What percentage of consumers read Google reviews?

About 97% of consumers read online reviews, and roughly 81% read reviews on Google when evaluating a local business (BrightLocal, 2026).

How many businesses respond to reviews?

Only about 5% of businesses respond to their reviews, even though 89% of consumers expect a response (BrightLocal, 2026).

Does responding to reviews increase revenue?

Responding to all of your reviews correlates with up to an 18% increase in revenue (BrightLocal, 2026).

Data

Google review statistics (2026)

The numbers every local business should know, how much reviews drive decisions, how few businesses reply, and why responding pays off. Free to cite.

How much people rely on reviews

97%

of consumers read online reviews when researching a local business.

41%

now "always" read reviews when browsing for a business, up sharply from 29% a year earlier.

review sites the average consumer consults before deciding, no single platform is enough anymore.

Google's role

81%

of consumers read reviews on Google when evaluating local businesses, still the first place most people look.

45%

now use AI tools like ChatGPT for recommendations, up from 6%, a fast-growing new discovery channel.

Why responding matters (the opportunity)

89%

of consumers expect businesses to respond to their reviews.

of businesses actually respond to their reviews, a massive gap you can win on.

97%

of people who read reviews also read the business's responses.

up to 18%

higher revenue correlates with responding to all of your reviews.

Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey (2026). Free to reference with a link back to this page.

Be in the 5% that responds

89% of customers expect a reply, but almost no one delivers. SmallBizReply answers every Google review automatically, in your voice, so you win the gap.

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