Direct answer
Yes. Google says the person who wrote the review is notified when the business replies. The approved reply appears publicly under the review. Google’s current help page does not specify email versus push delivery or promise when the notification will arrive.
What if I did not get a notification?
A missing alert does not tell you whether the business replied. Check the public review directly; you do not need a notification link to read the response.
- Sign in with the Google Account you used to post the review. A work account and a personal account have different review histories.
- On desktop, open Google Maps, choose Menu → Your contributions → Reviews, then find the place and open its review section. Look for the business response beneath your review. This is the desktop path documented by Google; app navigation may differ.
- If you expected an email, check spam and inbox filters for that account. Google’s current help page does not guarantee an email. If no reply is visible, the business may not have answered yet or Google may still be reviewing it; revisit the public listing later.
This is a notification to the reviewer about a business response. It is separate from a business owner’s alert about a new customer review. You can find the public reply on the place’s Google Maps or Search listing even if you never see a notification. Neither alert creates a private support conversation.
Write the reply for two audiences: the customer who receives the notification and the people comparing the business later. A useful response acknowledges the actual feedback, adds relevant context, and moves private details to a direct channel instead of asking the reviewer to repeat sensitive information publicly.
What to know
The original reviewer is notified
Google explicitly says the reviewer gets a notification after the business posts its reply. Other readers can see the public reply, but the notification belongs to the reviewer who wrote the review.
The reply may take time to appear
Google checks business replies before publishing them. Its help page says this usually takes up to 10 minutes, but can sometimes take up to 30 days. That is moderation time, not an email or push delivery estimate. Avoid repeatedly submitting the same reply while waiting.
The reviewer can update the review
After reading the response, the reviewer can edit the original review. That makes a calm, specific recovery reply more useful than a defensive argument or generic request to call the business.
What should a business put in the reply?
- 1
Acknowledge the feedback
Reference the real issue or positive detail without copying the entire review. A direct opening shows the reply was written for this customer.
- 2
Add one useful next step
Explain what changed, answer a question, or provide a direct private contact when the situation needs account-specific follow-up. Do not make resolving the issue conditional on a rating change or offer a reward for changing the review.
- 3
Protect private information
Do not confirm health, legal, billing, account, or customer-history details in public. The reviewer receiving a notification does not make the response private.
An example reply for a notified customer
Illustrative review
We waited 40 minutes for our food and nobody explained the delay.
Business response
Thank you for letting us know, Alex. I’m sorry you waited so long without an explanation. Please contact our manager at [contact address] so we can look into what happened and discuss your experience with you.
Illustrative restaurant example, not a customer testimonial. It acknowledges the stated wait, avoids inventing a cause, and gives a private next step. Replace the contact address and offer only follow-up your team can deliver. The customer can choose whether to update the review; do not ask for a specific star rating.
Sources
- Google Business Profile: Manage customer reviews
Google documents profile verification, public business replies, reviewer notifications, review updates, and how a business edits or deletes its reply.
- 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.