Word of Mouth Marketing Statistics 2026: Trust, Reviews and AI
49% of US consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family in 2026, according to BrightLocal. That is up from 42% in 2025 but down from 79% in 2020. Word of mouth is also moving to AI. 45% of US consumers used ChatGPT or similar tools for local business recommendations in 2026, up from 6% a year earlier.
Key statistics
- 49% of US consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
- US trust in online reviews as much as personal recommendations fell 30 percentage points between 2020 and 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
- 97% of US consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
- 45% of US consumers used ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local business recommendations in 2026, up from 6% in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
- 83% of global respondents completely or somewhat trusted recommendations from friends and family in 2015, according to Nielsen.
Word of mouth marketing statistics
Word of mouth now runs through two channels. People still ask friends and family. They also read the experiences of strangers in online reviews, which work as word of mouth at scale.
Almost every US consumer now checks what other customers say. 97% read online reviews for local businesses in 2026, according to BrightLocal. The habit is getting stronger. The share who always read reviews rose from 29% to 41% in one year.
Reviews act in both directions. 85% are more likely to use a business after positive reviews. 77% are less likely after negative ones. Volume matters too. 47% will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.
Reviews start the journey more often than they end it. After a positive review, 54% go on to check the business's own website, up from 32% in 2019. Word of mouth earns the visit. The business still has to close the sale.
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97% of US consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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41% of US consumers always read reviews when browsing for local businesses in 2026, up from 29% a year earlier, according to BrightLocal.
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The share of US consumers who always read local reviews rose 12 percentage points in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 41% (2026) - 29% (2025) = +12 percentage points. Both figures from LCRS 2026.
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85% of US consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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77% of US consumers say negative reviews make them less likely to use a business in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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Positive reviews sway 8 percentage points more US consumers than negative reviews deter in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 85% more likely to use after positive reviews - 77% less likely after negative reviews = 8 percentage points.
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93% of US consumers have made a purchase after reading reviews, according to BrightLocal survey data published in 2026.
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47% of US consumers won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Read online reviews for local businesses | 97% | |
| Always read reviews when browsing | 29% | 41% |
| More likely to use a business after positive reviews | 85% | |
| Less likely to use a business after negative reviews | 77% | |
| Will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews | 47% | |
| Visit the business website after positive reviews | 54% |
Trust in personal recommendations statistics
The most cited word of mouth numbers come from Nielsen's global trust survey. Its latest global edition dates from 2015. Newer data is US-only.
Recommendations from people we know remain the most trusted form of marketing in Nielsen's data. 83% of global respondents trusted friends and family in 2015. Online consumer opinions came third at 66%, behind branded websites at 70%.
The 17-point gap between friends and strangers online is the core of word of mouth. People trust reviews, but less than they trust someone they know.
Treat the 2015 figure with care. Nielsen has not published a newer global edition on its site. Many stats blogs still quote it as current. It is a decade old and should be read as a baseline, not today's level.
Source: Nielsen, Global Trust in Advertising 2015.
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83% of global respondents completely or somewhat trusted recommendations from friends and family in 2015, according to Nielsen.
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66% of global respondents trusted consumer opinions posted online in 2015, according to Nielsen.
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70% of global respondents completely or somewhat trusted branded websites in 2015, according to Nielsen.
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Trust in friends' recommendations was 17 percentage points higher than trust in online consumer opinions worldwide in 2015, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Nielsen data.
How we calculated it: 83% trust recommendations from friends and family - 66% trust consumer opinions posted online = 17 percentage points.
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85% of consumer purchases in over 80 categories involved a brand the buyer had tried before, according to Nielsen research published in 2022.
| Source | Trust |
|---|---|
| Recommendations from friends and family | 83% |
| Branded websites | 70% |
| Consumer opinions posted online | 66% |
| Emails signed up for | 56% |
Online reviews vs word of mouth
BrightLocal has asked US consumers the same question for years. Do they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations?
Trust in reviews has fallen a long way. 79% of US consumers trusted reviews as much as personal recommendations in 2020. By 2025 it was 42%. The 2026 edition shows a partial recovery to 49%.
Lower trust has not meant less use. 97% of US consumers still read reviews in 2026. Shoppers rely on reviews but rank them below a friend's advice. Concern about fake reviews, covered below, is one likely reason.
Our calculation puts the drop at 30 percentage points from 2020 to 2026. The 2020 and 2026 surveys use different panels of around 1,000 US adults, so small year-to-year moves are within normal survey noise. The long fall is too large to be noise.
Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey, 2023, 2025 and 2026 editions.
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49% of US consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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42% of US consumers trusted online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
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46% of US consumers felt online business reviews were as trustworthy as personal recommendations from friends or family in BrightLocal's 2023 survey, according to BrightLocal.
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79% of US consumers trusted online reviews as much as personal recommendations in 2020, according to BrightLocal.
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US trust in online reviews as much as personal recommendations fell 30 percentage points between 2020 and 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 49% (2026, LCRS 2026) - 79% (2020, as reported in LCRS 2025) = -30 percentage points.
