Spot the bot: AI-generated fake reviews flooding the internet prove difficult to detect

There's nothing new about fake reviews of restaurants and hotels — but they've entered a new dimension as AI can now churn out plausible reviews at the touch of a button

We’ve long imagined robots fulfilling roles such as hotel reception but the surge of innovation is on the other side of the desk — an endless deluge of fake reviews generated by AI. iStock

The four-star hotel in Kraków in Poland, the review says, is “excellent”, a “short walk from the main square” and boasts a “first-rate” spa and fitness centre. A less positive review describes it as “small, cramped and outdated” with “lumpy” pillows. But then a family who stayed said they were made to feel “instantly welcome”.

The truth is that none of those reviews are real. They were generated in seconds by the free-to-use artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. These “visitors” definitely didn’t stay at the hotel, as they don’t exist.