Review schema.In plain English.

Google says a business's pages that mark up reviews it controls about itself aren't eligible for review stars in search results.

The rule covers pages using LocalBusiness or Organization markup, and Google counts reviews shown through an embedded third-party widget as self-serving too. So a plumber or a dental office won't get stars for its own reviews, whatever a plugin promises.

Review markup still fits where Google supports it, such as a product you sell. The reviews have to be visible on that page, and Google says not to pull in reviews or ratings from other websites. Misleading markup, such as fake reviews, can lead to a manual action that removes the page's rich results.

Marking up third-party reviews on your own site won't produce stars, and fake or copied reviews break platform rules and US law. Google also says AI Overviews need no special markup, so accurate LocalBusiness schema that matches the page and your listings does more for you than review stars.

Example: a roofing company's homepage shows a carousel of its Google reviews with star markup. Google shows no stars for it, because the business controls those reviews.