To respond to a Google review, sign in as an owner or manager, open your Business Profile on Google Search or in the Google Maps app, go to Read reviews (the Reviews tab on Maps) and select Reply under the review. Replies are public, appear under the review with your business name, and the reviewer is usually notified.
The templates below cover 5-star, 4-star, mixed, 1-star, fake or not-a-customer, and rating-only reviews. They are starting points, not paste-ready blocks: every bracket should be replaced with a detail from the review. Prospective customers read your replies to judge how you treat people, so a specific, calm reply often matters more to them than the review itself.
How to respond to Google reviews, step by step
- Search your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages the profile, or open the profile in the Google Maps app.
- Select Read reviews and sort by Newest so recent reviews are handled first.
- Read the full review and check your booking system, invoices or CRM for the customer before writing anything.
- Select Reply, write your response using a template below, and post it.
- Check the profile later to confirm the reply is visible; replies are checked against Google's content policies and can take a little time to appear.
- To change a reply, open the same review and choose Edit or Delete next to your response.
A workable standard is to reply to negative reviews within one business day and to everything else within a few days. Assign one person per location to own the queue, with a named backup for holidays, so reviews never sit unanswered for weeks.
What every reply should do
| Review type | Goal | Typical length | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-star with text | Thank and reinforce what they praised | 1–3 sentences | Generic "Thanks for the review!" on every reply |
| 4-star | Thank and address the small gap | 2–3 sentences | Ignoring the one criticism they raised |
| Mixed (3-star) | Acknowledge both sides, show a fix | 3–4 sentences | Defensiveness about the negative part |
| 1-star complaint | Apologize for the experience, move offline | 3–5 sentences | Arguing facts, sharing private details |
| Not a customer | State calmly you have no record, invite contact | 2–3 sentences | Accusing the reviewer of lying or being a competitor |
| Rating only, no text | Brief thanks or brief offer to help | 1–2 sentences | Long replies to an empty review |
Across all types: use the reviewer's first name if it is visible, mention one specific detail, sign off with a real name or role, and never confirm private information such as appointment details, diagnoses, order contents or account numbers. Do not stuff keywords like "best plumber in Manchester" into replies; it reads as spam to humans and adds nothing useful.
Templates for positive reviews
5-star reviews
Template A: "Thank you, [Name]! We're glad [specific thing they mentioned, e.g. the same-day repair] made things easier. [Staff member] will be happy to hear it. See you next time. – [Your name], [Role]"
Template B: "[Name], thanks for taking the time to share this. [Detail from review] is exactly what we aim for with every [service]. If you ever need [related service], just reply to your booking email and we'll look after you."
4-star reviews
"Thanks, [Name], we appreciate the honest feedback. Glad you liked [positive point]. You mentioned [small issue, e.g. the wait at check-in]; we've [specific change, e.g. added a second receptionist on Saturdays]. Hope to earn that fifth star next visit."
Templates for mixed and negative reviews
Mixed (3-star) reviews
"[Name], thank you for the balanced review. We're pleased [positive point] went well and sorry that [issue] let you down. That isn't the standard we set. [Manager name] would like to hear more; please contact us at [email or phone] so we can put it right."
1-star reviews with a genuine complaint
"[Name], I'm sorry your [service/visit] on [general timeframe, e.g. last week] went this way. You should have had [what should have happened]. I've shared this with the team and we're [action you are actually taking]. Please contact me directly at [email or phone] so I can help resolve it. – [Name], [Owner/Manager]"
If you disagree with the facts, stay neutral: "Our records show [neutral fact, e.g. the quote was approved before work began], but we'd still like to understand what went wrong for you. Please call [Name] on [number]." One factual correction is enough; a back-and-forth thread only makes both sides look worse. For reviews that break Google's rules, see how to report negative reviews.
Templates for fake, not-a-customer and rating-only reviews
Reviews from people you cannot identify
"Hi [Name], we take all feedback seriously, but we couldn't find a visit, booking or order matching this review. If we've missed something, please contact [Name] at [email] with your details so we can look into it." This tells readers you checked, without calling anyone a liar. If the review is clearly fake (a competitor, a wrong business, offensive content), report it through the review's flag option as well as replying.
Rating-only reviews with no text
For a positive rating: "Thanks for the five stars, [Name]. We appreciate it!" For a negative rating: "[Name], we're sorry we didn't meet your expectations. We'd value the chance to understand what happened; please contact us at [email]." Short replies are right here because there is nothing specific to address.
Using an AI review response generator with human review
AI drafting saves real time once a profile receives more than a handful of reviews a week, especially for agencies handling many locations. The risks are predictable: invented details ("Sorry about your cold pizza" on a dental review), promises you cannot keep, repetitive phrasing across hundreds of replies, and tone that is too cheerful for a serious complaint.
- Give the tool your brand voice notes, sign-off names, contact details and a list of things never to say (refund promises, medical or legal advice).
- Generate the draft from the actual review text only, and ask for two variants so the reviewer can pick the better one.
- Have a person check every fact against your records, add one detail only your team would know, and approve before posting.
- Never auto-publish replies to 1–3 star reviews; positive replies can be batch-approved after a quick read.
GBP Local Ranker drafts AI replies for review and lets a manager approve them before they post; a spreadsheet of approved templates works too if your volume is low. Whichever route you take, the human check is what keeps replies accurate.
Language, multi-location and tone
Match the language of the review: a Montreal café replying in French to a French review, or a Dubai clinic answering in Arabic, reads as respectful. Have a fluent speaker approve translated templates. For franchises and multi-location brands, keep a central tone guide and a set of approved replies per scenario, but let the local manager add the branch-specific details. A law firm in London and a taco truck in Austin need very different levels of formality, so write templates for your own customers rather than copying someone else's.
Next steps
- Copy the templates above into a shared document and rewrite them in your own voice, with your real contact details.
- Reply to every unanswered review from the last 90 days, starting with negative ones.
- Set a weekly reminder or alert so new reviews are answered within a few days.
- Build a steady flow of new reviews with <a href="/blog/how-to-get-more-customer-reviews">ethical review requests</a>, and read <a href="/blog/role-of-reviews-in-local-search-rankings">how reviews affect local rankings</a>.
- For the wider process, see the <a href="/blog/managing-gmb-reviews-guide">guide to managing Google reviews</a> or our <a href="/gmb-review-management">review management service</a>.