# Reply to Google Reviews with AI Without Sounding Like a Bot: Five Prompts for UK Cafés, Pubs and Restaurants > Five complete prompts for the reviews that matter: the five-star, the mixed three-star, the angry one-star that gets the facts wrong, the review that names your staff, and the one you think is fake. Plus the four things you should never let AI do in a reply. - Author: Alex Riesenkampff (Super44) - Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-08 - Canonical: https://super44.ai/blog/reply-to-google-reviews-with-ai ## Key takeaways - Google's own AI reply drafting through the Gemini app is "Available wherever the Gemini web app is supported except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom", so a UK venue that wants AI drafts uses a general assistant or a third-party tool. - Generic or templated replies put off 50% of consumers in BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, while 80% say they are likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews. - Since April 2025 the DMCC Act has banned fake reviews in the UK, and the CMA can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover. Its guidance lists offering a refund or gift card to change a negative review as commissioning a fake one. - A review is not fake because you disagree with it. Google says it "doesn’t get involved in conflict between businesses and customers", and its evaluation of a reported review "typically takes several days", with one appeal. - An AI reply sounds like you when the prompt carries three things a chatbot cannot guess: what happened on your side, three to five replies you wrote yourself, and the rules it must never break. To reply to a Google review with AI without sounding like a bot, give the assistant three things it cannot guess: what happened on your side, three to five replies you wrote yourself so it can copy your voice, and the rules it must never break. Then read the draft before it goes up. That matters because the cost of sounding like a template is measurable: **in BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, generic or templated replies put off 50% of consumers.** And in the UK you cannot hand the job to Google. Its own Gemini drafting is available "except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom". Replies are worth the effort beyond the guest who wrote them, because a 2026 survey of 47 local-search experts put review signals at a fifth of local-pack ranking weight, an estimate rather than anything Google discloses; our [guide to ranking on Google Maps](/blog/google-maps-ranking-restaurant) sets out where the rest of it sits. Below are five complete prompts, one for each review that tends to go wrong, then the four things AI should never do in a reply. Each prompt works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. | Review | What the reply has to do | Length | What it must never do | |---|---|---|---| | Five-star | Pick up one specific detail | Under 50 words | Upsell or repeat the review back | | Mixed three-star | Name the good part, own the bad part | Under 80 words | Explain without a fact | | Angry one-star, facts wrong | Correct the facts once, for future readers | Under 100 words | Argue, offer a refund in public, quote your records | | Names a staff member | Thank by first name if they agreed; own criticism as the venue's | Under 70 words | Name anyone criticised, mention discipline | | Suspected fake | Report it; reply neutrally if at all | Under 60 words | Accuse, retaliate, post reviews of your own | ## Can Google write the reply for you in the UK? No, not through any route Google documents for the UK, so a café or pub here drafts with a general assistant or a third-party tool. Google does offer drafting through its Gemini app connected to a Business Profile, with example prompts like "Help me draft a reply to my latest review". **Google's own availability line for that feature reads: "Available wherever the Gemini web app is supported except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom."** There is a second Google feature in testing. In March 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported a "Reply to reviews with AI" option appearing in some Business Profile dashboards, with the line "Use Google AI to create personalised replies that build trust." Google has published no help page for it, and its main page on replying to reviews mentions no AI at all. If it appears on your profile one day, the rest of this page still applies: a suggested reply is a draft, and you are the one who knows what happened on Saturday night. Replying itself is free and takes four clicks: Read reviews, Reply next to the review, type, Reply. Google says replies usually appear within 10 minutes, though some take up to 30 days. Your reply shows under your business name, never your personal one, and the customer is notified. ## What makes an AI reply sound like a bot? An AI reply sounds like a bot when it could have been written for any venue, and the fixes are instructions you can put in the prompt. **There are five tells, and each one comes from the prompt leaving something out.