Reviews Assistant: the guide

• New Zealand trade and service businesses that finish jobs for local customers
• Owners who know reviews matter but never get round to asking
• Businesses already using Xero, Get Paid or Quoting, where a job's end is already recorded

Happy customers rarely leave a review unless they are asked, asking by hand gets forgotten, and replies to reviews wait for a quiet moment that never comes.

• Every finished, paid job gets one well-timed ask, by text or email, with one tap to Google
• A calm reply ready for every review, in your voice, waiting for your yes
• Told the moment a one to three star review lands, with a reply that never argues
• Asks every customer the same way, as Google and NZ law require, and honours STOP for good
• Never texts at night, never asks the same person too often

Asks when the job is done

When a Xero invoice is paid in full, or a job is marked done in Quoting, it lines up an ask for a couple of hours later, from the person who did the job.

One link to Google

Each ask is a short text or email with one link straight to your Google review box. Nothing is offered for a review and no rating is asked for first.

One reminder, only if needed

If the link wasn't opened, one shorter reminder goes three days later. Never more.

Keeps people off the list

Anyone who replies STOP or presses Don't send me these is never asked again, and you can add anyone yourself.

Drafts every reply

Each review gets a reply written from How we talk in your AI control centre, signed the way you choose. Change a word and it learns how you like things said.

Takes care with low ratings

One to three star reviews come to the top, the owner is told straight away, and the reply offers to talk it through on your phone, never in public.

Spots reviews from strangers

A review it can't match to any customer is marked, with how to report it to Google if it isn't genuine.

Shows how it's going

Results shows asks sent, reviews that came in, your rating over time and replies posted, month by month.

1. 1

   Find your Google profile

   It finds your business on Google from the details in the AI control centre, and makes your review link.

2. 2

   Choose when to ask

   A paid invoice in Xero, a job done in Quoting, or both, and how long after.

3. 3

   Check the message

   See the text exactly as the customer gets it on their phone, and change the words.

4. 4

   Asks wait for you

   Each ask waits in Asks for you to approve, until you choose to let asks after a paid invoice go on their own.

5. 5

   Reviews come in

   Each new review gets a reply ready. Post it from here once Google is connected, or copy it and post it on Google.

1. 1

   Your Google profile

   Check it's your business on Google, and connect Google so replies post from here, or choose to copy replies.

2. 2

   When to ask

   Choose what ends a job, how long after to ask, and who the ask comes from.

3. 3

   Your message

   Change the words if you like, and tick that your privacy notice covers asking for a review.

4. 4

   How replies sound

   See a reply written in your voice and choose the sign-off.

5. 5

   Try it

   Send yourself a test on your phone.

6. 6

   Go live

   Start asking. Each ask waits for you to approve it.

Every Buildloop assistant works off your AI control centre, which holds your company details, knowledge and settings, trains each assistant and passes what one learns to the others. The more it knows about your business the more accurate every assistant is, and each one you add makes the others stronger.

Your AI control centre keeps what it knows about your business in Content Sections you can open, check and add to, with what's missing shown. Each says whether it's for customers, staff or both. You start with About the business, Products and services, Pricing, Payments, Opening hours, Contact details, Locations and service areas, Booking and ordering, Delivery and collection, Returns, refunds and warranty, Terms and policies, Common questions, Staff knowledge, Other, and can add, rename or remove them; the AI suggests sections from what it reads. How we talk, Rules and Suppliers are kept beside them.

Google Maps, through the AI control centre

Needed. Finding your Google profile and making your review link.

Texts

Optional. Asks by text, from Buildloop's texting service in your business's name, with STOP honoured.

Email

Optional. Asks by email in your business's name.

Xero

Optional. Knowing when an invoice is paid in full, read only.

Google Business Profile

Optional, coming. Reading new reviews and posting your replies from here; until Google approves Buildloop, you copy replies to Google.

• Every ask waits for a person, until you let asks after a paid invoice go on their own
• Every reply waits for a person; only thank-yous to five-star reviews may go on their own, and only if you turn that on
• Replies to one to three star reviews always wait for a person

NZ$49 a month, including 100 texts a month, then NZ$0.30 for each text after that. Cancel any time. Plus a one-off set-up and configuration fee, agreed after a short call about your business. Every account also has the AI control centre, NZ$49 a month, once for all its assistants.

• Google reviews only: not Facebook or other review sites yet
• One location per business
• It never offers anything for a review, and never asks only the customers it thinks are happy
• It never texts in quiet hours, 8pm to 8am
• It can't remove a review: it shows you how to report one to Google

• Customers' names, mobiles and emails, and each ask, are stored in Sydney, Australia, and only people in your business can open them
• Texts go through our texting provider and emails through our email provider, Resend
• Anyone who says stop is kept on your never-ask list for good
• Reviews and replies are read by the AI model to write a reply, and are never used to train it