AI response to a bad review: a free prompt and 7 examples

What should an AI response to a bad review say?

It should concede the part that was true, name what changed, and make one offer, in under 100 words and signed by a person. Google's reply tips ask for that last part in so many words: "A personal sign-off with your name or initials shows that their experience matters to you." Fill in the three bracketed parts below; the two lines about what happened are the part no generator can write for you.

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Draft a public reply to this review of my business.

Review: [paste the full review]

What actually happened, in two lines: [e.g. we overbooked the 7pm slot by two tables and the wait was 45 minutes. The drinks order was lost when two servers swapped sections.]

What I can offer: [e.g. dinner for two on the house / a refund of the service charge / an apology and nothing else]

Rules: calm and plain. Concede what was true in the first sentence. Do not argue with the reviewer's version of events; if mine differs, state it once, without the word "actually". Mention nothing about the customer beyond what they wrote. No discount codes or promotions. No phrases like "valued customer", "we strive to" or "sorry to hear about your experience". Under 100 words. The real reader is a future customer deciding whether to book, so write for them. Sign it with my first name.

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Run it in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini; a free account on any of them handles a 100 word draft. If you paste it into two models, keep the draft that names your specific fact (the two tables, the 45 minutes) over the one that apologises in general, or put both side by side in a compare view and take the better sentences from each. If you sell on Etsy, AI for Etsy sellers has a buyer message prompt built the same way, plus prompts for the title, tags and description.

Should you respond to every negative review on Google?

Yes, and to the positive ones as well. In BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adults, published February 11, 2026), 89% of consumers expect owners to respond to reviews, and 80% are likely to use a business that answers all of its reviews, against 47% for one that answers only the negative ones and 45% for one that answers only the positive ones.

Speed matters more each year. The same survey found 19% of consumers expect a reply the same day, up from 6% in 2025, and 32% by the following day, up from 18%; 81% expect one within a week. That is the honest case for drafting with AI: the model writes in seconds, so the slow part left is the two lines of fact, which only you have.

Do Google, Yelp and Trustpilot allow AI-written review replies?

None of the three bans them. Checked on 26 September 2026, Google's reply tips, Yelp's policy for Respond to Reviews API partners and Trustpilot's Guidelines for Businesses (May 2025 version) never mention AI. What Google and Yelp rule out instead is the voice an unedited draft falls into. Yelp's policy says "Word choice should vary between responses. Be a person, not a robot."

Two of those rows change how you use the prompt. The offer row is about promotions to everyone reading, a discount code or a mailing list; a make-good for the one customer who had the bad night (a refund, a meal, a redo) answers their concern, which is what Yelp says a reply is for. The who-posts row is Yelp's rule for software partners that post through its API, and the plain reading for a small business is that the owner sends the reply, even when a model drafted it.

Negative Google review response examples: 7 filled replies

Each reply below follows the prompt's rules: under 100 words, one conceded fact, one change, one offer, a first name. The reviews, facts and replies were written for this page to show the pattern for seven common complaints; they are not model output and not real customers, so put your own two lines in the prompt rather than copying a reply whole.

1. The long wait (restaurant). Review: "Booked for 7, seated at 7:45, no apology. Server forgot our drinks twice. Manager shrugged. Never again." Your two lines: overbooked the 7pm slot by two tables; the drinks order was lost when two servers swapped sections. Reply: "Thanks for telling us, and I'm sorry about the 45 minute wait. We overbooked the 7pm slot by two tables on Saturday, and your drinks order was lost when two servers swapped sections. Both are on us. The booking system now caps that hour, and drinks orders go straight to the bar. If you're willing to give us another go, dinner for two is on me: message the restaurant and ask for Dana. Dana, owner"

2. The rude staff member (salon). Review: "Receptionist rolled her eyes when I asked to move my appointment and told me to find another salon." Your two lines: one person was covering both desks that afternoon; any stylist can now move a booking. Reply: "I'm sorry. Being told to find another salon for asking to move a booking is not how we treat anyone. That afternoon one person was covering both desks, which explains the rush and doesn't excuse the tone. We've talked it through as a team, and any stylist can now move a booking for you. If you'd give us another try, your next cut is half price. Call and ask for me. Priya, owner"