** | The tell | What it looks like | The fix in the prompt | |---|---|---| | The echo | "We're so glad you enjoyed our eggs, coffee and friendly service!" | "Pick up one detail. Do not list what they said back to them." | | The stock phrase | "We value your feedback", "we pride ourselves" | Ban the phrases by name | | The sales pitch | "Come back and try our new autumn menu!" | "No offers, promotions or menu plugs" | | The invented reason | "Due to unprecedented demand…" when nobody told it that | "Explain only with facts from my notes" | | The wrong voice | Formal "Dear valued guest" from a pub that says "cheers" | Paste three to five of your own replies | Operators spotted the first tell before the tools did. At a 2025 Restaurant Online roundtable, Heath Ball, owner of The Red Lion & Sun, asked: "Isn’t there a danger that people will realise they’re being replied to by a computer?" Mark Selby, co-founder of Wahaca, answered that the human replies were often no better: > It’s quite generic already. The people who respond to these things just take a few points you’ve mentioned and repeat them back to you. > > — [Mark Selby, co-founder, Wahaca, at a Restaurant Online roundtable supported by Access Hospitality, May 2025](https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2025/05/06/how-will-ai-change-hospitality/) That is the point. A bot reply is a reply with nothing in it that only you could know. Google's own advice is short and fits straight into a prompt: "Keep it short and simple", "Be a friend, not a salesperson", and sign your reply "with your name or initials". The prompts below build those in. ## Prompt 1: the five-star review Reply to a five-star review in two or three sentences that pick up one thing the guest mentioned, and skip it if you have nothing specific to say. **Google says "you don’t need to thank every reviewer publicly", while 80% of consumers in BrightLocal's 2026 US survey said they were likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews.** The two sit together if every reply you do write says something real. A five-star review of a bakery that mentions the cardamom buns should get a reply about the cardamom buns. One that says only "lovely!" can get a single line, or nothing. **Reply to a five-star Google review** ```text You are drafting a reply to a 5-star Google review for [venue name], a [café / pub / restaurant / bakery] in [town]. Write as me, the owner, in the voice of these replies I wrote myself: [paste 3 to 5 of your own past replies] The review: [paste the review] Rules: - 2 or 3 sentences, under 50 words. - Pick up one specific thing the reviewer mentioned. If they mention nothing specific, write one warm sentence and stop. - Do not list what they said back to them. - No offers, discounts, events or "come back and try our new menu" lines. - Do not mention anything that is not in the review. - Do not use: "we value your feedback", "we pride ourselves", "valued guest", exclamation marks after every sentence. - Sign off as [first name]. Give me two versions: one shorter, one a little warmer. ``` Asking for two versions is the cheapest way to stop every reply sounding the same. Pick one, change a word, post it. ## Prompt 2: the mixed three-star review A three-star review deserves a reply as much as a one-star one, because it is usually the fairest account of what went wrong. **BrightLocal found that only 45% of consumers are likely to use a business that replies only to positive reviews, and 47% one that replies only to negative ones, against 80% for one that replies to all.** The middle reviews are where that gap gets made. The trap here is the excuse. A model asked to "explain" will invent one. Give it your notes, or tell it there are none. **Reply to a mixed three-star Google review** ```text You are drafting a reply to a 3-star Google review for [venue name], a [café / pub / restaurant] in [town]. Write as me, the owner, in the voice of these replies I wrote myself: [paste 3 to 5 of your own past replies] The review: [paste the review] What I know about that visit: [e.g. "Saturday brunch, we were one barista down" or "nothing"] What we have changed since, if anything: [e.g. "added a second grinder" or "nothing yet"] Rules: - Thank them for the good part in one sentence, and name it. - Acknowledge the problem plainly and apologise for it once. No "if you felt" or "sorry you feel". - Explain only with a fact from my notes above. If my notes say "nothing", give no explanation. - Mention a change only if it is in my notes. Promise nothing else. - Under 80 words. No "we take all feedback seriously", "we value your feedback" or "we pride ourselves". - Sign off as [first name]. ``` If the honest answer to "what have we changed" is nothing, the reply should not pretend otherwise. "We're looking at how we staff Saturday mornings" is only true if you are. ## Prompt 3: the angry one-star with the facts wrong Reply to an angry one-star review for the guests who will read it next, correct each factual error once with evidence you hold, and take the rest of the conversation offline. **Since April 2025 the DMCC Act has banned fake reviews in the UK, the CMA can fine up to 10% of global turnover, and its guidance lists offering a refund or gift card to remove negative commentary as commissioning a fake review.