Overview
SmartCustomer exists because consumers deserve honest information when they shop online. We're an independent review platform: consumers share their experiences, businesses can engage with feedback, and we work to make sure every review you see is authentic. No business can pay to change its rating or remove a review. Here's a closer look at how each part of the system works.
1. Our reviews
Reviews on SmartCustomer come from two sources: consumers who find us and write a review on their own, and consumers who are invited to review a business through that business's review collection tools.
When a business receives its first review, a SmartCustomer business profile is automatically created for it. The business doesn’t need to opt in for this page to be created.
Anyone can write a review. Before a review is published, it goes through our verification process to confirm it reflects a genuine customer experience.
Starting February 2026, every review submitted through SmartCustomer must be verified with a proof of purchase or be a matching customer in a business’s database. Verification confirms that the reviewer had a real interaction with the business being reviewed. Read more about how we collect reviews and what verification means →
We also apply our Review Integrity Policy in the review collection process to make sure the content meets our authenticity standards. Learn more about our Review Integrity Policy →
SmartCustomer ratings on business profile pages are calculated using a defined formula that accounts for review recency, volume, and verified status. Read more about how ratings are calculated →
2. Businesses
A business can be reviewed on SmartCustomer whether or not it's claimed a business profile. Consumers don't need the business's participation or permission to leave a review.
Businesses are encouraged to claim their business profile. Doing so lets them add information about their company, respond publicly to reviews, and access tools to help them consistently collect and monitor feedback. It's a way for businesses to be transparent, get fresh and representative feedback, and engage with the people they serve.
Claiming a profile doesn’t give a business any control over their ratings or content of the reviews. That remains in the hands of consumers.
3. Our business model
SmartCustomer is free to use for both consumers and businesses. For consumers, reading reviews, writing them, comparing businesses, reporting suspected fake reviews, and engaging with the community are all free, and always will be.
For businesses, any company can claim a profile and access a basic set of free tools: responding to reviews, monitoring their feedback, and collecting reviews from their customers. For businesses that want to go further, our paid plans offer tools we’ve built to make the experience better for everyone. That includes more review requests, better review collection experiences, richer feedback insights to help businesses make improvements, and the ability to source and display additional UGC like video and product reviews.
What businesses cannot pay for is any influence over their reviews or rating. No plan, at any price, allows a business to inflate its rating, remove reviews it dislikes, or target only the customers most likely to leave positive feedback. Businesses that collect reviews through SmartCustomer must do so from a fair, representative sample of their customers. Blocking or filtering out negative reviewers is a violation of our Review Integrity Policy.
Our goal is to be useful to both consumers and businesses, without compromising what makes us trustworthy to either.