This article covers turning automated responses on, the settings behind each platform, how settings are inherited from one level of your business to the next, and how to edit or remove them.
Automated responses use the same AI-suggested replies you see when you reply manually. The difference is that GEM posts them without anyone clicking Post.
Before you turn automated responses on
Configuring automated responses needs the Edit settings permission under Automated review responses. Viewers can't change the configuration, and Editors only have the permission if it was granted to them — either through Full access or by checking it individually. You can also only configure stores you have access to.
If the settings page is read-only for you, ask another Editor who has the Edit users permission to update your access. See Managing users, permissions and store access.
Where to find automated response settings
In the left sidebar, click Settings.
Click Automated response settings.
The page has two tabs:
My stores — the stores and store groups you have access to, with each one's automated response status. This is where you make changes.
All settings — every automated response setting configured anywhere in the account, including levels outside your access. Those appear read-only, so you can see how the full hierarchy is set up even where you can't change it.
Turning on automated responses for a store or group
You can enable automated responses at any level of your business: across all of your stores, for a store group (Brand, Region, Market or Franchisee), or for a single store.
In the left sidebar, click Settings > Automated response settings.
Find the store or store group you want to configure in the table.
Click the row to open its settings.
Click Enable automated responses.
Toggle on each platform you want covered. Google, DoorDash Marketplace and GEM Survey are configured independently, so you can turn on one without the others.
Set the options for each platform you turned on — see the next section.
Click Save.
The settings behind each platform
Each platform you enable has its own set of four options, so Google reviews and DoorDash reviews can be handled completely differently at the same store.
Setting | What it does |
Ratings to respond to | Which ratings get an automated reply. Google: 1 to 5 stars. DoorDash: Didn't like, Liked, Loved. GEM Survey: 1 to 5 stars. |
Review types | For each rating you selected, whether to answer all reviews, only reviews with written feedback, or only rating-only reviews. |
Response hours | The hours automated replies can be sent in, in each store's own local timezone. |
Response time delay | How long GEM waits after a review arrives before posting the reply. 1 to 24 hours. |
Ratings and review types work together: you might answer every 5-star review, but only answer 2-star reviews when the customer actually wrote something.
How settings are inherited across your business
Automated response settings flow down a hierarchy, from a business-wide default to individual stores. The most specific level always wins.
Priority | Level | Example |
1 (highest) | Store | "123 Main St" |
2 | Franchisee | "ABC Pizza LLC" |
3 | Market | "Michigan" |
4 | Region | "Midwest" |
5 | Brand | "Sunrise Kitchen" |
6 (lowest) | Business | Your default settings |
When a review arrives, GEM looks for settings on the store itself. If the store has none, it checks the store's Franchisee group, then its Market, then its Region, then its Brand, and finally falls back to your business-wide default.
Two consequences worth knowing before you configure anything:
Configuring one level doesn't overwrite more specific levels. Updating a Region's settings leaves alone any store or group below it that has its own configuration. Those keep what they have.
You don't need store groups to use this. Even with no groups set up, an individual store can have its own settings that override the business-level default.
A store that's inheriting its settings shows where they came from, with the hierarchy above it.
Editing or deleting automated response settings
In the left sidebar, click Settings > Automated response settings.
Click the store or store group whose settings you want to change.
Click Edit to change the configuration, or Delete to remove it from this level.
Before you save an edit, GEM shows how many stores the change will affect, so you can check the blast radius first. A change at a group level can reach far more stores than the one you opened.
Deleting settings doesn't turn automation off by itself. The affected stores fall back to the next level up that has settings configured. If no level above them has any, automated responses do switch off for those stores.
Choosing a response time delay
The response time delay holds an automated reply for a set period after the review reaches GEM, instead of posting it immediately. It's set per platform, and accepts 1 to 24 hours.
The reason to use one is timing. On a fast platform, a reply with no delay can reach the customer before they've had any chance to see their own review in place. How much that matters depends on how quickly each platform publishes:
DoorDash — reviews reach GEM within minutes of being submitted, so with no delay your reply can land almost immediately after the customer sends their feedback. This is the platform where a delay is most worth setting.
Google — reviews take 2 to 24 hours to appear publicly, so there's already a gap before the customer sees their review on your profile. A delay matters less here.
GEM Survey — the survey response is private and the customer receives your reply by email, so the delay decides how soon that email arrives after they complete the survey.
A low-risk way to start
If you're enabling automated responses for the first time, this configuration keeps the scope small while you see how it behaves:
Start with your highest ratings only. Let automation handle positive reviews, and keep replying to lower-rated ones yourself, where a specific answer matters more.
Set response hours to your business hours. Replies then go out while someone is around to notice if something looks wrong.
Set a response time delay rather than leaving it at none, especially for DoorDash.
Turn on one platform at a time. Google, DoorDash and GEM Survey are independent, so you can start with whichever matters most to you and add the others once you're comfortable.
Start at one level too — your business default, or a single store group — rather than configuring many levels at once. Inheritance means one setting can cover everything below it.
Checking what automation has sent
Every reply in GEM is labeled with how it was sent, so automated replies are identifiable after the fact. Go to the Responded tab in Feedback management and use the All responses filter to narrow to automated responses. For what each response type and display name means, see Responding to reviews.
Customers don't see these labels. They can't tell from the reply whether a person wrote it or GEM sent it.
Frequently asked questions
Does an automated response write something different from a manual reply?
No. Automated responses use the same AI-suggested reply you'd see if you clicked Reply on that review yourself. The difference is that nobody has to review it before it posts.
Can I set different rules for Google and DoorDash at the same store?
Yes. Each platform you enable has its own ratings, review types, response hours and delay. Enabling one platform doesn't enable any other.
I enabled automated responses for a store group, but one store isn't following the rules. Why?
That store almost certainly has its own settings, which beat the group's. Open the store in Settings > Automated response settings to see what's configured on it. Settings on a more specific level always win — see How settings are inherited across your business above.
If I delete a group's automated response settings, do its stores stop getting automated replies?
Only if no level above them has settings. Otherwise they inherit from the next level up — the group's parent, or your business-wide default.
Can a Viewer set up automated responses?
No. Configuring automated responses needs the Edit settings permission under Automated review responses, which is only available to Editors. See Managing users, permissions and store access.
Why isn't automation replying to my rating-only reviews?
Check the Review types option for that platform. For each rating you've selected, it can be set to all reviews, reviews with written feedback only, or rating-only reviews — so a rating with no comment is skipped if that setting is limited to written feedback.
Does a GEM Survey response ever reach someone who didn't leave an email?
No. GEM Survey replies are sent by email, so a survey response with no email address can't be answered, by automation or by hand. Those reviews show a "Response not possible" indicator.
Questions? If you need help with this process or have questions, reach out to DoorDash Support at oosupport@doordash.com.