Guide 6 of 17 · Easy

How to set up a review request bot

Ask happy customers for a review automatically after the job's done.

Tools: Your booking, invoicing or CRM tool, email or SMS, your Google review link
Difficulty: Easy
Setup time: 1-2 hours (estimate). A rough estimate.
Cost: Many of these tools have free tiers. Check current pricing before you commit.

Your happy customers mean to leave a review. They just never get around to it. Meanwhile, the one unhappy customer always does.

Step by step

Get your Google review short link from your Business Profile.
Pick the trigger: invoice paid, job marked complete, or appointment finished.
Write a short, friendly message asking for an honest review, with the link.
Set it to send 1-2 days after the trigger.
Send to every customer; don't filter to only happy ones (that's 'review gating' and against Google's policies).
Reply to every review that comes in.

Watch-outs

Don't offer incentives for reviews.
Don't ask only customers you think are happy.
One reminder at most.

A worked example

A Canberra plumber uses his job management software to send an email two days after each job is marked complete: thanks, a short note about the job, and a direct link to his Google review page. If there's no review after five days, one gentle SMS reminder goes out. No more after that.

Every customer gets the same message, not just the happy ones. Over a few months his review count climbs steadily, and he gets an early warning when something's gone wrong, because unhappy customers often reply to the email instead.

What it costs in Australia

Many booking, invoicing and CRM tools include automated follow-ups. Email can be free. For SMS, ClickSend is pay-as-you-go with top-ups from A$20; check its per-message price. Dedicated review-request tools typically cost from around A$50 a month; compare before buying. Zapier can connect tools that don't talk to each other. Zapier's free plan gives 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps; Professional starts at US$19.99 a month billed yearly (approx. A$29) or US$29.99 monthly (approx. A$43) for 750 tasks. Make has a free plan with 1,000 credits a month; check Make's site for current paid prices.

Prices are approx., October 2026, converted at about A$1.43 per US$1 where the vendor charges in US dollars. Your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy.

The legal bits

Spam Act 2003: emails, SMS and other commercial electronic messages need the person's consent (express, or in limited cases inferred from an existing relationship), must clearly identify your business, and must include a working unsubscribe or opt-out that's actioned within five working days. The ACMA enforces this and the penalties are serious, so keep a record of how each person opted in.

A review request after a job is usually part of an existing customer relationship, but keep it clean: send it once or twice, identify your business, and include an opt-out on SMS (for example, 'Reply STOP to opt out'). Under Australian Consumer Law and Google's policies, don't offer rewards for reviews, and don't only ask happy customers.

Privacy Act: if your chatbot or bot collects names, emails or phone numbers, that's personal information. Tell people what you collect and why, link your privacy policy, and know where your vendor stores the data (APP 8 covers sending personal information overseas). The Australian Privacy Principles apply to businesses turning over more than $3 million and to some smaller ones, such as health providers. Following them anyway is good practice and builds trust.

Need the AI prompts? On our sister site: Reply to Google reviews · Write a referral request email.

Questions

What tool should I use?

Start with what you've got: many invoicing and booking tools can send a follow-up email. Zapier or Make can connect them if not.

Is SMS better than email?

Often yes for local services, but costs apply per message.

Can I only send review requests to happy customers?

No. Google's policies prohibit selective soliciting, and it can mislead consumers. Ask everyone.

Can I offer a discount for a review?

Not in exchange for reviews. Incentivised reviews breach Google's policies and can mislead consumers.

Do this today

Copy your Google review link from your Business Profile, and send it to your last three happy customers with a short thank-you.

Related guides

Need prompts for the AI steps? See 40 AI use cases with copyable prompts. Want a hand? Get in touch.