Auto-Publish Timing & Delays
Quick Summary
StarReplies lets you decide how quickly AI responses go live on Google. For any star rating set to Auto Reply, you choose an auto-publish timing — immediately, after a delay of 1 to 24 hours, or never (hold for approval). A delay gives you a window to review or edit a response before it publishes.
Why an Auto-Publish Delay Helps
An auto-publish delay is a safety net. While StarReplies's AI generates high-quality responses, no AI is perfect. Setting a delay ensures you always have an opportunity to review what will be posted in your business's name before it becomes public on Google.
This is especially useful for lower ratings, where an inappropriate response could damage your reputation. A delay — or using Require Approval instead — gives you time to verify that the AI's response strikes the right tone and addresses the customer's concerns appropriately.
Auto-Publish Timing Is Per Rating
There is no single fixed delay. Auto-publish timing is configured separately for each star rating, and only applies to ratings whose Reply Mode is set to Auto Reply. Ratings set to Require Approval always wait for you to publish manually.
| Timing Option | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Never (hold for approval) | Default. The draft is generated but never auto-published — it waits in your queue for manual approval. |
| Immediately | The response publishes as soon as it is generated. Good for 5-star reviews you trust the AI to handle. |
| After 1 hour | For a short buffer to catch anything before it goes live. |
| After 3 hours | For businesses that review responses a few times per day. |
| After 6 hours | For businesses that review responses twice daily (morning and evening). |
| After 12 hours | For businesses that review responses once daily. |
| After 24 hours | For businesses that want a full day to review before publishing. |
Note
Delayed responses are held with a Scheduled status. StarReplies checks for due responses every 5 minutes, so a response publishes at or shortly after its scheduled time.
Editing a Scheduled Response Cancels Auto-Publish
If you edit a response while it is Scheduled, StarReplies takes it out of the auto-publish queue and moves it back to Pending. Editing signals that you want to review it yourself, so it will not publish automatically — you approve and publish it manually when ready.
Important
Because editing cancels the scheduled auto-publish, an edited response never goes live on its own. Remember to publish it manually.
Configuring Auto-Publish Timing
- Go to Settings from the left sidebar and open the AI Response Configuration section.
- For a star rating, set Reply Mode to Auto Reply.
- Choose your preferred timing from the Auto-Publish dropdown (Never, Immediately, or 1-24 hours).
- Click Save on that rating's card.
Pro Tip
For ratings you review manually, enable review reminder emails. StarReplies will remind you at 9 AM and 5 PM local time so pending responses don't sit unanswered.
Note
For a full walkthrough of Reply Mode, the location-level Require Approval override, and flagged keywords, see "Reply Mode & Auto-Publish Settings" in Settings & Preferences.
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