Replying to a review

Every published review has a reply box under it in Manage Reviews. Write, save, and the reply appears under that review on your page and in the widget on your website, labelled as coming from the business.

Replying is on every plan, including Free.

Why it is worth doing, especially on the bad ones

A negative review with a calm reply underneath reads as a business that answers. The same review with nothing under it reads as one that did not notice — and the visitor deciding whether to call you is reading both the same way.

Most buyers do not expect a perfect record. What they look for is what happens when something goes wrong, and a reply is the only evidence of that on the page.

Three things a reply should do: acknowledge the specific thing, say what changed or what you would do, and stop. A long reply arguing the customer's account reads worse than the review did.

Having a draft written for you

On AI Pro, a reply can be drafted for you from the review. It lands in the same text box you were going to type into, and nothing is saved or published until you send it.

The draft is deliberately limited in one way that matters. It will not promise a refund, a discount, an amount or a deadline, and a draft that does is refused rather than softened. You are the one who has to honour whatever the reply says, so the tool does not commit you to anything — if a refund is the right answer, you write that sentence yourself.

It also does not send. There is no automatic replying on any plan, and there should not be: a reply written and posted without anyone reading it is how businesses end up apologising to spam.

Where the reply appears

The reply travels with the review. It shows on your Kudo page, in the widget on your own website, and it disappears with the review if you hide it.

It does not appear on Google. Kudo cannot write into your Google Business Profile — Google does not permit any tool to post an owner response on your behalf, so replying to a Google review still means opening your Business Profile. Kudo's reply is on your own page, which is the copy you control and the one you share.

Editing and removing

A reply can be rewritten or cleared at any time from the same box. There is no version history and no notification to the customer, because Kudo does not hold a channel back to a reviewer who left no email address.

Frequently asked questions

Is replying free?
Yes, on every plan. What AI Pro adds is having a first draft written for you.

Will the AI reply for me automatically?
No. It writes a draft into the box; you edit and save it. Nothing is published without you.

Why does the draft avoid offering a refund?
Because you have to honour it. A draft promising money, a discount or a date is refused outright rather than reworded, since guessing what the model meant would leave you committed to something you never said.

Does this reply on Google as well?
No. Google does not allow a third-party tool to post owner responses, so a Google review still has to be answered inside your Business Profile.

Can the customer see my reply?
Only if they come back to the page. Kudo does not email a reviewer when you reply, and most reviewers leave no address at all.

Still stuck? Write to support@getkudo.co with a link to the review you are trying to answer.