AI review responses for dental practices: drafting replies safely
AI can draft a reply to a Google review in seconds. For a dental practice the risk is not a clumsy sentence, it is a reply that confirms someone is your patient. Here is how to get the time saving without that risk.
Practice Radar shows a dental practice where it ranks against every practice nearby, and does the work to move up.
Thirty days free. No card, and nothing starts automatically when it ends.
AI review responses can save a dental practice real time. A busy practice may get several Google reviews a week, and writing a fresh, polite reply to each one is the kind of task that slips. AI is good at a first draft. But a dental practice has a duty most businesses do not: you must not reveal anything about a patient, including the fact that they are one. So the rule is simple. AI drafts, a person checks every reply against a short list, and only then does it go live.
The rules every reply must follow, however it is written
A reply written by AI is your practice's public statement, exactly as if you had typed it. Three sets of rules apply.
- GDC confidentiality. Standard 4.2.1 of the GDC's Standards for the Dental Team says you must keep patient information confidential, including "personal details, medical history, what treatment they are having and how much it costs". Standard 4.2.3 says you must not post information or comments about patients on social networking or blogging sites.
- GDC conduct. Standard 9.1.3 in principle 9 says you must not make "personal, inaccurate or derogatory comments about patients" in public media.
- Google's own guidance. Google's tips for review replies say to keep replies short, professional and polite, never share the reviewer's private information, avoid offering deals or promotions, and sign with your name or initials.
In practice, that means a reply should never confirm that the reviewer attended, mention any treatment, refer to their records, or argue with their account. That applies to five-star reviews too. "Glad your crown is feeling better" discloses treatment.
See this for your own town.
Every practice competing with yours on one map, sized by the share of local search each one holds, re-checked every week. The sample town shows the whole thing now, with no sign-up.
Run on our own practice first: ninth of the 14 practices measured in its town in May, first of 18 in September, on UK-wide search value. Page-one keywords: 6 in May, 194 in September.
Thirty days free. No card, and nothing starts automatically when it ends.
How do I turn on AI responses on Google?
For UK practices, there is no Google switch to turn on. Google does let Business Profile owners manage their profile through the Gemini web app, including drafting replies to reviews, but its help page says this is available wherever Gemini is supported "except the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom". So in the UK you either draft with a general AI assistant and paste the reply in, or use a tool that drafts replies for you to approve.
Whichever route you choose, Google says replies are reviewed before they appear. Its help page on managing reviews says this usually takes up to 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days, and that the reply appears as your business, not your personal name.
How to use AI to respond to Google reviews: a safe workflow
- Copy only the public review text. Never add anything from your records, such as what treatment the person had or when they came in. The AI does not need it and the reply must not contain it.
- Use a fixed instruction. Save one prompt (below) so every draft follows the same rules and the same voice.
- Check the draft against the five-point list. See the next section.
- Edit for your voice. Change at least a few words so replies do not all read the same.
- Post and log it. Note who approved it. If a reviewer later complains about a reply, you can show it was checked.
A prompt you can save and reuse
Paste this into your AI assistant, followed by the review text:
"You are writing a public reply from a UK dental practice to a Google review. Write 1 or 2 short sentences, under 150 characters if possible. Thank the reviewer. Do not confirm or imply that the reviewer is or was a patient. Do not mention any treatment, appointment, clinician by role, date, price or record. Do not use exclamation marks. Do not offer discounts or promotions. For a negative review, apologise that they are unhappy and invite them to contact the practice manager directly by phone or email. Sign off with: [name], Practice Manager."
The five-point check before any reply goes live
- Does it confirm they are a patient? Phrases like "your visit", "your appointment", "your treatment" or "seeing you again" all do. Remove them.
- Does it mention anything clinical? Any treatment, symptom, tooth, clinician's role in their care or outcome. Remove it.
- Does it argue or correct? Even if the review is unfair, a public rebuttal risks breaching confidentiality and GDC standard 9.1.3. Take it offline.
