Reply to Google Reviews With AI: Prompt, Templates, FTC Rule

Short answer: yes, you can use AI to reply to your Google reviews and save hours a month, as long as you read and edit every reply before it goes live. What you can't do is use AI to write reviews, whether for yourself or "from customers," or offer anything in return for changing or removing a review. Using AI to reply is legal. Using AI to fake reviews is not. This guide covers the three ways to do it today, a base prompt that sounds like you, five reply templates, what the FTC rule says, and a 15-minute weekly routine.

The running example is a plumbing company in Texas with 140 reviews, a few angry ones from last winter, and replies that all say "Thanks for your business!" There's also a Spanish edition written for businesses in Spain, where the connected Gemini option isn't available.

Facts checked on Oct 2, 2026 against the official pages linked below. This isn't legal advice. If you're dealing with a specific situation, like a defamatory review or a demand letter, talk to a lawyer.

Three ways to reply to reviews with AI today

1. Connect Gemini to your Business Profile (the best option in the US)

Google lets you connect the Gemini web app to your Google Business Profile. Once it's connected, Gemini can pull your star ratings and reviews, summarize feedback and recurring themes, and draft or delete review replies, all from gemini.google.com. According to Google Business Profile Help, you need to:

Be 18 or older.
Be an owner or manager of only one verified Business Profile. If you manage more than one, it isn't available.
Sign in with a personal Google Account linked to your profile. Work and school accounts aren't supported yet.
Have Keep Activity turned on.
Use the web app at gemini.google.com.
Be patient: the feature is rolling out gradually, so you may not have it yet.

The Gemini Connected Apps availability table lists it everywhere the Gemini web app is supported except the EEA and the UK. English is a supported language.

Try prompts like "Summarize my recent reviews" or "Help me draft a reply to my latest review." If Gemini doesn't use the app on its own, add @Google Business Profile to your prompt. Then read the draft as if a new hire wrote it.

2. Manual: copy the review, let AI draft, paste the reply

This works for everyone, including people who manage several locations and businesses using a Workspace account:

Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
Copy the review text, replacing the customer's name with "Customer."
Paste it into ChatGPT or Gemini with the base prompt below.
Edit the draft, then paste it under Reply.

You need a verified profile to reply. Google also checks each reply against its content policies before posting it. Per Google's help page, that usually takes up to 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days. The reviewer gets notified when you reply and can still change their review afterward.

3. Google's "Reply to reviews with AI" button (a test)

You may see a button inside Business Profile that generates suggested replies. Search Engine Land reported on March 20, 2026 that Google is testing it with some accounts, spotted in the US, Brazil, and India. You can review and edit the suggestion before submitting. The same report notes conflicting accounts of bulk replies going out without edits, so if you get the button, review every suggestion anyway.

A base prompt that sounds like you

The difference between a generic reply and one that sounds like your business is context. Write it once, save it in a note (or a ChatGPT Project or Gemini Gem), and swap in the bracketed parts:

You reply to Google reviews for [business name], a [type of business] in [city, state].
Our voice: [friendly, plain-spoken, short sentences, no emojis].
Sign as: [first name, role].

Rules:
- 80 words max.
- Thank the reviewer and mention one specific detail from the review.
- If there's a complaint, acknowledge it without excuses and offer a private channel: [phone or email].
- Don't confirm customer details: no job dates, addresses, invoice amounts, or health information.
- Never offer discounts, refunds, gifts, or anything else in exchange for changing or removing the review.
- Don't invent facts that aren't in the review.
- Never accuse the reviewer of lying.

Review ([number] stars):
"[paste the review here, without the customer's name]"

Give me 2 versions: one shorter, one a bit warmer.

Getting two versions lets you pick one in seconds. If you're still choosing which assistant to use at work, the Copilot vs. Gemini comparison for small businesses covers what each suite includes.

Five reply templates (for the Texas plumber)

Use these as a starting point, or paste one into the prompt as a tone example. None of them offers anything in exchange for changing or removing a review.

1. Five stars

Thanks so much! Glad we could get that water heater swapped the same day and keep the mess to a minimum. We're here whenever you need us. Mike, Lone Star Plumbing.

2. Three stars (good, but)

Thanks for the honest feedback. Glad the repair itself held up, and you're right that a 4-hour arrival window is too wide. We're moving to 2-hour windows this month. If there's anything else we can do better, email us at service@lonestarplumbing.com. Mike.

3. One star, fair complaint

You're right, and we're sorry. That's not the experience we want anyone to have. We'd like to understand what happened and make it right. Could you call our office or email service@lonestarplumbing.com and ask for me directly? Mike, owner.

Notice what it doesn't say: it doesn't confirm the job date, the address, or the invoice, and it doesn't offer a refund in exchange for an updated review. If you fix the problem privately, great. Whether the customer updates the review is their call.

4. Unfair or suspected fake review

Thanks for the feedback. We take every review seriously, but we can't match this description to a job on our end. If we worked with you, please email service@lonestarplumbing.com so we can look into it. Mike.

Stay calm, don't accuse anyone, and don't share customer details. If the review breaks Google's policies (for example, it's fake, offensive, or from someone who was never a customer), report it from your profile instead of arguing in public.

5. Stars only, no text

Thanks for the rating! We appreciate you choosing us, and we're here next time something leaks. Mike.

For a low rating with no text, swap the last sentence for: "If you're willing to share what we could do better, email us at service@lonestarplumbing.com."

What not to do (and what the FTC rule says)

Don't fake reviews or ask AI to write them. The FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465), in effect since October 21, 2024, bans creating, buying, or disseminating fake reviews, including ones from people who never used your business. The FTC said explicitly that the rule is meant to deter AI-generated fake reviews.
Don't pay for a particular sentiment. The rule bans offering compensation or incentives conditioned on a positive (or negative) review. Google's Maps content policy goes further: it doesn't allow incentives such as payment, discounts, or free services in exchange for posting any review, or for revising or removing a negative one.
Don't post undisclosed insider reviews. Reviews by officers or managers without a clear disclosure of their connection are prohibited, and so is disseminating such testimonials from employees or agents when you should have known.
Don't suppress reviews. The rule bans groundless legal threats, intimidation, and certain false public accusations used to prevent or remove a negative review.
Don't put customer details in the reply. It's public. Leave out addresses, job dates, amounts, and anything health-related, even if the reviewer mentioned them, and strip names before pasting a review into an AI chat.
Don't automate without reviewing. AI can get the tone wrong, invent a detail, or promise something you can't deliver. Nothing should go out unread.

The FTC's Q&A on the rule notes that courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Replying to real reviews with AI help isn't one of the banned practices.

The 15-minute weekly routine

Pick a fixed slot, like Monday at 8 a.m.:

Summarize (3 min). With connected Gemini, ask: "Summarize my reviews from the past week and list recurring themes." If you're doing it manually, paste the week's reviews (no names) into your AI tool with this prompt:

Here are this week's reviews for my business. Summarize them in 5 bullets: what people praise, what they complain about, which themes repeat compared with last week [paste last week's summary if you have it], and which review needs a reply most urgently.

Spot what repeats (2 min). If three customers mention arrival windows, the fix isn't a better reply. It's your scheduling. Log it as a task.
Reply (10 min). Run the base prompt for each review, pick a version, edit, and post. Start with negative reviews and the oldest unanswered ones.

Final checklist

Next steps from Google: manage and reply to reviews and use Gemini with your Business Profile. For more step-by-step playbooks, browse the Guides category.