Reply templates

Updated August 24, 2026

Reply templates are canned responses your team can drop into any review reply in one click. They also supply the wording for template-based auto-replies, so a single well-written template can cover thousands of Google reviews.

Before you start

The Automation section is not available on the Freemium plan.

Automation requires a connected Google integration. See Google Business Profile.

Creating, editing, duplicating and deleting templates requires full Reviews access. With restricted access you can still insert templates while replying.

Templates belong to the whole account rather than to particular locations or brands, so full Reviews access on any one team lets you edit every template.

Where to find it

Reviews → Automation → Reply templates tab, or go to https://app.pluspoint.io/reviews/automation/templates.

Create a template

Select Add new reply template.
Enter a Template name. This is what your team sees in the composer menu, so make it describe the situation — for example, 5 stars, no comment or Complaint about wait time.
Write the response in Message. The editor holds up to 1000 characters.
Type [name] or [location] where you want the reviewer’s name or the location name to appear.
Select Save.

Placeholders

Placeholder	Replaced with	Substituted
`[name]`	The reviewer’s first name	Yes — when you insert the template while replying, and when an auto-reply rule uses it
`[location]`	The location name as stored on the profile the review came from	Yes
`[last_name]`	—	No. The editor renders it as a Last name chip if you type it, but nothing ever substitutes it. It would be published literally, so do not use it

Note When the reviewer left no name, an auto-reply removes the single space before [name], so Hello [name]! publishes as Hello!. Keep your wording readable without a name — Thank you [name]! reads correctly either way, while Dear [name], thanks does not.

Use a template while replying

In the All reviews feed, select Reply on a review.
Select Templates in the composer header.
Choose a template. Its text is inserted into Your reply with [name] and [location] already substituted.
Edit the text if you want, then publish it or copy it out — see Replying to reviews.

Templates work on reviews from every source, not only Google.

Save the reply you just wrote as a template

This needs full Reviews access.

With your draft in the reply box, select Templates → Save reply as template.
To create a new one, select Save as new template, enter a Template name in the Save new template dialog and select Save.
To replace an existing one, pick it from the Overwrite template list and confirm at the Edit template? prompt.

The same menu has Delete template.

Manage the library

Check the Linked autoreplies column before deleting a template so you know which rules depend on it — every template-based rule needs at least one linked template. There is no limit on how many templates an account can hold.

Write templates that work at scale

One template per situation, not per location. [location] fills in the name, so a single template covers every location a rule is scoped to.
Link several templates to the same rule. A template-based auto-reply picks one of its linked templates at random for each review, so three or four variations stop your Google profile filling up with identical text.
Keep it under the limit. The editor caps the message at 1000 characters; replies far shorter than that read better anyway.
Write separately for reviews with and without a comment. Rules can target each type, and a rating with no text needs a different answer from a detailed complaint.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
No Add new reply template button	You do not have full Reviews access	Ask an administrator — see Users and permissions
Rows show only a View action	None of your teams gives you full Reviews access	See Teams
A published reply contains the literal text `[last_name]`	`[last_name]` is never substituted	Edit the template to remove it
A published reply contains the literal text `[name]` or `[location]`	The text was typed into the reply box directly rather than inserted from a template	Insert templates through the Templates menu or through an auto-reply rule, which is where substitution happens