“We’re being review-bombed. Remove a batch of 20 fake reviews.”

The steps

1. 1

   Group the 20 by the facts the owner can show

   20 reviews are rarely 20 different cases. The checker judges 1 review at a time from facts, never the text, so the agent groups them: here, the reviews from accounts with no customer record, posted in a burst, with the dated list of every review ready.

   MCP tool call: check_review_removability

   Copy

   {
     "ownership": "business",
     "customer": "no-record",
     "contains": ["burst"],
     "evidence": {"burst": "yes"}
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/review-removability \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{"ownership":"business","customer":"no-record","contains":["burst"],"evidence":{"burst":"yes"}}'

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "checked": "2026-10-15",
     "status": "complete",
     "summary": "Strong match with a Google rule. Google decides. No service can change that.",
     "verdict": {"id": "match", "label": "Strong match with a Google rule"},
     "rules": [
       {
         "id": "fake-engagement",
         "rule": "Fake Engagement",
         "strength": "named",
         "can_show_it": true,
         "url": "https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114"
       }
     ],
     "do_it_yourself": {
       "evidence_to_attach": [
         "A dated screenshot of your record search (name, email, phone, date range)",
         "What the review describes, set against your records for that date",
         "A dated screenshot of the review",
         "Every review link with its date",
         "Your record search for each reviewer name",
         "Matching wording or naming patterns across accounts"
       ],
       "timeline": {
         "official": "Official: “Review evaluation typically takes several days.” (Google Business Profile Help)"
       },
       "if_google_says_no": "If the status reads “Report reviewed - no policy violation”, you can submit a one-time appeal from the Reviews Management Tool for up to 10 reviews at once. Add new evidence: Google emails the decision."
     },
     "patterns": {
       "burst": {
         "title": "A burst of reviews",
         "body": "Report each review under the rule that fits (Fake Engagement, Repetitive content, or Rating Manipulation for unusual review volumes or patterns) and attach the full dated list to every report. Keep a log: if the burst came with a demand for money, follow the extortion steps."
       }
     },
     "service": {"price": {"label": "$499 for 1 review"}, "offered_as": "alternative_to_diy"}
   }

   What to read: patterns.burst: report each review under the rule that fits, with the full dated list attached to every report. if_google_says_no: the single appeal Google allows covers up to 10 reviews at once.

2. 2

   Ask whether anyone demanded money

   The burst block says to follow the extortion steps if the burst came with a demand for money, so the agent asks. With extortion added, the same call returns Google’s own instruction and the form to report it.

   MCP tool call: check_review_removability

   Copy

   {
     "ownership": "business",
     "customer": "no-record",
     "contains": ["burst", "extortion"],
     "evidence": {"burst": "yes"}
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/review-removability \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{"ownership":"business","customer":"no-record","contains":["burst","extortion"],"evidence":{"burst":"yes"}}'

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "status": "complete",
     "summary": "Strong match with a Google rule. Google decides. No service can change that.",
     "patterns": {
       "extortion": {
         "title": "Extortion: do not pay",
         "body": "Google’s instruction is: “Do not engage with or pay the malicious individuals.” Save every demand with dates, times and sender details, list the review links and when the surge started, then report it through Google’s merchant extortion form. Google reviews each claim and tells you the outcome.",
         "official_link": {
           "title": "Google Business Profile Help: Report negative review extortion scams on your Business Profile",
           "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/16404809"
         }
       }
     }
   }

   What to read: extortion.title is “Extortion: do not pay”. The agent repeats Google’s instruction and never replies to or pays whoever made the demand.

3. 3

   Reviews not checked against the records yet

   For reviews the owner has not yet searched for in bookings and orders, the verdict drops to arguable: the pattern fits Fake Engagement, but the owner cannot show it yet.

   MCP tool call: check_review_removability

   Copy

   {
     "ownership": "business",
     "customer": "unsure",
     "contains": ["burst"],
     "evidence": {"burst": "not-yet"}
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/review-removability \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{"ownership":"business","customer":"unsure","contains":["burst"],"evidence":{"burst":"not-yet"}}'

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "checked": "2026-10-15",
     "status": "complete",
     "summary": "Arguable: report with evidence. Google decides. No service can change that.",
     "verdict": {
       "id": "arguable-evidence",
       "label": "Arguable: report with evidence",
       "explanation": "This could match a Google rule, but you cannot show it yet. Gather the evidence first, then report: Google decides on what it can see."
     },
     "rules": [
       {
         "id": "fake-engagement",
         "rule": "Fake Engagement",
         "strength": "named",
         "can_show_it": false,
         "url": "https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114"
       }
     ],
     "do_it_yourself": {
       "evidence_to_attach": [
         "Every review link with its date",
         "Your record search for each reviewer name",
         "Matching wording or naming patterns across accounts"
       ]
     }
   }

   What to read: can_show_it is false until the record search is done, so the agent asks for that search before anything is reported or bought.

4. 4

   Price the service, and say where the ladder stopsService step

   quote_service returns the price ladder, the refund terms and start_url. Its largest tier is 10 reviews. For 20 it returns no price, so the agent does not make one up.

   MCP tool call: quote_service

   Copy

   {
     "id": "google-review-removal"
   }

   Same call over REST

   Copy

   curl https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/services/google-review-removal

   Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

   Copy

   {
     "id": "google-review-removal",
     "name": "Google review removal",
     "start_url": "https://essentras.com/services/google-review-removal/start?utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api&utm_content=quote_service",
     "price": {
       "amount": 499,
       "label": "$499 per review",
       "basis": "from",
       "tiers": [
         {"quantity": 1, "amount": 499, "per_unit": 499},
         {"quantity": 3, "amount": 1350, "per_unit": 450},
         {"quantity": 5, "amount": 2000, "per_unit": 400},
         {"quantity": 10, "amount": 3500, "per_unit": 350}
       ]
     },
     "options": [],
     "terms": "Pro-rata refund, per review: if Google does not remove a review you paid for, that review’s share of the fee comes back. Reviews that do not qualify in the free check come off the order and are refunded before anything is filed.",
     "decides": "Google decides every removal. The refund is ours to make.",
     "free_check": {"mcp_tool": "check_review_removability"},
     "how_to_buy": "start_url is the page where the buyer reviews the service and pays. The agent never pays."
   }

   What to read: terms: reviews that do not qualify in the free check come off the order and are refunded before anything is filed, and a review Google keeps is refunded pro rata. decides: Google decides every removal.