How to Automate Google Review Replies for Your Dubai Restaurant

Want to automate Google review replies for your restaurant? Restaurant owners in Dubai, start with this question: what do people check before they visit your restaurant? Your menu, your prices and your Instagram, of course. But many of them start somewhere else: your Google reviews. And they don't only read the reviews. They read how you replied.

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A bad review with no reply looks like nobody cares. The same bad review with a calm, polite reply says the opposite: this restaurant listens and fixes things. The problem is time. Between service, staff and suppliers, replying to every review by hand is the job that always slips.

This guide shows you how to automate it yourself with GoHighLevel, so good reviews get a warm thank-you and bad ones get a calm, sensible reply that a manager approves first. You don't need to be technical, and you can set it up in an afternoon.

What "automated review replies" actually means

You are not handing your reputation to a robot. A good setup works like this:

• 4 and 5 star reviews: the AI writes a short, warm reply that mentions what the guest enjoyed and posts it for you.
• 1, 2 and 3 star reviews: the AI drafts a calm, apologetic reply that invites the guest to get in touch privately. A manager reads it, edits it if needed and approves it before it goes live.
• Every review: lands in one inbox, so you can see what guests are saying and spot problems early.

GoHighLevel's Reviews AI supports both ways of working. In suggestive mode it drafts a reply and a person approves it. In auto-response mode it replies on its own, with rules you set for each star rating. You can mix the two.

What you need before you start

• A GoHighLevel account. You can start a 30-day GoHighLevel trial through our link.
• Owner or manager access to your restaurant's Google Business Profile.
• Your restaurant's name, the tone you want (warm and friendly, or more formal), and a contact route for complaints, such as a WhatsApp number or email address.
• About two hours for the first setup.

Step by step: set up AI review replies in GoHighLevel

Menu names in GoHighLevel change from time to time, so if something looks slightly different in your account, look for the same words in Settings and Reputation.

1. Create your restaurant's account. Start your GoHighLevel trial and set up a subaccount (a "location") for your restaurant with its correct name, address and phone number.
2. Connect your Google Business Profile. In the subaccount's settings, open Integrations and connect Google, signing in with the Google account that manages your Business Profile. Choose the right restaurant if you manage more than one.
3. Check your reviews are coming in. Open Reputation and the Reviews list. Your existing Google reviews should appear there. If you also use Facebook, connect it the same way: Reviews AI can reply on Facebook too.
4. Switch on Reviews AI. In Reputation settings, open the Reviews AI section and turn it on. Start in suggestive mode for every rating, so you see what the AI writes before anything is posted.
5. Brief the AI properly. This is the step most people rush. Tell it your restaurant's name, the tone you want, how to sign off (for example "The team at [restaurant name]"), and the rules it must follow. See the brief below.
6. Set rules by star rating. After a couple of weeks of checking drafts, switch 4 and 5 star reviews to automatic replies. Keep 1, 2 and 3 star reviews in suggestive mode so a person always approves them.
7. Add a short delay. If your account offers a delay setting, use it. A reply that appears seconds after a review looks automated; one that appears a few hours later looks considered.
8. Make sure a manager sees bad reviews quickly. Set GoHighLevel to notify the right person by email or the mobile app when a new review arrives, so 1 to 3 star reviews are approved the same day, not next week.

A brief you can copy

"You reply to Google reviews for [restaurant name], a [cuisine] restaurant in [area], Dubai. Write in British English, warm and polite, 2 to 4 sentences. Thank the guest by first name if it's given and mention something specific from their review. For negative reviews: apologise sincerely, never argue or blame the guest, don't mention prices, refunds or free meals, and invite them to contact us on [WhatsApp number or email] so the manager can put it right. Never share personal details or make promises about compensation in public. Sign off as 'The team at [restaurant name]'."

Example replies

These are examples of the style to aim for, not real reviews.

A 5 star review about the mixed grill and friendly staff:

"Thank you so much, Sara! We're delighted you enjoyed the mixed grill, and we'll pass your kind words on to the team who looked after you. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. The team at [restaurant name]"

A 2 star review about a long wait for food:

"Thank you for your feedback, and we're sorry your food took so long to arrive. That isn't the experience we want for our guests. Please message our manager on [WhatsApp number] so we can understand what happened and put it right. The team at [restaurant name]"

Get more reviews, the right way

Replies are half the job. The other half is getting more reviews from the guests who had a good time and never think to leave one. GoHighLevel can send a review request by text, WhatsApp or email after a visit or an order. A few rules keep you safe with Google:

• Ask every guest, not only the happy ones. Google does not allow "review gating", where you only ask people you expect to leave a good review.
• Never offer anything for a review. No discounts, free desserts or prize draws in return for reviews, good or bad.
• Make it easy. Send the direct link to your Google review form, and send it soon after the visit while the meal is fresh in their mind.
• Don't pressure people. A friendly request is fine; standing over a guest until they post is not.

Mistakes to avoid

• Fully automatic replies to negative reviews. One clumsy AI reply to an angry guest can do more harm than no reply. Keep a person in charge of these.
• Copy-paste replies. If every reply says the same thing, readers notice. A good brief makes the AI mention something specific from each review.
• Arguing in public. Even when a review is unfair, reply calmly and take the conversation private.
• Setting it and forgetting it. Read your reviews once a week. They tell you what to fix in the kitchen and on the floor.
• Ignoring the cost settings. GoHighLevel may charge AI replies separately from your plan. Check the pricing and any limits in your account before you switch on automatic replies.

Do it yourself, with help, or done for you

You can set all of this up yourself with a GoHighLevel trial and this guide. If you'd like help, the AI Business Builders community walks you through setups like this one step by step, and members get their own GoHighLevel subaccount included. And if you'd rather have it built for you, together with booking, WhatsApp follow-ups and the rest of your AI automation, tell us what you need.

Start your 30-day GoHighLevel trial →