Every business gets negative reviews. The ones that win AI recommendations handle them differently.
A negative review sitting on your Google profile isn't ideal, but it's not fatal. What's fatal is a negative review followed by silence, or worse, a defensive response that makes you look petty. AI systems read this. Future customers read this. And they draw conclusions.
Important
The goal isn't to make negative reviews disappear. It's to use them as an opportunity to demonstrate that you handle problems professionally.
The real audience for your response
When you respond to a negative review, you're not really responding to the angry customer. You're performing for everyone who reads that review later.
Think about it from a potential customer's perspective. They're researching your business, they see a 1-star review, and then they see your response. What do they learn?
If your response is defensive or dismissive, they learn you don't handle criticism well. If your response is genuine and solution-oriented, they learn that even when things go wrong, you make it right.
"A negative review with a great response can actually build trust. A negative review with a bad response confirms the reviewer's complaint."
What a good response looks like
Skip the templates. AI systems detect templated responses, and potential customers can tell when you're just going through the motions.
A good response does four things:
Acknowledge the specific problem. Don't be vague. If they said the technician was late, acknowledge that the technician was late. This shows you actually read their review.
Take responsibility where appropriate. If you messed up, say so. "We didn't meet our standards on this job" is more credible than "We're sorry you feel that way."
Explain what you're doing about it. This could be internal ("We've reviewed this with our team") or external ("We'd like to make this right"). Either way, show that this matters to you.
Move the conversation offline. Provide a direct way to reach you. "Please call me directly at [number]" is better than "Please contact customer service." Make it personal.
Pro Tip
Here's an example of a strong response: "John, thank you for letting us know. You're right that our technician arrived 45 minutes late, and that's not acceptable. We've spoken with the team about scheduling, and we'd like to make this right. Please call me directly at 555-0123."
That response acknowledges the problem, takes responsibility, shows action, and opens a door to resolution. Anyone reading it learns something positive about how this business operates.
What a bad response looks like
Defensive responses are the worst. "That's not what happened" or "You never told us about this" immediately makes you look like the bad guy, even if you're technically correct.
Generic responses are almost as bad. "We're sorry you had a negative experience. Please contact us." This tells readers nothing. It looks like you're checking a box.
No response is also a problem. Silence after a negative review suggests you either don't care or you don't monitor your reviews. Neither is a good look.
Timing matters, but not as much as quality
The standard advice is to respond within 24-48 hours. That's reasonable, but don't sacrifice quality for speed.
"A thoughtful response three days later is better than a defensive response three hours later."
Take the time to calm down if you're angry. Have someone else read your response before you post it. The review isn't going anywhere, and a rushed response can do more damage than a slow one.
When the customer is wrong
Sometimes negative reviews are unfair. The customer misunderstood something, or they're complaining about a policy that was clearly communicated, or they're just unreasonable.
Your response still needs to be professional. You can gently correct misinformation without being defensive: "I want to clarify that our technician did call ahead as our policy requires, though I understand the timing was still frustrating."
Pro Tip
Don't die on that hill. Even if you're right, a prolonged argument in a public review thread makes you look bad. Acknowledge their frustration, offer to discuss offline, and move on.
The reviews you can't fix
Some negative reviews are legitimate. You did mess up, and the customer has every right to be angry.
The best response to these is genuine accountability: "You're right. We made a mistake, and I'm sorry. Here's what we're doing to make sure it doesn't happen again." Then actually do something to address the root cause.
These responses are gold for building trust. Potential customers know that no business is perfect. What they want to know is how you handle imperfection. Owning a mistake demonstrates integrity.
Playing the long game
Your review responses accumulate into a body of evidence about how you treat customers. Over time, AI systems read this evidence. Potential customers read it.
A pattern of thoughtful, accountable responses to negative reviews tells a story: this is a business that cares, that takes feedback seriously, that fixes problems instead of making excuses.
Important
That story is more valuable than a perfect 5-star average that nobody believes anyway.
Further Reading
- Google Business Profile Review Policies — Official guidelines for managing and responding to reviews
- Local Consumer Review Survey 2025 — Data showing 49% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations
- Historical Trends in Consumer Review Behavior — BrightLocal's longitudinal analysis of how review reading behavior has evolved
Dylan Allen is the CEO of Cheers, the GEO platform for local service businesses.