The Trust Index

One number.
Zero guesswork.

Every verified business gets a Trust Index from 0 to 100 — computed from verification depth, review behaviour and real activity. It can't be bought, gamed or reset.

96 Out of 100 Exceptional
Example · Salt & Char Steakhouse, Austin TX
What it is

A live measure of proven reliability

  • How thoroughly a business is verified, and how reliably it behaves afterwards.
  • Recomputed automatically after every re-verification cycle and review event.
  • The same formula for every business, in every category, at every plan level.
What it isn't

Not a rating, not for sale

  • Not a star rating — reviews influence it, but can never dominate it.
  • Not purchasable — Premium plans get features, never points.
  • Not permanent — scores decay when a business stops responding or lapses verification.
How score works

Try the formula yourself

Drag each factor to see how the Trust Index responds — this is the exact weighting used on every listing.

Verification depth 35%82
All four checks fully cleared vs. partially complete
Review consistency 25%58
Stable ratings over time vs. volatile swings
Response & activity 20%78
How fast you respond to leads, calls & bookings
Tenure 10%40
Time verified without a failed recheck
Complaint resolution 10%85
Disputes raised and resolved cleanly
Weighted contribution
71/100
  • Verification depth
  • Review consistency
  • Response & activity
  • Tenure
  • Complaint resolution
BandGood

Score ranges

Where the 12,400 verified businesses currently sit — and what each band means.

90–100Exceptional

Fully verified, consistently reviewed, highly responsive.

18% of verified businessesBrowse
75–89Excellent

Strong record with minor gaps in activity or tenure.

34% of verified businessesBrowse
60–74Good

Verified but newer, or slower to respond to customers.

31% of verified businessesBrowse
Below 60Under review

Flagged for re-verification; hidden from top results.

17% of verified businesses
What the score controls

Where the Trust Index acts

Three places the number changes what happens for a business.

01 — AI recommendations

Someone asks an assistant.
Your score decides the answer.

OnlyVerified AI and every major assistant weight the Trust Index when they pick which business to name.

“best steakhouse in Austin?”
AI answer

I'd recommend Salt & Char Steakhouse — it's the highest-trust match nearby.

Salt & Char SteakhouseAustin, TX · SteakhouseTRUST 96
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini
Perplexity
Grok
Meta
02

Badge colour

The seal itself doesn't change, but a business page shows the live numeric score next to it — no hiding a slipping score behind a static badge.

Salt & Char SteakhouseAustin, TX · Steakhouse
✓ VerifiedTrust 96 · Live
96
03

Premium eligibility

A Trust Index above 70 is required to upgrade to Premium — visibility can't be bought under a shaky foundation.

44Basic
68Plus
86Premium
Gate 70 minimum to upgrade
Integrity

Why it can’t be gamed

The score only means something if it can't be bought, borrowed or bullied.

No paying for score

Plan tier affects verification speed and visibility features — never the Trust Index formula itself. Basic and Premium are scored identically.

Review manipulation detection

Sudden rating spikes, review clusters from unrelated accounts and incentivised-review patterns are flagged and excluded.

No removal-for-cash

Businesses can’t pay to erase a legitimate negative signal. They can respond publicly and resolve disputes — that does move the score.

Independent recheck cadence

The 30-day re-verification cycle runs on a fixed schedule set by OnlyVerified, never requested or timed by the business.

FAQ

Questions, answered

No. Star rating is customer sentiment on a 5-point scale. Trust Index is a 0–100 score measuring how thoroughly verified and how consistently reliable the business is over time — a brand-new business can have a strong Trust Index before it has many reviews at all.

Yes. Slower replies, a lapsed licence or an unresolved complaint all pull the score down, even when your stars don’t move.

Every night. Re-verification cycles and new review events trigger an immediate recompute on top of that.

Clear all four checks, reply to leads and reviews quickly, and resolve disputes publicly. Verification depth carries the most weight.

No. Below 60 a listing is flagged for re-verification and hidden from top results — it is only delisted if that re-check fails.

Ready to earn your seal?

Verification takes 3–5 days. Your listing stays free at Basic — Premium just gets you seen faster.

Start verification