Google Review Appeals Are Delayed: What to Do

Google said last week that review appeals for Business Profiles, the listing a business has on Google Maps and Search, are taking longer than usual because of a high volume of cases. It gave no timeline. Any business waiting to hear back on a fake or abusive review it asked Google to remove is affected.

What we know

The notice: it was posted by Dan Boguslavsky, listed as a Google employee, in the Business Profile Help Community. It is a pinned announcement with replies turned off. It says that, due to a high volume of review-related appeals, processing times are extended and that Google is working through all cases.
No timeline: the same notice says Google cannot currently give a specific response timeframe for pending cases.
What Google asks: don't create a duplicate appeal. Once it's submitted, nothing else is needed.
How the process works, according to Google's help pages: you first report the review; evaluation "typically takes several days." If Google finds no policy violation, the business can submit a one-time appeal covering up to 10 reviews. The result arrives by email.
What can be removed: only reviews that break Google's policies. The help page asks owners not to report a review just because they disagree with it, and says Google doesn't get involved in disputes between businesses and customers.
Not the first time: according to Search Engine Roundtable, similar delays happened in December and in March 2025.

What changes and what doesn't

What changes is the wait: an appeal filed now may take longer than usual, with no date to plan around.

The rules stay the same. The notice doesn't touch content policies, doesn't change which reviews can be removed and says nothing about listing ratings. Regular reporting still works: you can keep flagging new reviews from your Business Profile.

What to do if you're waiting on an appeal

Check the status instead of starting over. In Google's Reviews Management Tool, each report shows one of these statuses: "Decision pending" (not evaluated yet), "Report reviewed - no policy violation" (you can appeal once) or "Escalated - check your email for updates" (already appealed). If it says Escalated, there's nothing else to send: wait for the email.
Don't file a duplicate. It's the one thing Google explicitly asks. The appeal is one-time and takes up to 10 reviews at once, so if several reviews come from the same attack, put them in a single submission.
Only report what breaks the rules. Google's examples are spam and profanity. A harsh but genuine review won't be removed, and adding those to the queue doesn't speed up the rest.
Reply publicly in the meantime. A short, calm reply from the business, without the customer's personal details, is what other people will see while Google decides.
If someone asks for money to remove reviews, that isn't an appeal case: Google's help page has a separate way to report extortion scams involving negative reviews.
Keep evidence. Screenshots of the reviews with their dates and Google's decision email will save time if you later need to contact support.

Sources

Updates: if Google gives a timeline or says appeals are back to normal, it will be added here with a link.