Responding to product reviews is a great way to build trust, show appreciation, and resolve customer concerns. Whether you're thanking someone for a glowing review or addressing an issue, your reply can help create a more transparent and engaging shopping experience.

This guide shows you how to reply to reviews publicly, privately, or by using our AI reply generator.

Reply publicly

How it works

When a customer leaves you a review, you can reply to the review publicly.
Public replies appear directly beneath the review in your Review Widget, helping potential buyers see how you interact with customers.
We can also send an Reply notification email to the customer to notify them of your reply.

Add a public reply

Available on the Free plan

To reply publicly to a review:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Reviews.
Find the review you want to reply to.
Click the Reply icon (⤺) on the right of the review.
Select Reply publicly.
Enter your response and click Send reply.

Edit or delete your public reply

Available on the Free plan

To edit or delete your public reply:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Reviews.
Find the reply you want to adjust.
Click the three-dot icon (...) on the right of the reply.
Select Edit public reply to edit your reply, or Delete reply to remove it.

Reply notification email

1. Enable reply notification email

Available on the Free plan

To choose whether to send a reply notification email:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Email templates > Reply notification.
In the Reply notification email section at the top, select one of the following options:
- Notify reviewer about new replies – a notification email will be sent to your customer when you publicly reply to their review.
- Disabled – no email will be sent when you reply public to a review.
Click Save.

2. Customize the texts

Available on the Awesome plan

To adjust the texts in the reply notification email:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Email templates > Reply notification.
Scroll down to the Template section.
Adjust the default texts in the following fields to your likings:
- Email subject: "{{ reviewer_first_name }}, your review just got a reply!"
- Preheader text: "{{ shop_name }} replied to your recent review."
- Email title: "Your review got a reply!"
- Email content:
  "Hi {{ reviewer_first_name }},
  
  Thanks for leaving a review for {{ product_title }}. Your review:
  
  {{ block_review }}
  
  Here's the reply from {{ shop_name }}:
  
  {{ block_reply }}"
Click Save.

Reply display name

Available on the Awesome plan

By default, your replies will display your store name. You can customize this name in your Review Widget settings.

To edit your store display name in the reply:

If you're using the Review Widget (new version):
1. From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Widgets > Review Widget.
2. Scroll down and open the Text section.
3. In the Reply author name field, adjust the store name to your preference.
4. Click Save.
If you're using the Review Widget (legacy version):
1. From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Widgets > Review Widget.
2. Scroll down and open the Text section.
3. Scroll down to Review details.
4. In the Store name label field, adjust the store name to your preference.
5. Click Save.

Reply privately (via email)

Available on the Free plan

To reply to the review via email:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Reviews.
Find the review you want to reply to.
Click the Reply icon (⤺) on the right of the review.
Select Reply privately via email.
Write your message and click Send reply.

As private replies are sent via email immediately, they can't be unsent, edited, or deleted.

Generate replies with AI

Available on the Awesome plan

Save time by using Judge.me's AI tool to generate thoughtful, on-brand replies in seconds by following these steps:

From your Judge.me admin, go to Reviews.
Find the review you want to reply to.
Click the Reply icon (⤺) on the right of the review.
Select either Reply publicly or Reply privately via email.
Open the Generate reply with AI dropdown.
Select one of the following tones of voice:
- Simple
- Friendly
- Elegant
- Supportive.
Add specific instructions (e.g., "mention our return policy").
Click Generate Reply.
Review and click Send reply.