BrightLocal automation · runs daily

Reply to new Google reviews in BrightLocal

New Google reviews land in Review Inbox for every location you manage, and the thank-yous wait until someone has time to open each one.

Cotlet does it in your own BrightLocal account with list_reviews, respond_to_review and set_review_status, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

Sign up free All BrightLocal tools

Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can BrightLocal do this on its own?

BrightLocal's Auto-Replies send a template reply to Google reviews within 1, 8, 24 or 48 hours, by rating and location (checked 23 Oct 2026). A template cannot read the review text. The official MCP server is read-only, so it cannot send a reply. Nothing else in BrightLocal writes a reply that fits what the reviewer said.

How you do it in BrightLocal today

  1. Open Reputation > Review Inbox, a single feed of the reviews from every Reputation Manager report in the account.
  2. Click Filter and combine Review Status, Rating, Date and Review Source, then Apply Filters.
  3. For a Google or Facebook review of a connected location, click Respond in the Action column, or click Generate AI Response and edit the draft.
  4. For other review sites, click View and reply on the site itself.
  5. Set the Status dropdown by hand to show where each review stands, for example Manually Responded or Do Not Respond.

How to reply to new Google reviews in BrightLocal

Prompt

Find new 4 and 5 star Google reviews across all locations that are still Unread, reply with a short thank-you using the reviewer's first name, and mark each one handled. Leave anything under 4 stars for me.
  1. 01

    Pull the unread reviews

    list_reviews runs with source set to Google, status Unread and rating 4 and up. Each item carries can_respond, which is true only for a Google or Facebook review of a location connected to Reputation Manager.

  2. 02

    Skip what cannot be answered in the app

    Reviews with can_respond false stay out of the run and go on a list for you, because BrightLocal gives only a link to the listing for those.

  3. 03

    Write a reply from the review

    The agent writes one reply per review that names a detail the reviewer mentioned and stays within 350 characters, the limit Google and Facebook set for replies sent from BrightLocal.

  4. 04

    Send, then mark

    respond_to_review posts the reply to Google. Right after, set_review_status records the review as handled. A reply is public, so each respond_to_review waits for your OK until you switch confirmation off for it.

  5. 05

    Hand over the low ratings

    Reviews under 4 stars are never answered by this job. The agent lists them with their text and sets Action Required, so they stand out in the next Review Inbox filter.

What you get back

Example data

New Google reviews: 9
Replied to 6 (4 and 5 stars)
Set to Action Required 2:
- Harbor Dental, 2 stars: "waited 40 minutes"
Cannot reply from BrightLocal 1: location not connected to Google

Other ways to ask

  • Reply only to 5 star reviews that mention a staff member by name.
  • List the unread reviews with a draft reply for each and send nothing.
  • Every Friday, mark reviews older than 30 days that have no reply as Action Required.

What BrightLocal allows, and what to know first

  • BrightLocal replies from the app only to Google and Facebook reviews, and only for locations whose accounts are connected to Reputation Manager.
  • The in-app reply field accepts up to 350 characters, the maximum Google and Facebook allow.
  • You can reply directly only to reviews with the status Unread or Attention Required.
  • Review statuses are Unread, Action Required, Do Not Respond, Manually Responded, Auto-Responded, Pending Removal, Successfully Removed and Removal Failed.
  • Reputation Manager reports update weekly or monthly; daily updates need the Daily Review Tracking add-on, bought once per account by the Account Owner.

respond_to_review asks for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: BrightLocal Help: Can I respond to reviews through a Reputation Manager? · BrightLocal Help: How to understand and use Review Inbox · BrightLocal Help: How to understand Manage Reviews · BrightLocal Help: How to set up and manage Auto-Replies · BrightLocal Help: How often can I schedule a Reputation Manager report?

Call respond_to_review from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/brightlocal/reviews/rv_91c2/replies \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body":"Thank you, Dana! Dr. Lee and the team are glad the whitening visit went well. See you at your next checkup."}'

Example response

{
  "review_id": "rv_91c2",
  "source": "Google",
  "reply_length": 107,
  "sent_at": "2026-10-22T09:02:00Z"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is brightlocal_write → respond_to_review. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

BrightLocal tools this automation uses

Cotlet BrightLocal tools used to reply to new Google reviews in BrightLocal
Tool Parameters
list_reviews location_id, source, status, rating, since, cursor
respond_to_review review_id, body
set_review_status review_id, status
All 11 BrightLocal tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect BrightLocal to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to BrightLocal yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get BrightLocal once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

Give your agent access to BrightLocal.

Free 7-day trial with 2,000 credits, no card needed. Cotlet is independent and not affiliated with BrightLocal.

Sign up free