Set up auto-reply¶

Have Ohanvi draft a reply to each new Google review. You choose whether every reply waits for your approval, or whether replies to good reviews post on their own after a wait. You approve, edit or skip replies in the queue. Setup takes about 5 minutes.

Before you start¶

Google Business Profile is connected. See Connect social accounts.
You can see Google Reviews under More on the left rail.
Google has approved Business Profile access for Ohanvi. Until it does, Auto-reply doesn't show under Google Reviews.

Waiting for Google

Auto-reply works only after Google approves Business Profile access for Ohanvi and your profile is connected. Until then Auto-reply is hidden from the Google Reviews menu. If you open it from an old link, the screen shows Waiting for Google to approve Business Profile access. Replies will start once it's connected. No reply is drafted or posted until then.

Steps¶

Choose how replies work¶

Click More on the left rail, then select Google Reviews → Auto-reply. The line at the top reads Draft a reply to every new Google review. Post it yourself after a look, or let it post on its own.
If you have several branches, pick the branch in Branch:. Each branch has its own settings. See Switch between branches.
Under Reply settings, pick a Reply mode:
- Off — No replies are drafted. This is the default.
- Ask me first — A reply is drafted for each new review. Nothing posts until you approve it.
- Automatic — Replies to reviews with enough stars post on their own after the wait. Other reviews wait for you.
For Automatic, pick Wait before posting: Right away, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. The default is 1 hour. The wait gives you time to change or skip a reply before it goes up.
For Automatic, pick Minimum stars: 5 stars only, 4 stars and up, 3 stars and up, 2 stars and up or All ratings. The default is 4 stars and up. Lower ratings wait for you in the queue.
Click Save settings. The message Auto-reply settings saved appears.

To drop unsaved changes, click Undo changes.

Tip

Start with Ask me first. Read a week of drafts, then switch to Automatic for 4 and 5 star reviews. Answer low ratings yourself.

Work through the queue¶

The Reply queue card lists the replies drafted for new Google reviews. Each item shows the reviewer's name, their stars, the review, and Your reply.

Pick a tab: Pending, Scheduled, Posted, Skipped or Failed.
On a pending reply, do one of these:
- Click Approve. The message Reply approved appears, and the reply posts right away.
- Click Edit. Change the text in Edit reply, then click Save reply. The message Reply updated appears. Approve it when it is ready.
- Click Skip to leave this review without a reply. The message Reply skipped appears.
Under Scheduled, read the replies waiting for their time. Each shows Posts followed by the date and time. You can still click Edit or Skip.
Click Show more at the bottom to see older items.

Tab	What it lists
Pending	Replies that need your OK.
Scheduled	Approved replies, and Automatic replies waiting for their time.
Posted	Replies posted to Google, with Posted followed by the date and time. Once Google reports its decision, the reply also shows Pending Google review or Live on Google.
Skipped	Replies you skipped, and replies Ohanvi dropped because the review already had a reply or was removed from Google.
Failed	Replies that didn't post or that Google rejected, with the reason. Edit them if needed, then click Approve to try again.

Ohanvi never replies to a review that already has a reply, and never posts a reply twice.

Check that Google published the reply¶

Google checks each reply before it shows on your listing. After a reply posts, Ohanvi reads Google's decision and shows it on the reply. A reply shows no label until Google reports one:

Label	What it means
Pending Google review	Google is still checking the reply. It isn't on your listing yet.
Live on Google	Google published the reply. Customers can see it.
Rejected by Google	Google refused to publish the reply. The reason Google gave shows with it, and the reply moves to Failed.

Ohanvi checks again each time your reviews sync, until Google decides.

To fix a rejected reply:

Open the Failed tab and find the reply marked Rejected by Google.
Read the reason.
Click Edit and change the text. Take out anything the reason points to, such as a phone number, a link or an offer.
Click Save reply, then Approve. The new reply replaces the rejected one on the review.

What drafted replies leave out¶

Drafted replies are short, polite and plain. The AI is asked to leave out:

Phone numbers, email addresses, links or website addresses.
Offers, discounts, discount codes or other promotions.
Swear words or slurs, even when the review used them.

Ohanvi checks every draft for contact details and blocked words. Offers and discounts are not checked, so read each draft before you approve it, or before an automatic reply posts. A draft with a phone number, email address, link, swear word or slur is written again. If the new one still has one, no reply is drafted for that review, and you can reply yourself.

Google allows a reply of about 4,000 letters in English. Very long replies, especially in Indian languages, are shortened, because Hindi and other Indian scripts use more of Google's limit for each letter.

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Cause	Fix
Auto-reply is missing under Google Reviews	Google hasn't approved Business Profile access for Ohanvi yet.	No fix needed. It shows once Google approves access. Collect reviews with your review page meanwhile.
Waiting for Google to approve Business Profile access. Replies will start once it's connected.	Google hasn't approved Business Profile access for Ohanvi yet, or your profile isn't connected.	Connect Google Business Profile when it is available. Your saved settings start working then.
The queue is empty and reads Auto-reply is off	Reply mode is Off.	Pick Ask me first or Automatic, then click Save settings.
Wait before posting and Minimum stars can't be changed	They apply only in Automatic mode.	Pick Automatic first.
A reply is under Failed with Google Business Profile isn't connected.	The connection to Google ended.	Reconnect Google Business Profile, then click Approve on the reply.
A reply is under Failed with Couldn't post the reply to Google.	Google didn't accept the reply.	Click Edit to check the text, then click Approve.
A reply shows Rejected by Google under Failed	Google refused to publish it. The reason shows with the reply.	Click Edit, change what the reason points to, click Save reply, then Approve.
A reply shows Pending Google review for days	Google hasn't finished checking it.	No fix needed. Ohanvi checks again on each sync.
Write the reply in at least 2 characters.	The edited reply is empty.	Finish the reply, then click Save reply.
This reply is too long for Google. Please shorten it and try again.	The reply is over Google's limit. Replies in Hindi and other Indian scripts reach it sooner.	Click Edit, shorten the reply, then click Save reply and Approve.
This reply was already posted. or This reply was skipped.	Someone else acted on it first, or it posted while you edited.	Refresh the queue.
Please remove the word "…" and try again.	The reply has a swear word or slur. Replies are public on Google under your business name.	Click Edit, remove or replace the word shown, then click Save reply and Approve.
A reply is under Failed with Please remove the word "…" and try again.	The drafted reply had a swear word or slur, so it was not posted.	Click Edit, fix the reply, then click Approve.

Screenshots to add

After Choose how replies work step 3 — Reply settings with Automatic picked; after Work through the queue step 2 — a pending reply with Edit, Skip and Approve; after Check that Google published the reply — a reply marked Rejected by Google with its reason.