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US trust in online reviews as much as personal recommendations rose 7 percentage points in 2026, from 42% to 49%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 49% (LCRS 2026) - 42% (LCRS 2025) = +7 percentage points.
| Survey edition | Trust reviews as much as personal recommendations |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 79% |
| 2023 | 46% |
| 2025 | 42% |
| 2026 | 49% |
Referral and recommendation statistics by channel
Recommendations do not work alone. Nielsen and Bazaarvoice show where they sit next to advertising, social media and creators.
Advertising reaches more people, but recommendations carry more trust. Nielsen found 45% of US new brand triers called advertising useful. 30% used recommendations and 18% used reviews. Recommendations were 1.7 times as common as reviews in those journeys.
Across six countries, Bazaarvoice found 52% of shoppers named real customer reviews as the biggest factor in a final purchase in 2025. Authenticity cuts both ways. 52% distrust creator content that feels overly promotional, and 44% are wary of overly positive, generic reviews. Our influencer marketing statistics page covers creator reach in more detail.
Word of mouth can be prompted. 78% of US consumers were asked for a review in the last 12 months, and 83% of those asked wrote one, by our calculation from BrightLocal data. Asking is the cheapest referral tactic a business has.
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30% of US new brand triers used recommendations in their purchase journey, according to Nielsen research published in 2022.
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18% of US new brand triers recalled using reviews in their purchase journey, according to Nielsen research published in 2022.
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45% of US new brand triers found advertising useful or influential, according to Nielsen research published in 2022.
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US new brand triers were 1.7 times as likely to use recommendations as reviews, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Nielsen data published in 2022.
How we calculated it: 30% used recommendations / 18% used reviews = 1.67, rounded to 1.7.
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52% of shoppers in six countries cited real customer reviews as the biggest factor in final purchase decisions in 2025, according to Bazaarvoice.
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52% of shoppers in six countries distrusted creator content that felt overly promotional in 2025, according to Bazaarvoice.
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44% of shoppers in six countries were wary of overly positive, generic reviews in 2025, according to Bazaarvoice.
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78% of US consumers were asked to write a business review in the previous 12 months, according to BrightLocal survey data published in 2026.
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65% of US consumers wrote a review after being asked by a business, according to BrightLocal survey data published in 2026.
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83% of US consumers asked for a review in the previous 12 months went on to write one, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data published in 2026.
How we calculated it: 65% wrote after being asked / 78% were asked = 0.833 = 83%. Matches the 83% BrightLocal states in the LCRS 2026 text.
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69% of US consumers wrote a business review in the previous 12 months, according to BrightLocal survey data published in 2026.
| Source | Share of new brand triers |
|---|---|
| Found advertising useful or influential | 45% |
| Used recommendations | 30% |
| Recalled using reviews | 18% |
AI as the new word of mouth
Generative AI tools now summarise what other customers say. For many shoppers they are becoming the first place a recommendation comes from.
The biggest shift in 2026 is AI. 45% of US consumers used ChatGPT or similar tools for local recommendations, up from 6% in 2025. AI became the third most used source. Google fell from 83% to 71% but stays first.
By our calculation, AI tools now reach 63% as many consumers as Google does for local recommendations. A year earlier the figure was 7%. Trust is following use. 42% of US consumers trust AI platforms as much as traditional reviews.
AI also reshapes the reviews it summarises. 23% of review writers used AI at least sometimes in 2026, according to Bazaarvoice. 64% of consumers say AI-written reviews are not authentic, yet only 16% are very confident they could spot one. Our AI search statistics page tracks wider AI search use.
Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
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45% of US consumers used ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local business recommendations in 2026, up from 6% in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
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US use of generative AI for local business recommendations was 7.5 times higher in 2026 than in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 45% (2026) / 6% (2025) = 7.5. Both figures from LCRS 2026.
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71% of US consumers used Google for local business reviews in 2026, down from 83% in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
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Google lost 12 percentage points as a local review source for US consumers in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 71% (2026) - 83% (2025) = -12 percentage points. Both figures from LCRS 2026.
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Generative AI tools reached 63% of Google's reach as a US local review source in 2026, up from 7% in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 2026: 45% / 71% = 0.634 = 63%. 2025: 6% / 83% = 0.072 = 7%. All figures from LCRS 2026.
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27% of US consumers used Apple Maps for local business reviews in 2026, up from 14% in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
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Apple Maps use as a US local review source grew 1.9 times in 2026, from 14% to 27%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 27% (2026) / 14% (2025) = 1.93, rounded to 1.9. Both figures from LCRS 2026.
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29% of US consumers used local news sites for local business reviews in 2026, down from 48% in 2025, according to BrightLocal.
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Local news sites lost 19 percentage points as a US local review source in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from BrightLocal data.
How we calculated it: 29% (2026) - 48% (2025) = -19 percentage points. Both figures from LCRS 2026.
