AI increasingly sits between shoppers and the reviews they came to read, deciding which ones surface and how they get interpreted, argues Emily Stewart at Business Insider. Studies find AI review summaries lift purchase intent for electronics and appliances but change nothing for restaurants and hotels, and the summaries can flatten opinion, overweight a few negative comments, or get facts wrong. Bazaarvoice CMO Doug Straton said AI crawlers sort reviews by volume, recency, and average rating without the context behind any opinion. The FTC's 2024 rule bans fake ratings and paid sentiment, but platforms stay shielded from user posts.
