Documentation

Everything you need to get started with ReplyBuddy — from your first reply to full automation.

Overview

ReplyBuddy is an AI-powered review reply tool built for local businesses. It learns your brand voice, injects local SEO keywords, and generates personalised replies to every customer review in seconds.

Works with reviews from Google Business Profile, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and any other platform. Import reviews via CSV or connect through Zapier for automated workflows.

Account setup

1. Sign in with Google

Visit replybuddy.xyz/login and sign in with your Google account. No password needed — your account is created automatically.

2. Complete onboarding

The setup wizard asks for your business name, industry, and location. This shapes your Brand DNA and helps ReplyBuddy tailor replies to your industry.

3. Import reviews (optional)

Upload a CSV of existing reviews or start fresh and add them manually. Importing historical reviews helps ReplyBuddy learn your voice faster.

Your first reply

  1. Navigate to the Replies view from the sidebar
  2. Click any review in the queue to select it
  3. Click Generate (or press G)
  4. ReplyBuddy generates a reply using your Brand DNA and SEO keywords
  5. Use tone adjusters (Warmer, Shorter, More professional) to refine
  6. Click Copy reply and paste it into your review platform
Tip: Toggle "SEO boost" on to inject your target keywords. They appear highlighted in blue so you can see exactly where they land.

Brand DNA

Brand DNA is your unique voice profile. ReplyBuddy analyses your business type, location, and communication style to make every reply sound authentically you.

Adjusting your voice

In the Brand DNA view, drag the sliders for Warmth, Professionalism, and Enthusiasm. Changes save automatically and update the radar chart in real-time.

Advanced settings (Assistant plan)

Configure a custom sign-off, forbidden phrases, and custom rules that apply to every generated reply.

SEO keyword injection

Every reply is an opportunity to strengthen your local search presence. ReplyBuddy naturally weaves your target keywords into replies, highlighted in blue for verification.

Adding keywords

In Brand DNA, scroll to the SEO keywords section. Add keywords like "best pizza in Austin" or "emergency plumber Sydney". ReplyBuddy scores each keyword against the review text for relevance before injecting.

Tip: Focus on long-tail local keywords including your city or neighbourhood. These have the highest impact on Google Maps rankings.

Reputation insights

AI-powered analysis of your review portfolio. Surfaces positive themes, areas to improve, keyword opportunities, reputation risks, and actionable recommendations.

Your Reputation Score combines customer love, response rate, review volume, and sentiment into a number from 0–100.

Batch reply generation

Assistant users can generate replies for multiple reviews at once. Click Generate all in the Replies view to process up to 10 pending reviews in one batch. Each reply is individually crafted with your Brand DNA.

Review tagging

Organise reviews with colour-coded tags. Click + tag on any review card to open the tag picker. Choose from presets (follow-up, VIP, complaint, resolved, urgent, positive) or create custom tags.

Use the Tagged filter to view only tagged reviews. Tags persist across sessions.

Zapier webhooks

Connect ReplyBuddy to 5,000+ apps through Zapier. When a new review arrives, Zapier sends it to your webhook and a reply is generated automatically.

Setup

  1. Go to the Zapier view in your dashboard
  2. Copy your webhook URL
  3. In Zapier, create a Zap with your review source as trigger
  4. Add a "Webhooks by Zapier" action pointing to your webhook URL
  5. Include the header x-replybuddy-webhook-key: YOUR_KEY

Payload format

{
  "reviewer_name": "Sarah M.",
  "rating": 5,
  "review_text": "Amazing experience...",
  "date": "2025-03-15",
  "source": "google"
}

CSV import / export

Import format

Upload a CSV with these columns (header row required):

reviewer_name, rating, review_text, date, owner_reply

The owner_reply column is optional. If present, ReplyBuddy uses your existing replies to learn your voice.

Export

Export all reviews and generated replies as CSV from the Account view.

Review platforms

ReplyBuddy works with reviews from any platform. Here's how to set up each one:

Google Business Profile

The most direct integration. Connect your Google account from the dashboard to automatically sync reviews and post replies directly back to Google. Go to Account → Google Business Profile to connect.

Yelp

Yelp doesn't offer a public API for review replies. Import Yelp reviews via CSV or Zapier, generate replies with ReplyBuddy, then copy and paste them into the Yelp Business dashboard at biz.yelp.com. To export Yelp reviews: go to your Yelp Business page → Reviews → use a CSV export tool or copy manually.

Facebook

Import Facebook recommendations via CSV or connect through Zapier using the "Facebook Pages" trigger. Generated replies can be posted directly on Facebook by navigating to your Page's Reviews section.

TripAdvisor

Export TripAdvisor reviews from the Management Center, import them as CSV into ReplyBuddy, and paste generated replies back through the TripAdvisor Management Center response form.

Trustpilot

Trustpilot reviews can be connected via Zapier (Trustpilot trigger → ReplyBuddy webhook). Alternatively, export reviews as CSV from your Trustpilot business dashboard and import them into ReplyBuddy.

Other platforms

Any review platform works. Add reviews manually via the + Add review button (select the source from the dropdown), upload a CSV, or configure a Zapier automation with the platform's trigger.

Plans & billing

Free — 5 AI replies per month. Brand DNA, SEO keywords, basic stats. No credit card required.

Assistant ($24/month) — Unlimited replies, full AI insights, batch generation, Zapier automation, advanced DNA settings.

Billing is handled securely through LemonSqueezy. Manage your subscription from the Account view.

Security

Keyboard shortcuts

Support

Use the feedback form in the Account view or email hello@replybuddy.xyz.