Start with the control you want to keep
Choose automatic mode for a rating only if you accept that every new reply with those stars follows the rule without your review, even when the text contains unexpected details. If you want to check each reply before it is sent to Google, choose draft mode for that rating.
You can revisit the choice after reading real replies. If you edit almost every draft, your voice guidance or your rule may need attention. Look at where you actually intervene before broadening automatic publishing.
Stars make a simple rule, not a full reading of the issue
A five-star review can still mention a service problem; a three-star review may say almost nothing. When publishing mode follows the rating alone, it does not distinguish those cases. Choose which ratings you are comfortable handling under that limit and which should stay as drafts.
Synthetic example: a restaurant chooses drafts for one to three stars and automatic publishing for four and five. A four-star review praises the food but mentions a long wait. Under that rule, its reply still follows the automatic four-star mode. If the manager wants to read similar cases before publication, the four-star mode should be draft.
Check the reply before focusing on speed
Read a sample of replies to positive, critical and very short reviews. A useful reply picks up a detail the reviewer actually shared, sounds like the business and avoids promising refunds, fixes or facts the manager has not checked.
For a concrete incident, find out what happened internally before making a public commitment. A reply can acknowledge the experience and invite a conversation without claiming that a solution is already in place. With little context, a measured reply is better than invented detail.
- Does the reply use only details in the review or already confirmed by the business?
- Is the tone recognisable without becoming repetitive or defensive?
- Does it make an operational promise that needs a human decision?
How to make this choice in Repliku
During onboarding, the manager chooses draft review or automatic publishing separately for every rating from one to five stars and confirms the business voice. Drafts can be read, edited and published from the Reviews section. The rules can be changed later.
Repliku prepares the text using the review and the confirmed voice profile. That does not guarantee that every reply is right for its specific case. Imported historical reviews are not replied to automatically after the fact. The onboarding choice governs new reviews.