How replying works

To reply to Play Store reviews, open Play Console, go to Ratings and reviews > Reviews and reply to the review. Google's help page says you can write one public reply per user review and edit it at any time, and that after you reply the user gets a push notification and an email.

Play Console also offers suggested replies for recent reviews in English when Play Console is viewed in English; you can edit a suggestion before publishing. They are not offered for reviews you have already answered.

Source

Google's help page on replying to reviews.

View and analyse your app's ratings and reviews (Play Console Help)

Replying at scale

For apps with hundreds or thousands of reviews a week, replying one by one in the console does not keep up. Google's Reply to Reviews API lets you retrieve and reply to reviews from your own systems or a third-party tool, within quotas that can be raised by request. That lets support teams work reviews in the same queue as other tickets.

What to reply to first

  1. Recent one- and two-star reviews describing a specific problem you can help with.
  2. Reviews about an issue you have just fixed: tell them it is fixed.
  3. Reviews that mention payment, money or account access: these need a route to support.
  4. Detailed positive reviews: a short, specific thanks.
  5. Vague negative reviews: a short invitation to share details.

Templates by issue

Sorry about this. We've fixed the payment issue some users saw with [wallet] in version [x.y]. Please update the app and try again; if it still fails, write to [support email] with your order ID and we'll sort it out.
A fixed bug
Sorry for the trouble. Money deducted without an order is usually refunded automatically within [period], but please write to [support email] with the transaction ID so we can check it for you.
Payment deducted
Thanks for the suggestion. We've shared it with our product team.
Feature request
We're sorry the app let you down. Could you tell us what happened at [support email]? We'd like to fix it.
Vague complaint

Fill in the brackets every time, and only promise what is true. Do not ask users to change their rating in exchange for help.

What makes a good app reply

  • Specific to the problem the user described.
  • Tells them what to do next: update, retry, contact support.
  • Gives a support route without asking for personal details in public.
  • Short enough to read in a notification.
  • Updated when the situation changes.

Free review snapshot

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Measuring replies

  • Reply coverage: share of reviews with text that receive a reply.
  • Reply time: median hours from review to reply.
  • Follow-through: share of users who updated their review after a reply, as an indicator, not a target.
  • Issue trend: did complaints about the issue fall after the fix you announced?
Regressions

Spotting release regressions in app reviews.

Spotting release regressions in app reviews

Common questions

Can I reply more than once to a review?

Google allows one public reply per review, which you can edit. Update it rather than adding another.

Do replies improve my rating?

Replies do not change ratings directly, but users are notified and some update their review after a problem is fixed.

Should we use the suggested replies?

They can save time for English reviews; edit them so they are specific and accurate.

Can we reply in the user's language?

Yes, and it is good practice where your team can write well in that language.

Checklist

  • Replies prioritised by recency and issue.
  • Templates filled in with specifics.
  • Support route offered without asking for personal data in public.
  • Fixed issues announced in replies.
  • Coverage and reply time measured monthly.

Who should reply

Support agents usually reply to individual problems; product or release managers announce fixes. Agree who replies to what, a target reply time for critical reviews, and when a reply needs a second check, such as anything about payments or personal data.

Doing this with Falcon

Falcon classifies every Google Play review of your app by issue, so you can see which problems to reply to first and announce fixes to the right reviews. In Falcon's CRM, reviews can be assigned, drafted from playbook templates for their theme and sentiment, checked and tracked; the reply is posted in Play Console.