Manage your Google reviews: replying, AI Suggestion and Reviews Agent
Who this is for: you have connected a Google Business Profile listing to a bubble (Getting started) and you now want to manage your reviews: reply to them yourself, get help from AI to write, or hand the replies over to the Reviews Agent.
What you'll see: the Review Management page, how to reply to a review, the AI Suggestion button, how to set up the Reviews Agent (minimum rating, signature, drafts, reminder) and how to approve the replies it prepares for you.
Open the Review Management page
The Review Management page is in the Google Business menu, at the top of the screen. Direct address: /dashboard/avis.
The reviews shown are those of the selected bubble at the top right (in the example: Optique Martin › Lyon 6e). To manage the reviews of another location, switch bubbles in that selector.
What you see on the page
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Managed by Reviews Agent pill | At the top, in the middle. It opens the Reviews Agent's settings (see below). |
| Average rating and Total reviews | The bubble's rating and number of reviews (in the example: 4.8 and 312). |
| Row of indicators | The pace of reviews (reviews/mo), the share of reviews that have a reply, the reply time, the share of reviews with written text and the median length in characters. |
| All, Responded, Unresponded, Drafts tabs | Each one shows its count. |
| Show these reviews on your website | To the right of the tabs. Opens the review widget's embed window (see Show your Google reviews on your website). |
| Filter | On the far right. Opens the filter panel. |
| Review cards | Author, date, star rating, review text, and below it the Response block. |
Filter and sort reviews
Click Filter. A panel opens under the tabs:
| Filter | Use |
|---|---|
| Start date / End date | The period in which the reviews were posted (mm/dd/yyyy format). |
| Keyword | Searches for a word in the reviews. |
| Response status | Filters reviews depending on whether they have a reply or not. Default: All reviews. |
| Sort by | The display order. Default: Date (newest). |
The Clear filters link, at the bottom right of the panel, resets everything.
Keyword tip: type a team member's first name or the name of a service to find every review that mentions them, and turn it into concrete feedback for your team.
Reply to a review yourself
A review without a reply shows, in its Response block, the words Not responded and a Respond button. To find all of them, open the Unresponded tab.
Click Respond: the block turns into a form.
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| AI Suggestion | At the top right of the form. The AI suggests a reply (see the next section). |
| Text area | Your reply. When empty, it shows Write your response... You can change everything. |
| Save | Saves your reply. |
| Cancel | Closes the form without saving anything. |
Good to know: your reply is public. It shows on Google, under the customer's review.
Use AI Suggestion to write a reply
In the reply form, click AI Suggestion. The AI writes a reply based on the review and puts it in the text area. In the example above, it uses the customer's first name and the detail she mentions (the fitting done in a few minutes).
Then you can:
- use it as is: click Save;
- edit it in the text area before saving;
- start from scratch: delete it and write your own reply.
Hand the replies over to the Reviews Agent
The Reviews Agent replies to your new Google reviews in your tone. It does nothing until you turn it on. Once it is on, it replies on its own to reviews from the rating you choose. Below that rating, it publishes nothing: it leaves you a draft, and you decide.
Set up the Reviews Agent
Click the Managed by Reviews Agent pill, at the top of the Review Management page. The agent's settings window opens:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Turn on the Reviews Agent (switch) | Starts the agent. It replies to every new review in your tone. Below the rating you choose, it leaves the reply to you. |
| AI Instructions | The most important field. Describe the tone, formal or informal address, what to always do and what to avoid. |
| Max sentences | The maximum length of the replies (in the example: 3 sentences). |
| Auto-respond starting from | Your minimum rating: the agent publishes on its own from this rating. With All reviews, it replies to every review, whatever its rating. |
| Signature | The signature of the replies (in the example: The Optique Martin team). |
| Save as draft (switch) | Manually validate before publishing: all the agent's replies wait for you in the Drafts tab. |
| Alert me about replies to approve (switch) | An email reminder while replies are waiting for your approval. |
| Alert me after | The delay before that reminder (in the example: 2 hours of waiting). |
Example instructions, taken from the screenshot: "Warm and simple tone, polite form. Thank the customer by first name, mention a detail from their review. For a negative review: apologise, invite them to the shop, never justify."
Click Save at the bottom of the window to keep your settings. Close closes the window.
Your brand's tone: the overall tone, the emojis and the writing instructions are also set in Settings › Business context. That is the Identity Agent's area, and it feeds all your AI agents.
Once the Reviews Agent is on, what to expect
- Reviews from your minimum rating up: the Reviews Agent writes the reply following your instructions and publishes it. If Save as draft is on, it leaves it as a draft instead.
- Reviews below your minimum rating: it publishes nothing. It leaves you a draft to approve, whether Save as draft is on or not.
- Reminder: if Alert me about replies to approve is on, you receive an email after the delay you chose, as long as replies are waiting for your approval.
Approve drafts
A reply prepared by the Reviews Agent and not yet published appears under the review, with the label Draft - awaiting validation. The review then leaves the Unresponded tab and moves to Drafts.
On each draft, two buttons:
- Validate response: publishes the reply as is;
- Edit: opens the reply so you can adjust it before publishing.
Recommended approach: at first, keep Save as draft on and read every reply. Refine your AI Instructions based on what you correct. When the replies come out the way you want, turn the draft off: the Reviews Agent will publish on its own from your minimum rating. Below that rating, it will keep leaving the decision to you.
Special case: negative reviews
You decide what the Reviews Agent publishes on its own. A negative review often calls for a personal reply (an apology, an invitation to talk it over, a goodwill gesture) that only you can judge. To keep control over it, choose a rating in Auto-respond starting from: below that rating, the agent leaves you a draft instead of publishing.
If you prefer it to reply to every review (All reviews), spell out in your AI Instructions how to handle a negative review, as in the example above.
To handle the drafts:
- Open the Drafts tab (or follow the reminder you received by email).
- Read the reply prepared by the Reviews Agent.
- Publish it with Validate response, or rewrite it with Edit.
Common issues
The page doesn't show my reviews → First check, in the selector at the top right, that you are on the right bubble. Then check that its Google listing is connected in Settings › Connections.
The Reviews Agent's replies are flat or always the same → Your AI Instructions are probably empty or too vague. Open the Managed by Reviews Agent pill and write a precise instruction: tone, formal or informal address, phrases to reuse, things to avoid. Also fill in Settings › Business context.
I turned on the Reviews Agent but nothing gets published → Look at the Save as draft switch: if it is on, your replies are waiting for you in the Drafts tab. Also check Auto-respond starting from: below that rating, the agent never publishes on its own.
I receive reminder emails → That is the Alert me about replies to approve setting: replies are waiting for your approval in the Drafts tab. Approve them, lengthen the delay in Alert me after, or turn the reminder off.