How to Reply to a Google Review (With Examples)

How to reply to a Google review: open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then select the Reply icon next to the review, type your answer and select Reply. Keep the reply short, polite and specific to what the customer said, whether the review is five stars or one.

The steps take a minute. The wording is where owners get stuck, especially with an angry review. Below you’ll find the steps, a simple formula, short examples you can adapt, and one rule BC businesses in particular should know before they hit Reply.

How to reply to a Google review, step by step

Google’s help page on managing customer reviews gives these steps:

1. Open your Business Profile at business.google.com (you need to be signed in with the Google account that manages the profile).
2. Select Read reviews.
3. Next to the review, select the Reply icon.
4. Type your reply.
5. Select Reply.

A few things happen after that, according to the same page:

• Google checks your reply first. Replies are reviewed against Google’s content policies. It usually takes up to 10 minutes, but can take up to 30 days. If a reply isn’t approved, you’re asked to edit it.
• The customer is notified. The person who wrote the review gets a notification when you reply. They can still change their review afterwards.
• You can edit or delete it. Select Edit under your reply to change the text, or Delete to remove it.

A simple formula for any reply

Google’s own tips for replying to reviews come down to a few points: be professional and polite, keep it short and simple, be conversational rather than promotional, and personalise the reply. A three-part formula covers most reviews:

1. Thank them, by name. “Thanks, Sandra.”
2. Mention one specific thing from their review. The job, the problem, the person who helped. This is what makes a reply read like a person wrote it.
3. Give a next step or a sign-off. An invitation to call, or simply “See you at the next tune-up.” Sign with your first name.

Two to four sentences is plenty. Long replies don’t get read, and anything that sounds like an ad (“Book now and save 20%!”) goes against Google’s advice to keep replies conversational.

How to respond to positive reviews

Positive reviews are the easy ones, which is why they often get ignored or answered with a one-word “Thanks!” A specific reply shows future customers that a real person runs the business. These examples are generic; change the details to match the review.

A five-star review for a furnace repair:

Thanks, Daniel. Glad we could get the heat back on before the cold snap, and that Mike’s explanation of the heat exchanger made sense. Give us a call when it’s time for the fall tune-up. – Paul

A short five-star review with no text:

Thanks for the five stars, Priya. We appreciate you taking the time. – Lisa, front desk

A review for a clinic:

Thank you for the kind words about the team and our front desk. We’re glad the booking was easy. – Jen

Notice what the clinic reply doesn’t say. It doesn’t mention a treatment, a condition or how many visits the person had, even though the reviewer might have. More on why in a moment.

How to respond to negative reviews

A bad review stings, and the worst replies are written in the first ten minutes. Before you write anything:

• Wait a bit and check the facts. Talk to whoever was on the job, look up the work order and the messages. You can’t respond well to a complaint you don’t fully understand.
• Own what’s yours. Google’s tips say to be honest, explain limitations and apologise when appropriate. If the crew showed up late, say so. If the complaint is about something you never promised, explain it once, calmly.
• Move it offline. Give a phone number or email and a name to ask for. The details belong in a private conversation.
• Don’t argue in public. Future customers aren’t judging who was right. They’re judging how you handle problems.

A fair complaint (late arrival):

Hi Tom, you’re right, we were two hours late and should have called you before your window passed. That’s not how we want to run. I’d like to make it right; please call me directly at the office and ask for Raj. – Raj, owner

A complaint you see differently (price):

Hi Alicia, thanks for the feedback. I’m sorry the final bill was a surprise. Our quotes list what’s included, and anything extra needs your sign-off first, but I’d like to go over it with you. Please call the office and ask for me. – Karen

A one-star review with no explanation:

Hi Mark, I’m sorry to see this. We couldn’t find your name in our records, and I’d like to understand what happened. Please call or email us so we can look into it. – Steve

All of these examples are illustrative. Replace the names and details with your own, and only put in a reply what the customer already said publicly.

What never to put in a reply

The biggest mistake isn’t tone. It’s sharing details about the customer to prove your side of the story. Google’s tips already say to protect privacy and avoid personal attacks. In BC, there’s also a privacy ruling on exactly this.

In March 2025, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC decided Order P25-03. A pet resort had replied to a customer’s online review with her name, her financial information, information about her dog and details of her conversations with staff. The adjudicator found that BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) didn’t allow the business to disclose that information to refute the review, and ordered it to remove all of her personal information it had posted online.

That’s one decision about one business, and it isn’t legal advice. But the practical lesson is clear. In a reply, leave out:

• Anything from your records: invoice amounts, addresses, dates of service, account details.
• Private conversations: what the customer said on the phone or by text.
• Health information: for clinics, don’t confirm that the person is or was a patient, or mention any treatment, even if they did.
• Promotions and links: replies are for the customer, not a sales pitch.
• Personal attacks: even when the review is unfair.

What to do about a fake review

If a review is from someone who was never a customer, or from a competitor, reply briefly and calmly so readers see you took it seriously: “We have no record of working with you. If we’re wrong, please call us so we can look into it.” Then report it.

Google only removes reviews that break its policies, and reporting takes a few steps. We cover the whole process in our guide on how to report a fake or unfair review. Don’t wait for Google’s decision to reply; the reply is for the people reading your profile now.

Make replying a habit

Replies only help if they happen. Google’s tips say to respond in a timely manner, and a review that sat unanswered for three months tells readers something too. A few habits make it easy:

Replying is half of it. The other half is getting more reviews from happy customers, so a single bad one doesn’t define your profile. The simplest way is to ask right after the job is done, with a text or email that includes your review link. A simple follow-up system can send that message by text and email for you, so it doesn’t depend on someone remembering; that’s the kind of setup our CRM and follow-up automation service covers. Reviews, along with your Business Profile and website, are also part of how you show up on Google Maps, which is what our local SEO work for businesses from Vancouver to the Fraser Valley focuses on.

Conclusion

Knowing how to reply to a Google review well comes down to a few habits. Reply from your Business Profile in a minute or two. Thank people by name and mention something specific. For negative reviews, check the facts, own what’s yours and take the details offline. And never put a customer’s personal information in a reply: BC’s privacy commissioner has already ordered one business to take a reply like that down.

If you’d like help turning reviews into more calls from Google Maps, book a free strategy call. We’ll go over how your business shows up online today and the next steps we recommend.

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Written by

Murilo T. Founder, Rank My Business Today

Murilo spent 20 years in the software industry supporting the marketing departments of other companies. In 2024 he founded Rank My Business Today to help local businesses across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley become the name people find, trust and choose.

More about Murilo