Auto-replies answer new reviews for you. Each rule describes which reviews it applies to (for example five-star reviews without text) and how to reply — with one of your reply templates or with a unique AI-generated text. Open Reviews → Auto-replies in the sidebar.
This page is an optional feature. If you do not see it in the sidebar, ask your account manager.
Important: An enabled rule replies publicly on Google to every new review that matches its criteria. Check the criteria carefully before you enable a rule.
Layout
The header has a New rule button. Below it, each rule is shown as a row with:
- The rule name, the brand it is limited to (if any) and a badge Template or AI.
- Chips summarising the criteria: locations (All locations or a count), ratings, sentiments, text and media conditions, text length, tags (
#tag) and themes. - The reply method — the template names, or AI generated with the start of the AI instruction — and the schedule.
- An Enabled switch, and edit and delete buttons.
When there are no rules, the page says No auto-reply rules yet.
Turning a rule on asks for confirmation (Enable auto-reply rule?). Turning it off takes effect immediately.
Rule dialog
New rule opens New auto-reply rule; the pencil opens Edit rule.
General
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Name | Required. |
| Brand | Limit the rule to the locations of one brand, or All brands. |
| Enabled | When off, the rule never fires. |
| Locations | Which locations the rule covers, chosen with the location picker. |
Match criteria
A review must match all criteria you set:
| Criterion | Options |
|---|---|
| Rating | One or more star ratings (1★ to 5★). |
| Has text | Any, With text, Without text. |
| Has media | Any, With media, Without media. |
| Text length (chars) | Min and Max number of characters. |
| Sentiment | Positive, neutral, negative. |
| Tags (any of) | The review has at least one of the selected tags. |
| Themes (any of) | At least one of the selected topics was detected in the review. |
Reply
Choose how the reply is written:
- Template — "Pick one or more saved replies." Select one or more templates. When multiple templates are selected, choose
random(a template at random each time) orsequential(cycle through the templates in order, one per review). - AI generated — "LLM writes a unique reply per review." Enter an Additional AI instruction, for example "Always thank the customer by name." The instruction is required.
Schedule
Choose when the rule is active: the Days of week (shortcuts All days, Weekdays, Weekend) and, optionally, Limit by time of day with From and To. Without a time limit, the rule is active 24 hours on the selected days.
Click Create rule or Save changes.
Credits
Template replies do not use AI credits. Each AI-generated auto-reply uses AI credits — see AI credits. If AI is unavailable for your account, AI rules cannot reply.