Guides

Before you post an AI-written reply to a Google or Yelp review

A review reply has two audiences: the person who wrote the review and the next customer deciding whether to visit. Both need a clear account of how your business handles feedback. A polished apology is less useful if it promises a refund you have not approved or claims your team has completed training that never happened.

The Review Reply Writer card prepares short, standard and thoughtful drafts from a review and your business details. It does not publish a reply to Google, Yelp or another review service. Choose and check the final wording before posting it yourself.

This guide uses fictional restaurant and salon situations. The examples are writing exercises, not customer testimonials or evidence that a particular reply improves a rating.

Keep the issue, remove the private details

Copy the part of the review that explains the experience. Remove names, phone numbers, receipt numbers, booking references, detailed addresses and other information that is unnecessary for drafting. Do not upload a whole order screenshot when two sentences would explain the problem.

For example, “The tacos were great, but we waited 30 minutes and couldn't get anyone's attention” gives the assistant enough to identify both the compliment and the complaint. It does not need the customer's card details or an employee's full name.

Keep the review separate from your notes. “The reviewer says the order took 30 minutes” and “Our records confirm a 30-minute wait” are different statements. If you have not established the cause, do not ask the assistant to invent one.

Complete the fields that control facts and promises

Enter the actual business type and rating. If the rating is unavailable, use “Not sure” or leave it blank rather than guessing from the tone. A three-star review can contain a strong compliment; a five-star review can still raise a useful concern.

For “Where you'll post it,” choose Google Maps for a Google review. For Yelp, choose “Other” and identify Yelp in the context you give the assistant. This tells the assistant where the text will be read without pretending the card is connected to that platform.

The most important field is “What you actually changed.” Include an action only when it has happened or is firmly decided, and make the timing clear. “We now quote the estimated pickup time before taking an order” belongs there only if the team really does it. If nothing has been decided, use that wording or leave the field empty.

Keep “Something for their next visit” empty when no remedy has been approved. Even an apparently small promise, such as $2 off the next order, needs a real decision and a way for staff to honor it. Handle an individual remedy through your official contact channel where appropriate, rather than turning the public response into a coupon advertisement.

Never make a discount or refund conditional on changing or removing a review. Google explicitly prohibits incentives in exchange for posting, changing or removing reviews. Google's review guidance

Make the reply specific without making it long

Copy the completed card prompt into your chosen AI assistant and send it. When the drafts arrive, find the customer's main point in each one. For the taco example, the reply should acknowledge the food compliment and the wait. A sentence about how proud you are of your menu does not answer the service concern.

For a public Google or Yelp reply, try a plain, conversational draft that addresses the issue early. Choose the length the situation needs. A simple compliment may need only two sentences; a mixed review may need an apology and a clear next step. A long corporate preamble can hide both.

Here is a fictional positive-review example:

Thanks for stopping in. We're glad you enjoyed the cinnamon roll and the coffee, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your visit.

Here is a structure for a complaint reply. Replace the brackets with verified information and delete any line you do not need:

Thank you for letting us know about [specific experience].
I'm sorry about [the problem you can appropriately acknowledge].
[A relevant action, only if confirmed or completed.]
Please contact us through [your published business contact] so we can look into the details privately.

The contact step is useful when you need to identify a booking or order. It is not necessary in every thank-you reply. Use a monitored business contact and do not ask the customer to post a receipt, phone number or personal information in the public thread.

Remove claims the assistant added on its own

Look for “We've retrained the entire team,” “Your next meal is on us” and “This will never happen again.” Unless your business can substantiate and honor them, remove those lines. A fluent draft can turn a possible action into a completed one.

If you believe the review is inaccurate, check what you can establish before replying. State a relevant business fact calmly and keep an individual customer's records private. A public exchange about who is lying is unlikely to clarify your booking policy for someone reading later.

If a review mentions illness, hygiene or another serious concern, use the reply to acknowledge the report and give a private contact route. Do not let an assistant diagnose a cause or claim that an investigation is finished. The actual investigation and follow-up need to happen separately from writing the response.

Try a focused revision request:

Remove the staff-training claim; we have not done that. Keep the apology for the wait and the business contact step.

Shorten this for a public Yelp reply. Address the missed pickup time, remove menu promotion and do not promise compensation.

Thank the customer for the coffee compliment, but keep their concern about the unclear hours in the reply.

Read the revised version again for new promises and private information. A correction request does not automatically verify the new draft.

Check the language and copy only the chosen reply

The card's “Same as the review” setting asks for a reply in the reviewer's language, with an English meaning underneath. Use that explanation to check the issue, action and contact instructions. Verify the business name, dates and amounts in the actual reply as well; a translated explanation alone cannot settle every nuance.

For a Spanish review of a neighborhood café, for instance, make sure the answer thanks the customer for the item they mentioned rather than substituting a different menu name. Review any meaningful promise carefully before you post it in a language you cannot confidently check.

Copy only the final reply, without the assistant's headings, alternative drafts, translation or checklist. Open the business's reply box yourself, reread the pasted text and then publish it.

Fix repeated confusion in your everyday notices

If a salon repeatedly gets complaints about walk-ins, compare the review replies with the booking page and front-door sign. The Reservation Policy Notice card helps you state the booking method, contact and whether same-day walk-ins are possible.

Choose “Possible if space is available” only when that is your actual policy. Replace sample contacts and remove cancellation deadlines or party-size limits that your business has not adopted. Check the generated notice before displaying it.

A reply saying “Walk-ins welcome” and a door sign saying “Appointments only” create a fresh problem. Keep the public reply, booking instructions and sign consistent. Before posting, ask three things: did this address the actual feedback, are the facts supported, and can we keep every promise?