Why responding to reviews matters
The data is clear: businesses that respond to their Google reviews have 35% more conversions than those that don’t.
The problem: responding to every review takes time. And most local businesses simply don’t do it.
The solution: automate it with AI.
How the system works
The full workflow has 4 parts:
1. Detecting new reviews
We use the Google Business Profile API to monitor new reviews every hour. When a new one appears, the automation workflow triggers.
Data captured:
- Review text
- Rating (1–5 stars)
- Author name
- Date
2. Sentiment and context analysis
We send the review to the Claude API with a specific prompt that:
- Determines whether it’s positive, negative or neutral
- Identifies the main topic (service, price, staff, product)
- Detects if it mentions employee names or other specific details
- Evaluates whether an urgent response is needed (1–2 star reviews)
3. Generating a personalised reply
Based on the analysis above, we generate a response that:
- Positive reviews (4–5 ⭐): Genuine thanks, references specific details from the review, subtle CTA (“we look forward to seeing you again”)
- Neutral reviews (3 ⭐): Thanks + acknowledgement of the issue + commitment to improve
- Negative reviews (1–2 ⭐): Empathy, acknowledgement, request to make direct contact to resolve the issue
The tone of each reply adapts to the tone of the original review and the business profile.
4. Publishing or human review
This is where the workflow splits:
- Positive/neutral reviews: Published automatically via API
- Negative reviews: The proposed reply is sent to the owner via Telegram/email for approval before posting
This split is key for sensitive reviews where an automatic response could make things worse.
Typical results
In real implementations with local businesses:
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Response rate | 15–20% | 100% |
| Response time | 24–72h | <5 minutes |
| Average rating (3 months) | Baseline | +0.3 to +0.5 stars |
| Time spent | 3–5h/week | <30 min/week |
What you need to implement it
APIs and services:
- Google Business Profile API (access via Google Cloud)
- Claude API (Anthropic) or OpenAI GPT-4
- Automation platform (self-hosted or cloud)
- Telegram Bot or email for notifications
Estimated cost:
- Automation infrastructure: €8–15/month on a VPS
- Claude API: ~€5–15/month for a business with 50–100 reviews/month
- Total: under €30/month
Implementation time: 2–4 hours for a technical setup. For non-technical owners, that’s where we come in.
Want us to set this up for your business?
If you have a local business with a Google Maps presence and want 100% of your reviews replied to without spending any time on it, book an audit.
We implement this system in under a week and the ROI is immediate: more responses = better ranking = more clients.