Direct answer
You cannot publish the business-owner response to someone else’s review unless your Google Account is an authorized owner or manager of that verified Business Profile. Ordinary Maps users can mark a review helpful or report it when it violates policy, but they cannot post the public “Response from the owner.”
Google ties review-management permissions to the verified Business Profile. A staff member who needs to reply should be added as an owner or manager with a separate Google Account. Sharing the primary owner’s password makes access harder to audit and is unnecessary because Google supports multiple authorized users.
If you are another customer, use Helpful when a review genuinely assists readers or report the review if it violates Google’s content rules. Do not impersonate the business in a new review, pressure the reviewer, or ask unrelated accounts to overwhelm the original feedback.
What to know
Business replies require profile access
Google says owners and managers can respond to reviews. The public label represents the business even when a manager or authorized staff member writes the response.
Other customers have limited actions
Maps users can mark reviews helpful and use reporting tools for policy problems. Those actions do not create a public reply beneath someone else’s review.
Review authors control their own review
The person who posted the review can edit or delete it from their contribution history. Another customer or an unrelated business cannot rewrite it for them.
What should each person do?
- 1
Business employee
Ask the primary owner to add your Google Account as an owner or manager, then respond through the verified profile instead of a personal Maps account.
- 2
Another customer
Use Helpful when appropriate. If you have your own firsthand experience, write your own accurate review rather than trying to answer someone else’s.
- 3
Concerned reader
Report content only when it appears to violate policy. A different opinion, rating, or interpretation does not automatically make a review removable.
Sources
- Google Business Profile: Manage owners and managers
Google documents that owners and managers can respond to reviews through their own authorized Google Accounts.
- Google Maps: Add, edit, or delete reviews and ratings
Google documents how reviewers find their past contributions, edit their own review, mark another review helpful, and report policy violations.