In short: Paid UGC is advertising in a person’s voice; a customer review is a buyer’s own account of a product. The US FTC’s Q&A on its fake-review rule says a hired influencer’s post is a testimonial, not a review, and that a business could be liable if it knew or should have known an influencer misrepresented their experience. In practice: let creators describe what they really did, do not script experiences they did not have, and do not present paid videos as customer reviews.
Three things that get mixed up
| Type | Who makes it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Customer review | A customer who bought the product | Their own account; the brand does not write it |
| Testimonial | Someone speaking for the product, often paid or given product | An advertising message in a person’s voice |
| Paid UGC | A creator hired to make a video to a brief | An ad asset; the brand chooses where it runs |
The FTC’s Q&A adds that if a business pays for or gives incentives for consumer reviews of its products, those incentivized reviews “would also be considered consumer testimonials under the rule”. The label on a video matters less than what it says and who made it.
What the FTC says
This is general information about a US rule; other countries have their own, so check yours.
- The rule. The FTC announced a final rule on fake reviews and testimonials in August 2024. It describes covered fakes as including reviews by people who do not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, and reviews by people who did not have actual experience with the business or its products. Businesses may not create or sell them, and may not buy or spread them when they knew or should have known they were fake or false. The FTC can seek civil penalties against knowing violators.
- Influencers and creators. In the FTC’s Q&A, “a hired influencer’s social media post touting a product would be considered a celebrity testimonial, not a review.” Influencers in the business of posting testimonials “could be liable” if they lie about having used the product or service.
- Brands. A business “could be liable” if it knew or should have known that influencers misrepresented their use or experience, and it should not provide testimonial text without a reasonable basis to conclude that it is truthful.
- Incentives. The rule “does not prohibit giving incentives for reviews, as long as there isn’t an express or implied requirement that the reviews have to express a particular sentiment.” Paying incentives for 5-star reviews on third-party review platforms is a violation even if reviewers add a disclosure.
- Disclosure. The Q&A says the rule’s only disclosure requirements relate to certain situations involving company insiders. How creators label paid content is covered by the FTC’s separate endorsement guidance; see UGC disclosure rules.
Where brands go wrong
This part is our view, based on the points above.
- Paid videos in a “customer reviews” widget. A paid creator video next to ratings from buyers suggests it is a buyer’s review. See UGC on product pages for how to place it.
- Scripting an experience. A line such as “I have used this every day for a month” handed to a creator who received the product yesterday describes something that did not happen.
- Supplying the testimonial text. A creator reading out words written by the brand is delivering an ad, and the brand needs a reasonable basis to believe those words are true.
- Paying for only positive ratings. Rewarding good ratings, rather than honest ones, is what the FTC’s Q&A says crosses the line.
- Synthetic customers. An AI-generated “customer” is a person who does not exist; see AI-generated UGC vs real creators.
How to use paid UGC honestly
- Call paid videos “creator videos” or “videos from our creators”, and keep the word “reviews” for people who bought the product.
- Give creators the product, so they can speak from use. See free product vs paid UGC.
- Brief for experience, not claims: ask what they did and noticed, and give them the claims they may repeat.
- Label paid content as the platform and your country require.
- Collect real customer reviews separately, with neutral requests that do not ask for a particular rating.
For creators
- Say what you actually did. If you have had the product for two days, say “first impressions”, not “after a month”.
- Do not read a script about an experience you did not have. You can ask for a different line or turn the job down.
- Ask for the product before filming. It is also what makes the video convincing.
- Label paid content as the platform and your country require.
On Usicri
Under the Terms of Service, fake reviews or testimonials, and AI-generated or synthetic persons presented as real people, are not allowed (sections 3 and 8.1). On every upload the creator confirms that they filmed the video themselves and that it shows real people. A video made on Usicri is a creator video made to a campaign brief, so a brand that shows it should present it that way. The brand decides where the approved, paid video runs, under the license in section 5. Usicri does not check videos for compliance with advertising law, so the checklists above are for you. See how to review UGC videos.
How to brief an honest first-person account is covered in UGC testimonial videos.
To collect content from customers as well, read how to get UGC from customers. To check that a testimonial is genuine, see how to tell if a UGC creator is real.
To turn the words in your reviews into a brief, read how to turn customer reviews into UGC briefs.