If you're a local business owner, you know the drill: Google Reviews come in, and you need to respond. Every. Single. One.
It's good practice — customers notice when you reply. But it's also a time sink. Checking reviews daily, writing personalized thank-yous, keeping it professional... it adds up.
Here's the good news: you can automate 80% of this work while keeping responses personal and on-brand.
What You'll Get
By the end of this guide, you'll have a system that automatically detects new Google Reviews and posts a personalized thank-you response within minutes — no manual work required.
Why This Matters
Responding to reviews isn't just good manners — it's SEO fuel. Google's algorithm favors businesses that actively engage with customers. Plus, prospects read your responses. A thoughtful reply builds trust.
But here's the problem: most business owners either:
- Forget to check reviews regularly (killing response rates)
- Copy/paste generic responses (customers can tell)
- Spend 30+ minutes/week manually replying (not scalable)
This automation solves all three.
How It Works (High-Level)
The setup uses two tools:
- Make.com (formerly Integromat) — Watches for new reviews and triggers the workflow
- OpenAI API — Generates personalized responses based on the review content
When a new review comes in, Make.com sends the review text to OpenAI, which writes a contextual thank-you message. Make.com then posts it as your reply.
Total hands-off time: 60 seconds (after the one-time setup).
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Connect Make.com to Google My Business
You'll need a Make.com account (free tier works for most businesses). Inside Make, create a new scenario and add the "Google My Business - Watch Reviews" trigger.
This module checks for new reviews every X minutes (you choose the interval). When it finds one, it passes the review data to the next step.
Step 2: Add the OpenAI Module
Add the "OpenAI - Create Completion" module. This is where the magic happens.
In the prompt field, paste something like this:
You are a friendly business owner. Write a brief, personalized thank-you response to this Google Review: [Review Text]
OpenAI reads the review (e.g., "Great service, loved the coffee!") and generates a response like:
"Thanks so much! We're thrilled you enjoyed the coffee. Hope to see you again soon!"
Step 3: Post the Reply
Add a "Google My Business - Create Reply" module. Map the OpenAI output to the reply field.
Done. Every new review gets an automatic, personalized response.
What This Saves You
Let's do the math:
- Average time per manual reply: 3 minutes
- Reviews per month: 20 (for a typical small business)
- Total time saved: 60 minutes/month
That's an hour you get back — every month — to focus on customers, not admin work.
Pro Tips
- Fine-tune the prompt — Add your brand voice ("Keep it casual" or "Be professional but warm")
- Handle negative reviews separately — Set up a filter to flag 1-2 star reviews for manual review instead of auto-replying
- Track what works — Make.com logs every response. Review them monthly to see if the tone needs adjusting
Next Steps
This automation is just the start. Once you see how much time it saves, you'll wonder what else you can automate.
Want help building custom automations for your business? I offer free discovery calls where I'll analyze your biggest time sink and share one actionable idea you can implement this week.