** So the refund, if you offer one, happens privately and never depends on the review changing. Three rules carry most of the weight. Do not argue with how they felt. Do not quote anything from your own records that they did not put in the review, such as the booking name, what they ordered or what time they came in. And do not threaten anyone: the CMA's guidance lists "threats of harm or legal action" among the ways a business must not deter negative reviews. **Reply to an angry one-star review that gets the facts wrong** ```text You are helping me reply to an angry 1-star Google review for [venue name], a [pub / restaurant / café] in [town]. The people reading this reply are future guests, not only the reviewer. Write as me, the owner, in the voice of these replies I wrote myself: [paste 3 to 5 of your own past replies] The review: [paste the review] What the review gets wrong, and the evidence I hold: [e.g. "says we added a 15% service charge; menu and receipt show 12.5%, marked optional"] What the review gets right, if anything: [e.g. "the food took 50 minutes; that is on us"] How they can reach me: [e.g. "email hello@yourvenue.co.uk and ask for Sam"] Rules: - Open by acknowledging that the visit they describe was a bad one for them. Do not argue with how they felt. - Own anything the review gets right, plainly, in one sentence. - Correct each factual error once, calmly, using only the evidence above. No sarcasm. - Do not include their booking details, what they ordered, their bill, when they visited or anything else from our records that they did not write themselves. - Do not offer a refund, voucher or free meal in the reply. - Do not mention lawyers, legal action or reporting them. - Invite them to contact me directly, using the contact line above. - Under 100 words. After the reply, list every factual statement in your draft on its own line, so I can check each one. ``` That last line is the safeguard. Models fill gaps with confident detail, and a list of every factual statement shows you exactly what to check before a stranger reads it. A pub that says its service charge is optional had better have a receipt that says so. Google notifies the reviewer when you reply, and they can edit their review afterwards. Write the reply you would be comfortable with them reading twice. ## Prompt 4: a review that names a member of staff Thank a named team member by first name only if they have agreed to it, and never name, describe or discuss anyone a review criticises. **Google's Maps content policy says "Do not distribute or post personal information without consent", and lists a person's "full name or surname" as an example.** A reply is public, it sits under your business name, and it stays there. Praise is the easy half, and still worth asking about. Some staff love seeing "Thanks to Priya for looking after you". Others do not want their name on a page their ex can search. Criticism is the hard half. A reply that says the staff member "has been spoken to" is a disciplinary statement about an employee, made in public. Own it as the venue's problem instead. **Reply to a Google review that names a member of staff** ```text A Google review of [venue name], a [restaurant / bar / café] in [town], names a member of my team. Write as me, the owner, in the voice of these replies I wrote myself: [paste 3 to 5 of your own past replies] The review: [paste the review] Is the mention praise or criticism? [praise / criticism] If praise: has [staff first name] agreed to be thanked by name in public? [yes / no] Rules: - Praise, agreed: thank them by first name only, once. Never a surname. - Praise, not agreed: thank "the team" and say we will pass the message on. - Criticism: do not repeat the staff member's name, do not describe them, and say nothing about training, warnings, discipline or whether they still work here. - Criticism: own it as the venue's problem ("we got this wrong"), not one person's. - Do not add anything about the guest that is not in the review. - Under 70 words. Sign off as [first name]. ``` Tell the team member about the review yourself, before they find it. That conversation is not one for a prompt. ## Prompt 5: a review you think is fake Report a review you believe is fake through your Business Profile, reply neutrally in the meantime if you reply at all, and never answer it with reviews of your own. **Google says evaluation of a reported review "typically takes several days", and if it stays up you get a one-time appeal through the Reviews Management Tool.