Amazon is changing the way reviews and ratings are presented in an effort to make them more useful to its customers – in the wake of recent review scandal.
Reviews submitted by verified Amazon purchasers will be given more weighting and the ecommerce giant will consider upvotes from other Amazon customers.
Other updates to Amazon’s reviews will include a more sophisticated star rating – which can make or break a product – again with greater weighting given to verified Amazon purchasers.
The machine-learning tech used to update Amazon’s algorithm will kick start in the US.
According to Amazon spokeswoman Julie Law, the company doesn’t take changes like these lightly and evaluated the implications “very closely.” Results are expected to improve over time as the technology evolves.
Changes to the algorithm are designed to battle fake reviews and improve “current product experience”.
The shake-up to Amazon’s renowned review system could be a game changer for companies which have products sold on Amazon, for better or for worse.