The Broken Review Economy

Online reviews are the cornerstone of consumer trust in our digital age. But the platforms that host them are failing the users who power them.

Every day, people rely on reviews to choose where to eat, stay, shop, or travel. It’s one of the most adopted online behaviors in the world.

And yet, the review economy is broken.

• Fake reviews erode trust

• Review bias distorts reality

• Consumers have no reason to engage

• Search is clunky and fragmented

• And platforms capture all the value — while users get nothing

Yelp made $1.3 billion in 2024. How much did you earn from your last review?

Explore the next sections to understand how we got here — and why it’s time for something better.