What to give an AI so a review reply sounds like your business

A generic prompt gets a generic reply. If you paste a review and type "reply to this", you'll get warm, vague text that could belong to any business. The fix is to tell the tool what it can't know.

A prompt is the instruction you type in, usually plain language. The tool produces new text in response to it.¹ What you type in is nearly all it has to go on.

Start with who's speaking

Say what kind of business you run and how you talk. One line is enough.

We're a small family-run bakery. We write in a warm, plain way, like we're chatting over the counter. We don't use slang or exclamation marks.

Without this, the tool picks a default voice. It tends to be polished and a bit stiff. You'll hear that stiffness when you read it aloud, and that's the first sign it needs rewriting.

Give it the facts it can't guess

The tool wasn't there. It doesn't know the oven broke, the delivery van was late or the staff member was new. Tell it.

Useful facts to include:

• What the customer ordered or what job was done, in your words.
• What really happened, if you know. Check your own records first.
• What you've already done about it.
• What you're willing to do next, and what you aren't.

If you leave a gap, the tool may fill it. Australia's privacy regulator notes the tendency of generative AI tools to confidently produce outputs which appear credible, regardless of their accuracy.² A made-up apology for something that never happened reads as credible. It's still wrong.

Set limits on what it may say

Tell the tool what's off the table. Some limits worth stating:

• Don't promise a refund, discount or replacement.
• Don't name staff.
• Don't say the customer is wrong.
• Don't add details that aren't in the review or in the notes above.

Google's advice for replies also includes keeping them short and simple.³ You can ask for that outright: "Three or four sentences, no more." Google also suggests avoiding offers and deals in a response.³ Add that to your limits too.

Share the review, but not the private bits

Paste the text of the review. Before you do, look for names, phone numbers, order numbers, addresses and anything about health or money. Take them out or swap in a placeholder such as [first name].

Australia's regulator advises keeping personal and sensitive details out of publicly available generative AI tools.² That advice comes from Australia, and other countries differ. The habit is useful anywhere. There's more in the privacy notes.

You can add the name back yourself when you edit. Google's tips for replying to reviews include addressing the reviewer by name and acknowledging their specific feedback.³ So the personal touch comes from you, after the draft.

Ask for what you want to see

Tell the tool the shape of the answer.

• How long: a sentence count works better than "short".
• What to open with: the customer's specific point, not "Thank you for your feedback".
• What to end with: a way to reach you, if there's something to sort out offline.
• How many options: ask for two drafts so you can compare.

A prompt you could adapt

You're helping a small family-run bakery write a public reply to a customer review. Tone: warm and plain, no slang. Length: three sentences. Mention the sourdough loaf the customer talked about. Don't promise refunds or discounts. Don't add any details that aren't below. Review: [paste text without names]. What happened: [your notes].

Swap in your own details. Then read the draft against your notes, line by line.

Check what comes back

Read it for three things: wrong facts, promises you didn't mean to make, and phrases you'd never say. Fix them. If the same awkward phrase keeps showing up, add a line to the prompt banning it.

Angry reviews need a firmer hand, covered in the negative review notes. For happy ones, see thank-you replies without sounding copied.