Reviews are what decide whether a customer calls you or the business listed below you. Reviews, in the Grow section of the left menu, opens the Review Manager: your reputation on Google, what customers keep saying about you, and everything Beside is doing to bring more reviews in.
A number next to Reviews in the menu means something there needs you.
Where you stand
Your reviews gives you your rating, how many reviews you have on Google, and the breakdown star by star - so a single one-star review is visible rather than buried in an average.
Two counters sit underneath:
Need a reply - reviews nobody has answered
Replied - reviews that have been answered
And a plain sentence pulling it together, for example You're at 5 stars across 157 Google reviews. 68 of 157 still have no reply.
What customers are saying
Beside reads your reviews rather than just counting them, and tells you the verdict in a couple of words - Almost all positive - with the split between positive, neutral and negative.
Underneath, the themes: what customers keep praising or questioning, as short phrases such as Skilled, attentive technicians or Clean, welcoming atmosphere.
This is the part worth reading before you change anything about how you work. Your reviews already tell you what you are good at - most owners have never had it summed up.
Beside also files a Monthly Reputation Report in your Library, so you can see how it moves over time. 📖 Add your own documents to Beside
Get more reviews
🟡 Nothing is being asked until you turn it on: Automatic review requests are off by default. Beside says so plainly at the top of the section - Automatic review requests are off, so nobody is being asked - because asking your customers for anything in your name is your decision, not a default.
There are five ways to bring reviews in, and you can use any of them:
What it is | What it does |
Automatic review SMS | Texts your customers a review request once their job is done. This is the one that is off until you switch it on. |
Repeat customers | Targets the people who already came back - your most likely reviewers, and usually your warmest. |
Customer review page | A page of your own you can send anyone to, or print on an invoice. |
Link for one customer | Creates a single link for one person, for when you want to ask by hand. |
Customers asked | The queue of people lined up to be asked, and how many are waiting. |
Automatic requests run off your connected customer system, since that is what tells Beside a job is finished. 📖 Connect your tools to Beside Agentic
The Sent requests tab shows everything that has gone out, so you can see what was asked and when.
Work through your reviews
Filter the list by All, Needs reply, or Replied. Each review shows the customer's name, their rating, the date, what they wrote, and a No reply yet badge when nobody has answered.
How replies get written and published
Beside drafts a reply to every review that has gone unanswered, including the difficult ones. It does not quietly answer the five-star ones and leave the one-star review sitting there.
Whether a reply goes out on its own is set by your autonomy for Reviews & Google profile:
Your level | What happens to a new review |
Ask first | Every reply waits for you to approve it |
Routine | Beside answers the straightforward ones itself, and still brings you the sensitive ones - which is what a bad review is |
Auto | Beside answers on your behalf wherever it is permitted to |
💡 Reviews is where most people loosen up first: An unanswered review costs you more than an imperfect reply. If you are going to let Beside act on its own anywhere, this is usually the place to start.
Every reply that ships appears as its own task on your Beside Agent page, marked Done only once Google confirms it, with a link to the review and a record of whether you approved it or Beside acted under your autonomy. A published reply costs 50 credits; drafting one costs nothing.
Your reviews on your website
Beside pulls your Google photos and reviews onto your website every day, turning your strongest reviews into a testimonials wall in your customers' own words. They are also published in a form search engines can read.
Supported platforms
Review Manager currently covers Google reviews.
FAQ
Why is nobody being asked for a review?
Why is nobody being asked for a review?
Because automatic review requests start switched off. Open Automatic review SMS in Get more reviews and turn it on. Until you do, Beside will read and reply to the reviews you already have, but it will not text your customers asking for new ones.
What does Beside do with a bad review?
What does Beside do with a bad review?
It answers it. Beside drafts a reply that acknowledges what went wrong and says what you are doing about it - unanswered criticism does more damage than a considered reply.
Whether that reply waits for you depends on your autonomy level. On Routine, a bad review is exactly the kind of sensitive case Beside holds back and brings to you.
Can I change a reply before it goes out?
Can I change a reply before it goes out?
Yes, on Ask first and for anything Routine brings you: the draft is yours to edit before you approve it. On Auto, replies go out without that step - which is the point of choosing it.
How do I know a reply actually went out?
How do I know a reply actually went out?
Open the reply task on your Beside Agent page. It is marked Done only once Google confirms it, and the task keeps a full record of what was sent and when, with a link straight to the review.
Which customers get asked for a review?
Which customers get asked for a review?
Once automatic requests are on, customers whose job is recorded as finished in your connected customer system. Repeat customers targets the ones who have already come back.
Can Beside only ask my happy customers?
Can Beside only ask my happy customers?
No. Filtering out unhappy customers before asking - review gating - is against Google's policies, and it puts your listing at risk rather than protecting it. Beside asks the customers whose job is done, and answers whatever comes back.
Beside is not showing my reviews. Why?
Beside is not showing my reviews. Why?
Beside reads your reviews from your Google Business Profile, so it needs that connection and your permission to use it. Check the top of Live on your Beside Agent page for a pending Google Business request.