Responding to reviews

Responding to reviews is the highest-return, lowest-enjoyment task in running a business. It’s exactly the kind of work worth automating — with limits.

How a reply gets drafted

When a review arrives, FeedbackRobot writes a reply using: what the review actually says, your business context from setup, your configured tone, and how similar reviews were handled before.

The result references the specifics. Generic replies (“Thank you for your feedback!”) are worse than no reply — they signal that nobody read it.

Automatic vs approval

You decide how much latitude the agent has. Common setups:

Auto-send positive, approve negative. The most popular configuration and a good default. Thank-yous go out immediately; anything critical waits for a human.

Approve everything. Right for the first week or two, while you calibrate the tone. Also right for regulated industries.

Auto-send everything. Only once you trust the tone completely, and even then it’s worth keeping severe cases flagged.

Whatever you choose, the agent escalates anything unusual rather than guessing.

When to write it yourself

Take over when:

• The review alleges something factually serious — illness, safety, discrimination, a legal claim. Never let these auto-send.
• The customer is a regular you know personally. Write to them like a person.
• The review is factually wrong and needs correcting. Do that carefully and without arguing.
• The situation is already escalated publicly. Once there’s an audience, every word matters more.

What good review replies do

• Answer quickly. Speed is the single most visible signal that someone is paying attention.
• Be specific. Reference what they actually mentioned.
• Own it without grovelling. One clear acknowledgement beats three paragraphs of apology.
• Take it off the platform. Offer a direct route to fix it — a reply thread isn’t where resolution happens.
• Never argue publicly. You’re writing for the hundreds of people who’ll read it later, not the one person who wrote it.

Our blog goes deeper on this, with examples: how to respond to negative reviews.

Responses count as actions

Each reply sent counts as one action against your monthly allowance. If you’re near the limit, the agent prioritises negative reviews over thank-yous.

→ Understanding actions and limits