AI and online reviews - does it have a role to play?

Our answer is 'perhaps'. We advise every business to respond to their reviews - all of their reviews - but the overwhelming majority still do not. When we ask them why not we receive answers ranging from 'It's too time-consuming' to 'We are concerned that responding will simply prolong the conversation.' Our answer to both of those is 'All of our fifteen years of experience tells us that businesses that respond to reviews a) score higher and b) receive more enquiries than those that do not. Tried. Tested. Definitively.' The reason that they score higher is very simple: those who are tempted to write a negative review of a business think twice when they know, for certain, that the business will respond.

We also know that some businesses are concerned that they may delegate the task to a member of staff whose written English is not all that good. Again our answer is to channel the response through someone whose written English is good (Grammarly, anyone?).

But failing all of the above, there's AI. Here's a typical negative review...

And here we have asked Microsoft Copilot to draft a response (that's all - no hints):

Here is Copilot's suggested response (delivered in less than a second - free):

Surely this is better - far better - than no response at all? It addresses the issues raised in the review and we are sure that the reviewer will appreciate it, and that others who read it - just about everyone who looks up the business online - will be impressed by it. 

We would love to hear what you have to say - comments below please.