Amazon Is Selling Review Requests as an Ad. Here's How to Decide If It Pays Before the Late October Beta.

Test Review Requests on one or two new products only, and set a cost ceiling per incremental rating before the beta opens. Do not roll it across your catalog. Amazon has not published how it prices this ad, so the discipline has to come from you.

On September 29, 2026, Amazon Ads announced Review Requests, a tool for “building up reviews on a brand-new product.” A customer who recently bought your product sees an ad, often on a high-traffic page like the Amazon homepage, and can leave a star rating in one tap. A written review with photos or video is optional. Amazon’s announcement says it launches in November 2026. Secondary coverage from EcomCrew reports a US open beta starting in late October. Treat both dates as moving until you see it in your console.

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed in Amazon’s own announcement: the format, the one-tap flow, the target of newly launched products, and the November launch language. Amazon also says products in early testing got “around three times as many ratings and reviews each week.”

That 3x figure is Amazon’s claim from its own test. It is measured against each product’s prior pace, and Amazon has not disclosed the product count, categories, spend, or whether there was a control group. A product going from 2 ratings a week to 6 is not the same story as 20 to 60. Do not plan around 3x.

Reported by EcomCrew and not yet confirmed by us against an Amazon help page:

• US only
• Open to sellers and vendors with an ads console account in good standing
• Limited to products with fewer than 1,000 total ratings and reviews, with campaigns pausing automatically at that threshold
• Campaigns built through Amazon Ads Agent or the Unified Campaign Management API

Not disclosed anywhere we could find: the pricing model (CPC, per rating, or flat), minimum bids, and expected volume. That is the big gap. You cannot budget an ad you cannot price.

How it differs from Request a Review

Request a Review in Seller Central is free and tied to a specific order. Review Requests is paid reach. You pay to get your ask in front of verified recent buyers while they browse, and you are not buying a good rating. Buyers can tap one star. If your product has a defect or a listing that over-promises, this ad will surface that faster and publicly.

Run this math before you spend

You need a ceiling for what an incremental rating is worth. Here is an illustrative setup. Swap in your own numbers.

• New listing selling 15 units a day, or 105 a week
• Contribution profit per unit after fees, COGS, and ad cost: $9
• Weekly contribution: 105 x $9 = $945
• Current pace: 4 new ratings a week. Assume Review Requests gets you to 12, which is 8 incremental ratings a week (a 3x outcome, which is optimistic)
• Assume reaching a credible review count lifts conversion by 8% (your assumption to defend, not a benchmark)
• Lift: 105 x 8% = about 8 extra units a week, or about $76 in weekly contribution

At those numbers, 8 incremental ratings a week are worth roughly $76 a week while you sit below the threshold, which is about $9.50 per incremental rating. If Amazon’s pricing works out to more than that per rating, the ad loses money on a conversion basis, even though it feels productive. The value compounds once the listing clears the review count where conversion jumps, so the real ceiling is higher, but start with the conservative number and raise it only with data. The exact lift is the most uncertain input, so test it on one listing and read the conversion rate before and after.

Standard ROAS will not capture this. The return shows up later as higher organic conversion and better ad efficiency on every other campaign for that ASIN. Track the ASIN’s unit session percentage and ad ACoS for four weeks before and after.

What to do this week

1. Pick one or two ASINs launched in the last 60 to 90 days with under 1,000 reviews, and a product quality you would stake the brand on. Skip anything with return or defect issues.
2. Check your current review velocity and conversion rate now. Without a baseline you cannot judge the test.
3. Set your cost ceiling per incremental rating using the math above, and a hard weekly budget cap.
4. Do not pair this with off-platform follow-ups that only email happy customers. Routing only satisfied buyers toward reviews is a policy risk. Keep any review solicitation neutral.
5. Hold off on the rest of the catalog until Amazon publishes pricing and you have two weeks of data.

If you have an Amazon launch with weak review velocity going into Q4, the cost of waiting is real. Peak traffic converts better on listings with social proof, and building it takes weeks. That argues for getting your baseline and budget set now, so you can move the day the beta opens.

If you want a launch plan that sets review targets, ad budget ceilings, and Q4 timing for your new ASINs, a strategy assessment is the fastest way to get it mapped before peak.