shared experiences are critical to ensure a fair marketplace.
SmartCustomer has instituted three safeguards to ensure authentic reviews. First, all new reviews submitted to SmartCustomer will require a verified proof of purchase as well as additional experience details. Second, we’ve updated our automated moderation algorithms to better flag suspicious reviewer behavior and detect AI-generated content. Third, we’ve partnered with Persona, a secure online identity verification service, to ensure reviewers are human and that their identities are authentic.
These three measures are designed to make it much more difficult for scammers to pretend to be customers, help block illegitimate feedback, and offer authentic reviews. Together, these safeguards will help protect consumers and preserve the integrity of the information people and agents rely on.
2. Using SmartCustomer with ChatGPT
As more people use AI to shop online, we’re launching the SmartCustomer ChatGPT app to provide consumers with information about brands and products as they use ChatGPT. Using the SmartCustomer app, users can ask ChatGPT what others think about a brand. ChatGPT’s responses will be informed by all the experiences and reviews Sitejabber has collected over the past twenty years.
Responses will feature an enhanced interface that highlights reviews, insights, and suggestions, and provides direct links to relevant review pages on SmartCustomer for further research. SmartCustomer prioritizes consumers’ seamless access to this information as buying within AI-powered search and shopping become more prevalent.
3. Fighting AI-powered scams through community building and information sharing
Scams are increasing, making fraud increasingly difficult to detect. AI enables bad actors to create fake businesses and phishing profiles and conduct fraudulent outreach at scale. We believe education and community building are some of the strongest defenses against these threats.
We’ve created a dedicated space for learning and discussion centered specifically on emerging AI-powered scams. To ask questions, share your experiences, and learn prevention tactics, get connected here:
- Join the Facebook anti-AI scams community →
- Join the Reddit anti-AI scams community →
We invite you to be part of a broader effort to reduce harm and help people navigate an increasingly complex online world.
Looking ahead
The name of our customer reviews platform may have changed, but our commitment to transparency and protection for consumers is stronger than ever. SmartCustomer is here to ensure that as technology evolves, the power remains where it belongs: in the hands of the consumer.
Thank you for supporting our mission. We’re excited to build on what we’ve created as we step into this next chapter together!
The SmartCustomer Team