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US consumers used an average of six review sites when choosing local businesses in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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42% of US consumers trust AI platforms as much as traditional reviews for local business recommendations in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
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23% of product review writers used AI at least sometimes to help write reviews in 2026, according to Bazaarvoice.
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64% of consumers said reviews written with AI are not authentic in 2026, according to Bazaarvoice.
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16% of consumers were very confident they could tell an AI-written review from a human one in 2026, according to Bazaarvoice.
| Source | 2025 | 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 83% | 71% | -12 | |
| ChatGPT or other generative AI | 6% | 45% | +39 |
| Local news sites | 48% | 29% | -19 |
| Apple Maps | 14% | 27% | +13 |
Fake reviews and the limits of online word of mouth
Online word of mouth only works if the reviews are real. The UK government commissioned the most detailed public estimate of fake reviews.
The UK Department for Business and Trade estimates that 11% to 15% of reviews in consumer electronics, home and kitchen, and sports and outdoors are fake. The model covered 2.1 million reviews on 9 popular UK platforms.
Well-written fakes work. Shoppers were 3.1% more likely to buy a product with subtle fake reviews, and 9.2% more likely when it cost over £80. Poorly written fakes backfired, cutting purchase likelihood by 5.3%. The estimated harm is £50 million to £312 million a year, and the authors call that conservative.
This helps explain the trust gap in the BrightLocal data. Consumers know some reviews are fake, so they discount strangers against friends.
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UK shoppers were 3.1% more likely to buy a product with well-written fake reviews in a 2023 experiment, according to the Department for Business and Trade.
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UK shoppers were 9.2% more likely to buy a product priced over £80 with well-written fake reviews in a 2023 experiment, according to the Department for Business and Trade.
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Fake review text on products caused an estimated £50 million to £312 million of annual harm to UK consumers in 2023, according to the Department for Business and Trade.
| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Share of reviews that are fake, 3 common product categories | 11% to 15% |
| Change in purchase likelihood, well-written fake reviews | +3.1% |
| Change in purchase likelihood, well-written fake reviews, products over £80 | +9.2% |
| Change in purchase likelihood, poorly written fake reviews | -5.3% |
| Annual harm to UK consumers from fake review text on products | £50m to £312m |
How these sources measure word of mouth
No single source measures word of mouth directly. Each one captures a different part of it, with its own sample and limits.
BrightLocal surveys about 1,000 US adults each year through a SurveyMonkey panel. It asks about local businesses, not all purchases. The question wording on trust has changed slightly between editions, and the 2020 figure comes from the 2025 report's look-back.
Nielsen's 2015 global trust survey is the last global edition on its site, and the page does not state the sample size. Its 2022 US article draws on Commspoint Journey data and a US trust survey. Both are research firms' own data rather than official statistics.
Bazaarvoice is a review platform vendor, so it has an interest in showing reviews matter. Its 2025 report covered 8,000+ shoppers in six countries via Savanta. The March 2026 AI study covered 1,300+ adults and does not state a country on the release.
The Department for Business and Trade study is the only official source here. It combines a machine learning model with a 4,900-person shopping experiment. It covers products on e-commerce platforms, not services or local businesses.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of consumers trust word of mouth?
83% of global respondents trusted recommendations from friends and family in 2015, according to Nielsen. That is the latest global figure. In the US, 49% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations in 2026, according to BrightLocal.
Is trust in online reviews rising or falling?
It rose in 2026 after a long fall. 49% of US consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, up from 42% in 2025 but down from 79% in 2020, according to BrightLocal.
How many people read reviews before buying?
97% of US consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2026, according to BrightLocal. 41% always read them, up from 29% a year earlier.
Is AI replacing word of mouth?
It is becoming a new channel for it. 45% of US consumers used ChatGPT or similar tools for local recommendations in 2026, up from 6% in 2025. 42% trust AI platforms as much as traditional reviews, according to BrightLocal.
How many online reviews are fake?
Between 11% and 15% of reviews in three common product categories on UK e-commerce platforms were fake, according to a 2023 study for the Department for Business and Trade.
Why do people trust friends more than online reviews?
Fake reviews are one reason. Shoppers were 3.1% more likely to buy products with well-written fake reviews in a UK government experiment, so consumers discount strangers' opinions against people they know.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, 11 February 2026, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Nielsen, Global Trust in Advertising 2015, September 2015, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Nielsen, Build trust to build trial: Trustworthy channels can help, February 2022, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2025, 29 January 2025, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2023, 2023, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Bazaarvoice, Shopper Preference Report 2025 (press release), 12 March 2025, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Bazaarvoice, Bazaarvoice research finds consumers are using AI to help edit reviews, not ghostwrite, 19 March 2026, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Department for Business and Trade, Fake online reviews research: executive summary (Alma Economics for DBT), April 2023, accessed 10 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
Changes to this page
- : Page published with BrightLocal data to 2026, Bazaarvoice data to March 2026, Nielsen data and a 2023 UK government study on fake reviews.