• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 26, 2024

Not all forays into product reviews succeed. 

Case in point: Gannett is shuttering its review site Reviewed.

“After careful consideration and evaluation of our Reviewed business, we have decided to close the operation,” says spokesperson Lark-Marie Antón. 

Antón adds: “We extend our sincere gratitude to our employees who have provided consumers with trusted product reviews.”  

Now you might believe that the closure has nothing to do with allegations that Reviewed published AI-written reviews, as published by The Verge. Gannett feels it has refuted those allegations.

On the contrary, the move is said to be a business decision based largely on the fact that Google’s constant algorithm changes have degraded Reviewed’s business model. If true, we suspect that other publications are dealing with the same issue.  

Gannett did dabble in AI, placing bullet points on the top of some stories in USA Today. And last year, staff members  on USA Today noticed stilted product reviews in Reviewed that they suspected were written by artificial intelligence. Nobody had ever heard of the writers and there was no record of them, reports said.

Gannett denied that it posted AI-written content. The shoddy articles were written by freelancers and did not meet Gannett’s editorial standards, a Gannett spokesperson told The Verge. 

Meanwhile, there’s no word if the closure will impact staff or freelancers. 

There are several challenges to running a product like Reviewed. For one, you have to have writers who can produce that kind of content and engage the audience — it’s a special talent. Regular journalists may not be comfortable doing it.  

Then there’s the Google issue. A site like Reviewed needs traffic, and people will not find their way to it without search. 

What a shame. It could have been great.