Google Adds Gemini-Assisted Review Replies for Business Profiles
Correction and update, August 11, 2026: Google’s documented AI-assisted review workflow is in the Gemini web app, not a generally available automatic-reply feature in the Business Profile dashboard.
Eligible owners and managers can connect one verified Google Business Profile to Gemini, where it can retrieve reviews, summarize feedback, and draft or delete replies.
The connection is rolling out gradually, has specific eligibility limits, and may not be available to every business.
What Google Has Confirmed
Google’s Gemini Apps Help documentation says the connected Business Profile experience can:
- retrieve customer reviews and star ratings;
- summarize recent feedback and recurring themes;
- draft or delete replies to reviews;
- create and manage Business Profile posts; and
- show performance metrics and search keywords.
This experience runs in the Gemini web app, not as a universally available “Suggested reply” button in the standard Business Profile review screen. Google says the integration and its business notebooks are being released gradually.
Who Can Use It
Google currently lists all of these requirements:
- You must be at least 18.
- You must be an owner or manager of only one verified Google Business Profile.
- You must sign in to Gemini with the personal Google Account associated with that profile.
- The feature is not currently available through a work or school Google Account.
- Gemini’s Keep Activity setting must be on.
- The feature is available only in the Gemini web app.
Google also says the feature is not currently available in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, and it supports a defined list of languages. Owners or managers with access to more than one verified profile are not eligible under the current rules.
If the connection is available, go to the Gemini web app while signed in to the matching account. Ask Gemini about the Business Profile. If it does not select the connected app, Google recommends adding @Google Business Profile to the prompt and following the connection steps shown on screen.
The Standard Reply Workflow Still Works
Google’s Business Profile review instructions continue to document the manual path:
- Open the Business Profile.
- Select Read reviews.
- Select Reply next to the review.
- Enter the reply and submit it.
A business does not need Gemini to answer reviews. The manual workflow is also the fallback for multi-location managers, work-account users, unsupported regions, or anyone who does not want to enable the required Gemini setting.
Where an AI Draft Can Help
Gemini can reduce the blank-page problem. For a straightforward review, ask it for a short draft that acknowledges one specific detail. Then check every sentence before using it.
A useful prompt includes constraints rather than asking for a generic thank-you:
Draft a reply to this review in two sentences. Mention the service the customer named, keep the tone warm and professional, do not make an offer, and do not add facts that are not in the review.
The draft is a starting point. Compare it with the original review and remove any invented name, service detail, promise, discount, or explanation.
Google’s own review-reply guidance recommends clear, helpful, polite, and concise responses. It also advises businesses to make replies conversational rather than promotional and to avoid sending the same generic thank-you to everyone.
When a Person Should Take Over
Use direct human review for any response involving:
- health, safety, discrimination, harassment, or an allegation of illegal conduct;
- a refund, chargeback, contract, or threatened legal action;
- private customer or employee information;
- an incident that must be checked against internal records; or
- a promise about compensation, timing, or a future outcome.
In these cases, the responsible manager should verify the facts and use the business’s escalation process. If legal or regulatory risk is involved, seek appropriate professional advice before posting publicly.
For negative feedback, Google’s guidance says not to expose private information or attack the reviewer. It recommends checking records, explaining what the business can and cannot do, apologizing when appropriate, moving complex discussions to phone or email, and signing with a name or initials to make the response more personal.
A Human Review Checklist
Before posting any AI-assisted reply, check that it:
- addresses the review that was actually written;
- contains no invented facts or commitments;
- does not reveal private information;
- sounds like the business rather than a generic template;
- is concise and useful to people reading the review later;
- avoids promotions that distract from the customer’s feedback; and
- has been escalated when the subject is sensitive.
There is no supported threshold at which a business should automatically switch to AI. Review volume, staffing, risk, and brand voice all matter. A business receiving a few reviews can still use a draft; a business receiving many reviews still needs human approval for high-risk responses.
Handling Suspicious Reviews
Do not use an AI reply as a substitute for Google’s reporting process. Google’s review-removal guidance says a review is eligible for removal only when it violates policy, not simply because the business disagrees with it.
From the Business Profile, select Read reviews, choose the report option next to the review, and select the relevant reason. Google says evaluation usually takes several days. The Reviews Management Tool shows the status and can provide a one-time appeal when Google finds no violation.
If the review remains live, keep any public response factual, brief, and free of private customer details.
The Bottom Line
Google has officially added AI-assisted Business Profile management through the Gemini web app. The tool can draft review replies, but access is gradual and currently excludes many common business setups, including managers of multiple verified profiles and users signed in with work or school accounts.
Use Gemini to prepare low-risk drafts when it saves time. Keep a person responsible for accuracy, privacy, tone, and any commitment made under the business’s name.