** Before you report it, check that it is fake rather than unwelcome. The CMA draws that line clearly: > A review is not fake just because the trader who it is about does not like or agree with it, as long as it reflects the reviewer’s genuine experience. > > — [Competition and Markets Authority, Fake reviews guidance (CMA208), paragraph 2.7, 4 April 2025](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67eeb64fe9c76fa33048c790/CMA208_-_Fake_reviews_guidance.pdf) Google says the same from its side: "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it." What counts is evidence. A review describing a dish you have never served, a visit on a day you were closed, or a burst of one-stars on the morning a rival opened gives you something to report. Then reply for the readers. A short, neutral note that you cannot match the visit, with one checkable detail and an invitation to get in touch, reads well whether the review is fake or from a confused guest who meant the place next door. **Reply to a Google review you think is fake** ```text I think this Google review of [venue name], a [café / pub / restaurant / bakery] in [town], may not be from a real guest. I have reported it to Google. Write as me, the owner, in the voice of these replies I wrote myself: [paste 3 to 5 of your own past replies] The review: [paste the review] The detail that does not match our venue: [e.g. "mentions our 'lasagne'; we have never served lasagne" or "says Monday dinner; we are closed on Mondays"] Rules: - Do not accuse the reviewer of lying, of being a competitor or of being fake. - Say, neutrally, that we cannot match this visit to our records, and give the one detail above. - Invite the reviewer to contact us so we can look into it. - Do not mention any other review, reviewer or business. - Do not mention reporting the review, Google, or any law. - Under 60 words. Sign off as [first name]. ``` The one response that turns a fake review into a legal problem for you is answering it in kind. Asking friends, staff or an AI to post positive reviews to bury it is exactly what the DMCC Act bans, and the CMA's examples include buying reviews "generated by software applications (such as bots)". ## What should you never let AI do in a review reply? Never let AI invent a fact, offer compensation, reveal personal information or post without you reading it first. **Google checks every reply against its content policies before it appears, usually within 10 minutes, but that check cannot tell whether your reply is true.** Accuracy, tone and fairness stay your job. **Four things AI must never do in a review reply** - [ ] **Invent facts**: No reason, timeline, staffing excuse or "change we have made" that you did not give it. Ask for a list of every factual statement and check each one. - [ ] **Offer compensation in public**: No refunds, vouchers or free drinks in the reply, and never an offer that depends on the review changing. Google calls incentives to change or remove a review fake engagement. - [ ] **Reveal personal information**: Nothing from your booking system, till or CCTV that the reviewer did not write themselves, and no staff surnames. Google: "Never share the reviewer’s private info." - [ ] **Post unreviewed**: Read every draft before it goes live, and always read one-star replies, staff mentions and suspected fakes yourself. *Add a fifth for your own venue if you have one, such as never replying in a language you cannot check.* The fourth rule is about more than mistakes. Reading reviews is how a team learns what guests think, and handing the whole job to software loses that. James Goldsworthy, head of digital and creative at Punch Pubs, said his team had chosen not to automate for exactly that reason: > We’re probably at a point where we could let AI reply automatically. But we don’t want to do that because the teams come from the pubs. We want them to read the review and engage with it. > > — [James Goldsworthy, head of digital and creative, Punch Pubs, at a Restaurant Online roundtable supported by Access Hospitality, May 2025](https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2025/05/06/how-will-ai-change-hospitality/) Pasting reviews into a chatbot raises a smaller question about data. Public review text is low-risk; staff names, booking details and complaint notes are not. Our [guide to ChatGPT prompts for restaurants](/blog/ki-prompts-gastronomie) covers what to strip out before you paste, alongside prompts for menus, rotas and margin reports. ## How Super44 drafts replies in your own voice Super44 drafts your Google review replies in your own voice, learned from the replies you have already posted, and nothing posts until you have approved the first ones. **Automatic replies to the star ratings you choose unlock only after you have approved five of its replies, and anything delicate still comes to you first.