3. The wrong order (takeaway). Review: "Ordered the vegetable curry, got chicken. I'm vegetarian. Called and nobody picked up." Your two lines: two orders went out under one ticket number on Friday; the phone was unstaffed during the rush. Reply: "You ordered vegetarian, got chicken, then couldn't reach us. That's two failures, and the first matters more than any refund. On Friday two orders went out under the same ticket number. Vegetarian dishes now get a green lid and a second check before they're bagged, and someone answers the phone through the dinner rush. We've refunded the order in full. If you want to talk it through, I'm on the shop number most afternoons. Sam, owner"

4. The price complaint (plumber). Review: "Charged $180 for a call-out that took 15 minutes. Nobody told me the price before they came." Your two lines: the call-out fee is $120 plus parts and is on the website; the booking call skipped it. Reply: "You're right that nobody told you the price before we arrived, and that's on us. Our call-out fee is $120 whether the job takes 15 minutes or two hours, and the part was $60, which makes the $180. It's listed on our site, but it should have been said on the phone, and from this week it is, on every booking. I'm happy to walk through the invoice with you. Leo, owner"

5. The damaged delivery (online shop). Review: "Mug arrived in pieces. Packaging was a thin bag. Waste of money." Your two lines: we moved to a lighter mailer in March to cut postage and breakages rose; boxes with card inserts are back. Reply: "Sorry your mug arrived broken. You're right about the packaging: we moved to a lighter mailer in March to save on postage, and more mugs broke. Every mug now ships in a box with a card insert again. Reply to your order email with the word broken and we'll send a replacement or a refund, whichever you prefer, with no need to return the pieces. Hana, founder"

6. The no-show (cleaning service). Review: "Cleaner never showed. I took the morning off work for nothing. No call, no text." Your two lines: the cleaner could not make it and the job was not reassigned; the cancellation text failed. Reply: "You took a morning off and nobody came or called. I'm sorry. Our cleaner couldn't make it, the job wasn't passed to someone else, and the cancellation text our system should have sent never went. We now phone every customer ourselves when a visit changes. Your next clean is free, at a time that suits you: reply here or call the office and ask for me. Mariana, owner"

7. The review whose facts you dispute (hotel). Review: "Charged me for a night I cancelled. Scam." Your two lines: the cancellation came inside the 24 hour window; the policy is on the booking page and in the confirmation email. Reply: "I understand how a charge for a night you didn't stay feels. Our cancellation window is 24 hours before check-in, and it's shown on the booking page and in the confirmation email; cancellations inside it are charged one night. I know that isn't the answer you wanted. If something outside your control caused the late cancellation, call me directly and I'll look at it with you. Tom, general manager"

Reply 7 is the hard one, and the pattern is the point: it states the policy, not the customer's booking time, and it leaves a door open without conceding a fact that was not true. Google's tips cover this case: "Acknowledge if any mistakes were made, but don't take responsibility for things outside your control."

What should a reply to a bad review never do?

A reply to a bad review should never argue the facts, reveal anything about the customer, or read like a template. Each of the three costs you with the stranger reading your profile, and each is something an unedited AI draft does readily.

Arguing. The reader cannot check who is right, so a rebuttal reads as the business being defensive. State your version once, in one plain sentence, as reply 7 does, and move on. Every model will draft a point by point rebuttal if you ask for one; the prompt's rule exists to stop that.

Customer details. The review is public; the reviewer's file is not. Do not paste their booking record or email thread into the model, and do not let the reply mention their order date, their bill or how they behaved. Trustpilot's guidelines say replies that include personal information get removed. The wider rule on what stays out of a chat window is in what never to paste into AI.

Template voice. Ask a model to "write a reply to this review" with no facts and you get something like: "Dear valued customer, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are so sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. We strive to provide excellent service to every guest." That is the reply 50% of consumers in BrightLocal's 2026 survey say puts them off. Start with the specific thing that went wrong instead.

When should you skip AI and write the reply yourself?

Skip the model when the review alleges something legal or safety related: a food poisoning claim, a discrimination claim, an injury, or an accusation against a named employee. Those get a two line holding reply written by you (you have read it, you take it seriously, here is the number to call) and a phone call, because a fluent 100 word draft can concede a fact you have not checked.

Wait before posting even when AI drafted it. Yelp's help center says "Business owners who pause for a moment rather than responding immediately tell us their responses are less heated and more resolution based." Draft with the model, then leave it an hour.

And at volume, a chat window is the wrong tool. A business answering 30 reviews a week is better served by review management software that posts inside Google and Yelp directly; a chat workspace like Whizi does not post anywhere, so you copy the reply out and paste it yourself, which is fine at three reviews a week and tedious at thirty.