AI drafts replies to new Google reviews for approval
Reply to every review in your voice without staring at a blank box.
The problem
Replying to reviews helps rankings and trust, but writing thoughtful replies takes time owners don't have.
What it does
Each morning it collects new reviews, has AI draft a short reply in your tone for each, and emails you the drafts to paste or approve.
- Import
ai-review-reply-drafts.n8n.json. - Set REVIEWS_URL (see the negative-review-alert recipe), OWNER_EMAIL, FROM_EMAIL, BRAND_VOICE (e.g. 'warm, brief, family-owned bakery, sign as Maria').
- Attach OpenAI and Resend Header Auth credentials.
- Optional upgrade: post approved replies back via the Google Business Profile API (reviews.updateReply).
Credentials: each HTTP node uses a generic credential (Twilio = HTTP Basic Auth with Account SID/Auth Token; Resend/OpenAI = Header Auth Authorization: Bearer <key>). Values like $env.BUSINESS_NAME read environment variables. On n8n Cloud, replace them with literal text or n8n Variables ($vars).
Make / Zapier notes
Make: Google My Business 'Watch reviews' → OpenAI → Email/Gmail draft. Zapier: GBP 'New Review' → ChatGPT → Gmail 'Create draft'.
Compliance notes
A human approves every reply. Never confirm someone was a patient or client in a public reply (HIPAA/privacy), and don't offer incentives for review changes. Google review rules: Google prohibits review gating (only asking happy customers, or filtering unhappy ones away from Google) and offering incentives for reviews. Send the same request to every customer. A private feedback option is fine only if the Google link is shown to everyone too. Yelp prohibits soliciting reviews at all, so link Google/Facebook, not Yelp.
Expected result
A near-100% reply rate with a few minutes a week; consistent replies improve trust and local SEO.
Workflow file: ai-review-reply-drafts.n8n.json