** That is the difference from a general chatbot: ChatGPT has never seen your past replies, your reviews or your Business Profile, so every prompt above starts with you pasting them in. Here is what it does and what it needs: - **Your voice, learned.** It reads how you have replied before, from your greeting to your sign-off, and leaves out habits not worth copying. You can add standing rules, such as "always sign as Marco", and those win over what it learned. - **You approve first.** Super44 shows you its first replies before anything is posted. Once you approve one, it publishes it to your Google Business Profile. - **Automatic replies are optional.** After five approved replies you can let it reply on its own to the ratings you pick, for example four and five stars. Reviews that need a human still come to you. - **What it needs.** Your own Google connection, and the Core plan. A trial counts. - **What it does not do.** It works on Google reviews. Tripadvisor, OpenTable and the rest stay with you. It also reads your reviews for themes, so a complaint that keeps coming back is visible as one problem to fix. ### Try Super44 Super44 connects to your POS and shows you where your money leaks, then tells you what to do about it. [Open Super44](https://super44.ai) [Or start now, it's free](https://app.super44.ai/?entry=blog_post_get_started) ## Which route fits your venue? The right route depends on how many reviews arrive and whether you are keeping up, and for most small venues the free one is enough. **Google's Business Profile lets you reply to every review at no cost, and with the prompts above a reply takes a couple of minutes.** A bakery getting three or four reviews a month needs nothing more. A pub with forty unanswered reviews since spring has a different problem. It is not the writing, it is that nobody has the ten minutes on a Tuesday. That is where a tool earns its price, and our [comparison of Google review tools for UK venues](/blog/best-google-review-tools-restaurants) sets out what each one costs and which ones still make you press send. If you are replying well but the reviews are not arriving, that is a separate question. A free [Supercheck](/supercheck) shows how your listing and reviews compare with venues nearby, and our [Google review link generator](/supercheck/review-link) gives guests a one-tap way in, with a QR code for the table. Our guide to [how many Google reviews a restaurant needs](/blog/how-many-google-reviews-restaurant) sets out what the evidence supports and why chasing a round number can get a listing penalised. And for the other jobs AI can take on in a café, pub or restaurant, from menus to rotas, start with our [guide to AI for hospitality](/blog/ai-for-hospitality). ## FAQ ### Can Google write my review replies for me in the UK? Not through any route Google documents for the UK. Its Gemini app can draft replies for a connected Business Profile, but Google's help page says the feature is available everywhere the Gemini web app is supported "except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom". In March 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported Google testing a "Reply to reviews with AI" option in some Business Profile dashboards, and Google has published no help page for it. ### Is it against Google's rules to reply to reviews with AI? Google's main help page on replying to reviews does not mention AI. What it says is that Google reviews every reply against its content policies before it appears, which usually takes up to 10 minutes and sometimes up to 30 days. What breaks the rules is the content: a guest's private information, an incentive to change a review, an attack on the reviewer. Who or what typed it is not the test. ### Do I need to reply to every five-star review? Google says you do not: "you don’t need to thank every reviewer publicly", and it suggests replying when you have something new or relevant to say. Consumers lean the other way. In BrightLocal's 2026 US survey, 80% said they were likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews. The workable middle is to reply to every review you can say one specific thing about, in two sentences. ### Can I offer a refund to someone who left a bad review? Yes, privately, as a way to put the problem right, and never on condition that they change or remove the review. Google treats incentives to "change reviews or remove negative reviews" as fake engagement. The CMA's fake reviews guidance gives offering a refund or gift card in exchange for removing negative commentary as an example of commissioning a fake review, which has been illegal in the UK since April 2025. ### How do I get a fake Google review removed? Report it from your Business Profile: Read reviews, Report next to the review, pick the reason, Send report. Google says evaluation "typically takes several days", you can track it in the Reviews Management Tool, and if it is not removed you get a one-time appeal. Google also says not to report a review "just because you disagree with it or dislike it", so report