{
  "title": "Google Review Response Benchmark 2026",
  "publisher": "Reply Champion",
  "source": "https://www.replychampion.com/research/google-review-response-workflow-benchmark",
  "updated": "2026-09-13",
  "reuse": "Credit Reply Champion, link to the report, and retain each finding's study date and scope.",
  "metrics": {
    "approvedWithoutEdit": {
      "percent": 87,
      "checked": "2026-07-22",
      "quote": "87% of human-approved AI replies in Reply Champion's July study were sent without a recorded edit.",
      "scope": "Successfully posted AI replies that went through human approval. Auto-posted replies are excluded."
    },
    "bothWorkflows": {
      "percent": 57,
      "checked": "2026-07-22",
      "quote": "57% of active accounts in Reply Champion's July study used both human approval and auto-posting.",
      "scope": "An active account had at least one successful AI reply. This does not mean all registered or paying customers."
    },
    "lowerRatingApproval": {
      "percent": 88,
      "checked": "2026-07-22",
      "quote": "Human approval was used for 88% of successfully posted AI replies to one- through four-star reviews in Reply Champion's July study.",
      "scope": "Successful AI replies to one- through four-star reviews."
    },
    "fiveStarApproval": {
      "percent": 74,
      "checked": "2026-07-22",
      "quote": "Human approval was used for 74% of successfully posted AI replies to five-star reviews in Reply Champion's July study.",
      "scope": "Successful AI replies to five-star reviews."
    },
    "newReviewAutoPosted": {
      "percent": 70,
      "checked": "2026-09-13",
      "quote": "70% of Reply Champion’s AI replies to new reviews were sent automatically in its September 2026 study. The result reflects businesses’ settings and the reviews they received.",
      "scope": "Successfully posted AI replies to reviews received after connection to RC, during the 90 days ending September 13, 2026. Current saved replies must match successful RC response records. Businesses choose which replies can be sent automatically and which need approval. This measures the share of qualifying replies posted automatically, not the share of all incoming reviews answered or a guaranteed automation rate."
    }
  },
  "limitations": [
    "July and September findings use different groups and dates. They are not a trend or before-and-after comparison with each other.",
    "These are Reply Champion records, not an industry-wide sample or a live check of Google reply visibility.",
    "Automatic posting skips per-reply approval. Setup, manually initiated generation, and other human work are not measured. Customer settings and review mix affect the result.",
    "Percentages are rounded. Larger businesses contribute more to reply-level percentages.",
    "Review, business, account, and response sample counts are not published.",
    "No rating, ranking, revenue, customer-satisfaction, or time-savings improvement was measured."
  ]
}