- Does it sell? Google says reviewers are already customers, so there is no need for deals or promotions.
- Would you be happy reading it aloud in reception? If it sounds like a chatbot, rewrite it.
Review response examples a dental practice can adapt
These are templates, not real replies. Keep yours short. Google's own advice is that long replies can overwhelm readers.
| Review type | Safe reply | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Five stars, no text | Thank you for the five stars. It means a lot to the whole team. [Name], Practice Manager | "Great to see you at your check-up" |
| Five stars, praises a named dentist | Thank you for taking the time to write this. We will pass your kind words on to the team. [Name] | "Dr Patel is so pleased your implant went well" |
| Positive, mentions nerves | Thank you for sharing this. We know how much difference a calm, unhurried welcome makes. [Name] | "We're glad we could help with your anxiety during treatment" |
| Negative, about waiting time | We are sorry to read this. Please call or email me directly so I can look into it properly. [Name], Practice Manager | "Our records show you arrived 20 minutes late" |
| Negative, about cost | We are sorry you are unhappy. I would welcome the chance to talk this through. Please contact me on [phone or email]. [Name] | "Your treatment plan clearly listed the fee" |
| Reviewer you cannot identify | Thank you for your feedback. Please get in touch with me directly so I can understand what happened. [Name] | "We have no record of you as a patient" |
The last row catches people out. Saying someone is not a patient is still disclosing information from your records. If you believe a review breaks Google's policies, for example it is fake or from someone who was never at the practice, Google's guidance is to report it rather than argue in public.
What are good responses to positive reviews?
Short, warm and specific to what the reviewer said, without adding anything they did not. If they praise the reception team, thank them and say you will pass it on. If they mention a calm atmosphere, acknowledge it in general terms. Google also says you do not need to thank every reviewer publicly, and that replies are most useful when you have something relevant to add. For a busy practice, a short thank-you on every review with text is a sensible middle ground.
Free AI review response generators: worth using?
Free generators produce a reply quickly, but they have three problems for a dental practice:
- They are built for shops and restaurants. Their default drafts often say "we look forward to seeing you again", which confirms the reviewer is a patient.
- You do not know where the text goes. Review text is public, but check the tool's privacy terms before you paste anything into it, and never paste anything from your records.
- Everything sounds the same. Exclamation marks, "we're thrilled", identical sign-offs. Patients notice when every reply is clearly generated.
A general AI assistant with the saved prompt above usually gives better results than a generic generator, because you control the rules.
Keeping your practice's voice
The best guide to your voice is the replies your practice wrote before AI was involved. Pick ten that you are proud of, paste them into your assistant as examples, and ask it to match their length and tone. Then check drafts against those examples rather than against what the AI thinks sounds professional. If you would like a tool to do this, Practice Radar's Growth plan drafts replies in your practice's voice and posts only when you approve.
Negative reviews: where AI helps and where it does not
AI is useful for taking the heat out of a first draft when a review stings. It is not useful for deciding what to do. Before anything is posted:
- Check the review against your complaints procedure. If it describes a complaint, handle it as one, privately.
- Keep the public reply to an apology for how they feel and a direct contact route.
- Never let AI draft a reply that discusses what happened clinically, however carefully worded.
Our full guide to replying to Google reviews covers difficult cases in more detail. And because Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, replying well is part of a bigger picture: working out how many reviews your practice needs to hold a place in your town's map.
Never use AI to write the reviews themselves
It should go without saying. Since April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has banned fake reviews, and the CMA's guidance specifically covers reviews generated by software and made to look like real customers. Google also prohibits offering incentives for reviews. AI belongs on the reply side only.
Replies drafted in your voice
On the Growth plan, Practice Radar drafts replies to your Google reviews in your practice's voice and posts them only when you approve, alongside the reviews race against nearby practices.
Run on our own practice first: ninth of the 14 practices measured in its town in May, first of 18 in September, on UK-wide search value. Page-one keywords: 6 in May, 194 in September.
Thirty days free. No card, and nothing starts automatically when it ends.