what breaks a policy and reply neutrally in the meantime. ### Can AI post review replies automatically? Some tools can, and you should not switch it on until you have read enough of its drafts to trust it. Super44 only offers automatic replies after you have approved five of its replies, only for the star ratings you choose, and it still brings anything delicate to you first. For one-star reviews and anything naming a person, read every reply yourself. ## Sources 1. [Google Business Profile Help: Manage customer reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050?hl=en-GB) — Reply steps; "Replies usually take up to 10 minutes to review, but sometimes a review can take up to 30 days." Reply "will appear like your business replied, and your personal name won't be shown"; "The customer is notified". US-English version of the page: "Google reviews your replies: This makes sure that they follow Google's content policies." No mention of AI or suggested replies. Checked 6 October 2026. 2. [Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122?hl=en-GB) — "Keep it short and simple", "Be a friend, not a salesperson", "you don't need to thank every reviewer publicly", "Never share the reviewer's private info", "Sign your reply with your name or initials". Incentives to "post reviews, change reviews or remove negative reviews" are "considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited". Checked 6 October 2026. 3. [Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile with the Gemini app](https://support.google.com/business/answer/17142585?hl=en-GB) — Lists "Draft or delete replies to customer feedback", example prompt "Help me draft a reply to my latest review". Availability: "Available wherever the Gemini web app is supported except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom." Checked 6 October 2026. 4. [Search Engine Roundtable: Google Testing Reply To Reviews With AI (Barry Schwartz, 24 March 2026)](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-reply-to-reviews-with-al-41095.html) — Reports a "Reply to reviews with AI" option in some Business Profile dashboards: "Use Google AI to create personalised replies that build trust." First shared by Chandan Mishra; no Google comment reported. Checked 6 October 2026. 5. [Google Maps: Prohibited and restricted content (fake engagement, personal information)](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en-GB) — Merchants may not "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". "Do not distribute or post personal information without consent", including "full name or surname". Checked 6 October 2026. 6. [Google Business Profile Help: Report inappropriate reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en-GB) — "Review evaluation typically takes several days." Status in the Reviews Management Tool; a one-time appeal. "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it. Google doesn't get involved in conflict between businesses and customers." Checked 6 October 2026. 7. [CMA: Fake reviews guidance (CMA208), 4 April 2025](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67eeb64fe9c76fa33048c790/CMA208_-_Fake_reviews_guidance.pdf) — Paragraph 2.5: a fake review "purports to be, but is not, based on a person's genuine experience". Paragraph 2.7: "A review is not fake just because the trader who it is about does not like or agree with it". Commissioning examples 4 (refund or gift card to remove negative commentary) and 6 (reviews "generated by software applications (such as bots)"). Paragraph 4.4: traders should not deter negative reviews "through threats of harm or legal action". Checked 6 October 2026. 8. [CMA: new consumer protection regime comes into force (7 April 2025)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-to-boost-consumer-and-business-confidence-as-new-consumer-protection-regime-comes-into-force) — The DMCC Act "includes an explicit ban on the posting and commissioning of fake reviews"; "the CMA can fine them up to 10% of their global turnover". Gov.uk collection page: "New law came into force in April 2025." Checked 6 October 2026. 9. [BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026](https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/) — 1,002 US adults, published 11 February 2026. 80% likely to use a business that responds to all reviews; 45% and 47% for businesses replying only to positive or only to negative reviews; "Generic or templated replies put off 50% of consumers"; 19% expect a same-day response, 81% within a week. Checked 6 October 2026. 10. [Restaurant Online: How will AI change hospitality? (Joe Lutrario, 6 May 2025)](https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2025/05/06/how-will-ai-change-hospitality/) — Operator roundtable supported by Access Hospitality. Quotes from Mark Selby (co-founder, Wahaca), Heath Ball (owner, The Red Lion & Sun) and James Goldsworthy (head of digital and creative, Punch Pubs) on AI review replies. Checked 6 October 2026.