Google review replies: a draft for every review, posted when you approve
Replying to Google reviews with WhaleBiz works like this: every new review on your business profile gets a draft reply that the AI writes from what the customer said and the star rating. You approve or edit it, and the reply goes live on your profile through Google's official API. Anyone who wants to talk to you taps the WhatsApp button on the profile and reaches the AI agent.
What Google review management with WhaleBiz includes
A draft for every review
The AI reads the review, picks out what the customer touched on (the staff, the wait, the price, the result) and answers that, instead of the same generic thank-you every time.
Tone set by the stars
Five stars get a short, personal thank-you. Three stars get a response to what went wrong. One star gets a calm reply with no argument and an invitation to continue privately.
Nothing goes live without you
The draft reaches you together with the review itself. Approve it, change a word or rewrite it, and only then is it published.
Published through Google's API
The reply appears straight under the review as the owner's response. No need to log in to the profile and no need to share a password.
Care in sensitive fields
For a clinic, a law firm or an insurance agency the reply never confirms the writer was a client and never mentions a treatment or a case. It is written as a general policy.
In the review's language
The AI writes in any language: a review in Russian gets a reply in Russian, one in English a reply in English, and the same goes for Arabic or any other language.
Old unanswered reviews
At the start we go through the reviews that never got a reply and draft answers for all of them, so nobody scrolling your profile sees a business that stays silent.
WhatsApp instead of the closed chat
Google shut down chat on business profiles in 2024. In its place, the WhatsApp button on your profile leads to the AI agent, which answers 24/7 and books appointments.
How it works
- 1
We connect your Google Business Profile with the profile owner's official permission, no password shared.
- 2
Together we set the tone, the sign-off, what must never be written in your field and where an unhappy customer is directed.
- 3
For every new review a draft reaches you. You approve or edit it, and the reply goes live on the profile.
- 4
The WhatsApp button on the profile leads to the AI agent, and everyone who writes through it is saved in the CRM with a summary of the chat.
What happened to Google's chat, and what replaced it
Google business profiles used to have a chat button. In July 2024 Google shut down Business Messages and the profile chat, and people who found you on Maps lost the easy way to write to you. Here is how to close that gap:
- 1
Your business WhatsApp number is added to the profile as a way to get in touch.
- 2
Whoever taps it reaches the AI agent on WhatsApp, which answers at night and at weekends too, finds out what they need and offers a free slot.
- 3
A customer who left a negative review and was invited in the reply to continue privately lands in the same channel, and when a person is needed the agent hands the chat to you with its full history.
- 4
Every enquiry from the button opens in WhaleBiz CRM with the phone number and a chat summary, and reminders and follow-up run from there.
What we will not do: remove genuine reviews (the business owner cannot either), write reviews in customers' names, or publish a reply you have not approved. And the AI agent does not answer inside Google itself: chat there is closed, so the conversation moves to WhatsApp. Every channel where the agent does hold a conversation, and how to choose the first one, is gathered in the channels overview.
What does it cost?
The price depends on the number of profiles and the volume of reviews. The WhatsApp AI agent that the profile button leads to is part of the Standard and Business plans. The short, free check-up looks at your profile first, and the quote follows.
Take the free check-up5% off setup when you complete the full check-up
Related to Google reviews
FAQ: replying to Google reviews
Does the AI publish review replies without me seeing them?
No. Every draft reaches you first, and only a reply you approved is published. You can change any word, rewrite it or decide not to reply at all.
How does the reply get to Google?
Through the official Google Business Profile API, which lets a business publish a reply to a review and update it. The profile owner grants permission once, without sharing a password, and can revoke it at any time from their Google account.
Can a reply be changed after it is published?
Yes. An owner's reply can be edited or removed. And if the customer updates their review, say after a conversation with you, we draft a new reply that fits the updated version.
Why reply to five-star reviews too?
Because people who read reviews before getting in touch also read the replies, and a profile where every review is answered looks like a business where someone is home. A thank-you that mentions what the customer wrote is more convincing than the same "Thanks so much!" twenty times over.
How do you reply to a negative review from a patient?
Without confirming the writer was a patient, without details and without arguing. The reply addresses the topic in general terms, such as waiting times, and invites them to get in touch privately. This is our default for every business that handles sensitive information.
Is there still chat on Google Maps?
No. Google shut down Business Messages and chat on business profiles in 2024. Today the way to let people who look you up write to you is to add WhatsApp to the profile, and ours is connected to the AI agent.
We have several branches. Does each get its own replies?
Yes. Each branch is a separate Google profile, and each can have its own sign-off, address and WhatsApp number, so the customer is directed to the branch they actually visited.
How is this different from Google Business Profile management?
Profile management is the attract stage: posts, photos and details that get people to find you and choose you. This page is about answering: the reviews already written and the people who tap WhatsApp. Either can be taken on its own, and both run in the same system.
How many reviews are waiting for a reply?
A short, free check-up: we go through the reviews on your profile, show a draft reply to one of your real reviews and check that the WhatsApp button leads to the right place.
Take the free check-up5% off setup when you complete the full check-up