Answer every Google review without sounding like a template

1. 01Done

   Write the business profile once

   the step that pays off

   You need your Google Business Profile access, and half an hour once.

   The half hour goes into the business profile block. This is the whole trick, and it is the part people skip. (In the margin: worth the half hour.) Without it, the model writes replies that could belong to any business on the street, which is precisely the failure mode you already have. With it, replies land specific enough that regulars notice.

   Be honest in the "two things we are weak on" field. If your rooms are dated and you know it, write that. When a review complains about dated rooms, the reply that says "you're right, the north wing is next in the renovation queue" is worth more than any amount of apology, and the model cannot write it unless you told it the truth.

   Fill it in, save it somewhere you can copy from in one keystroke. A text file is fine. We keep ours as a snippet.

   Write the business profile once

   Copy

   Fill this in once and keep it. Every reply prompt starts by pasting it.
   BUSINESS PROFILE
   - Name:
   - What we do, in one sentence:
   - Location and what is nearby:
   - Who replies (first name, role, and whether we sign replies):
   - Three things people genuinely praise us for:
   - Two things we know we are weak on right now, and what we are doing about each:
   - Things we will never say in public (discounts, blame, medical or legal detail):
   - Tone: (e.g. warm and plain-spoken, no exclamation marks, never corporate)
   - Words we do not use:

   Checkpoint

   A filled-in profile you can copy from in one keystroke.

   Copy step as prompt

   ---

2. 02Done

   Pull your unanswered reviews

   Pull your unanswered reviews. If you have a year of backlog, do the oldest negative ones first. Those are the ones being read.

   Checkpoint

   Your unanswered reviews, oldest negative ones first.

   Copy step as prompt

   ---

3. 03Done

   Draft the reply

   Paste the profile, paste one review, get two drafts, pick one, edit a word, publish. Roughly two minutes per review once you have the rhythm.

   Three parts of the prompt earn their place:

   Under 60 words. Without a hard cap, every reply comes back as a paragraph of gratitude. Nobody reads a paragraph under a one-line review.

   The escalate rule. Some reviews should not get a fast public reply. (In the margin: needs a human.) A claim about a staff member's conduct, an allegation involving health or safety, or anything that reads like the opening of a legal problem needs a human and possibly a lawyer. Building the escape hatch into the prompt means you notice those instead of batch-replying past them at speed.

   Two options in different tones. Picking between two drafts takes five seconds and produces a better result than editing one draft, because you are choosing rather than fixing. It also stops the replies converging on one rhythm, which is what makes a review page look automated.

   Draft the reply

   Copy

   You are drafting a public reply to a Google review on behalf of the business
   described below. The reply is read by future customers, not just the reviewer.
   Rules:
   - Under 60 words. Public replies are skimmed, never read.
   - Reference one specific thing the reviewer mentioned. If they named a staff
     member, a room, a dish, or a date, use it.
   - Thank them once, at most. Do not thank them twice.
   - No exclamation marks. No "we appreciate your feedback". No "we strive to".
   - Sign with the first name from the profile.
   - If the review is negative: acknowledge the specific failure in plain words,
     say what changes, and move the conversation off the platform with a direct
     contact. Do not apologise three times, do not explain internal causes, and
     do not argue about facts.
   - If the review contains a factual claim we would need to verify, or anything
     legal, medical, or about a named individual's conduct, do not draft a reply.
     Return "ESCALATE:" and one line saying why.
   Give me two options in different tones so I can pick.
   BUSINESS PROFILE:
   """
   {{PROFILE_FROM_STEP_1}}
   """
   REVIEW ({{STARS}} stars, {{DATE}}, reviewer name {{NAME}}):
   """
   {{REVIEW_TEXT}}
   """

   Pro tip

   Do not batch ten reviews into one message. The model starts writing variations of the same reply, and the sameness is exactly what you are trying to avoid.

   Checkpoint

   Two drafts in different tones, to pick between.

   Copy step as prompt

   ---

4. 04Done

   Read every one before publishing

   What you should still expect to do yourself:

   • Read every one before publishing. These are public and permanent. This is not a workflow you automate end to end, and anyone selling you one is selling you a reputation problem.
   • Kill the replies that are technically fine but sound like nothing. Some reviews are three words long and there is genuinely nothing to say. A thumbs-up and no reply beats filler.
   • Escalate what the prompt escalates.

   Checkpoint

   Published replies, each one read by you first.

   Copy step as prompt

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