DM templates · Instagram
Ask for a review in an Instagram DM
Ask in a chat you're already having: when a customer messages you, thank them and send one link that opens your review form. Ask every customer the same way, offer nothing in return and let them write what they like, because Google's rules ban rewards for reviews and asking only the people you expect to be happy. Below are 11 templates for the moments that work best.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 11 templates
11 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
After the order arrives
So glad it arrived safely! If you have a minute, would you leave us a review? It helps other people decide whether to order: {link}. Honest is perfect, whatever you think.
Send the same ask after every order, whether the customer gushed or said nothing. Building it into every order is the simplest way to avoid asking selectively.
Same day as a visit
Thanks for coming in today, {name}! We ask every client for a quick review after their visit. If you have a moment, here's the link: {link}
Send it once they've left, not while they're still in the chair: Google asks businesses not to pressure people on the premises. A tool can only send it if they've messaged you in the last 24 hours.
Reply to a compliment
That honestly made our day, thank you! Would you be happy to leave us a public review as well? No pressure at all: {link}
Use this on top of an ask that reaches every customer, never instead of one. Asking only the people who've already praised you is the selective soliciting Google's policy rules out.
Permission to share their message
Your message made the whole team smile. Would you mind if we shared it in our Stories? We'll hide your name and photo unless you'd like to be tagged.
A DM is private, so ask before posting a screenshot of it, however glowing. Their yes in the thread is your record if the question ever comes up.
Product review on your own shop
How are you getting on with the {product}? If you have a minute, a review on its page would help other people choose: {link}. Photos are welcome but never needed.
Product reviews are most useful after a week or two of use, usually long after a tool's 24 hours have run out. Send this when they write to you, say with a photo or a care question.
One reminder after a yes
No rush at all, just popping the link back here in case it got buried: {link}. Thanks again for offering!
One reminder, inside 24 hours of their last message, then let it go. Chasing twice turns a favour into a chore.
When something went wrong
I'm really sorry it wasn't right. Could you tell me what happened? I'd like to sort it out properly, whatever you decide to post.
Fix the problem with no strings attached. Google's policy bans discouraging negative reviews and offering anything to have one changed or removed.
“Where can I leave a review?”
Thank you for wanting to! The quickest place is our Google profile: {link}. A recommendation on our Facebook Page helps too, if you're on there.
Give one main link. A second option is fine when they ask; a list of five turns a kind offer into homework.
Asking for a short video
Would you be up for a short video about how you use it, around 20 seconds? Totally fine to say no. If you're in, reply here and I'll send two easy questions to answer on camera.
This is for your own posts, not a review site, so guiding questions are fine. Ask whether you may use it in ads too, and keep their answer in the chat.
End of a coaching or lesson package
That's our last session done, {name}. Thank you for showing up every week! If you'd write a few lines about working together, it would mean a lot: {link}
The end of a package is the natural moment for coaches and tutors. Leave out any hint of what to say: Google asks businesses not to request specific content.
Thank-you once the review is up
We just saw your review. Thank you for taking the time, it really does help a small team like ours.
Send the same thanks for a three-star review as for a five-star one. If the review raises a problem, answer it publicly on the review site as well.
Set it up in DMFast
Reply REVIEW to a Story, get the review link
Replied to your story
REVIEWThank you for offering! This reply is automatic. The card below opens our Google review form, and whatever you honestly think is exactly what we're after.Leave us a Google reviewWrite a reviewA reply to your Story is already a message from them, so the card can follow at once, with no YES step. Post the Story for everyone who bought recently, not a hand-picked few, and the request stays fair: anyone can answer it.
Pick Story replies
Connect your Instagram account and add an auto-reply for people who answer your Stories.
Set the word: REVIEW
Story replies with the word REVIEW in them get this message.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here and the link card that goes with it.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Google bans offering incentives, such as payment, discounts, or free goods or services, in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one.
- Google's policy also forbids discouraging negative reviews and selectively soliciting positive ones, so the same request should reach every customer.
- Google says businesses shouldn't require or pressure people to leave reviews while on the premises, or ask for specific content to be included.
- Through Meta's API, which official automation tools use, a message can only go out within 24 hours of the person's last message. A reply to your Story counts as a message from them.
- Automated messages must say they're automated, under Meta's policy for the Messenger Platform and the Instagram Messaging API.
Sources
Lines that break review rules, and what to say instead
Plenty of review templates online break the rules of the very sites they send people to. For most local businesses that site is Google, and its policy for Maps reviews rules out these four habits.
| Common line | The problem | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| “Leave us 5 stars and get 10% off” | Google bans payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for a review | “We'd love your honest review: {link}” |
| “Happy? Review us on Google. Not happy? Message us first.” | Sending only happy customers to Google is selective soliciting | One request for everyone, and a separate offer of help |
| “Please mention your stylist and the colour” | Google asks businesses not to request specific content | “Write whatever you think, in your own words” |
| “We'll refund you if you take the review down” | Rewards for changing or removing a negative review are banned | Fix the problem with no conditions attached |
Other review sites set their own rules, so read the policy of the one you link to before you offer anything there.
The best moments to ask
The right moment is when the customer has just written to you: a photo of the parcel, a thank-you after an appointment, a message to book again. They're thinking about you, the chat is open, and a tool can still reply, because the 24 hours started with their message.
- An order arrives and they send a picture or a thank-you.
- They message to book their next appointment.
- They answer a Story asking everyone who bought recently for a review.
- A course or a package of sessions comes to an end.
What official tools can't do is go back to everyone who bought last month. Unless they've written in the last 24 hours, Meta's API won't allow the message, so reach older customers by email, with a card in the parcel or with a Story anyone can reply to.
Where to send people
Pick the one place that matters most to new customers and link straight to its review form, not to your profile. Google Business Profile can give you a link that opens the form directly. A Facebook Page collects recommendations. Online shops usually want reviews on the product page itself, where the next buyer will read them.
Tip: Test the link on your phone before you use it, as a customer would. A link that opens a login page or a search result instead of the form is where a willing reviewer gives up.
What to measure
Count new reviews per month before and after you start asking, and how many of the people you ask tap the link; a tracked link gives you that second number. If plenty tap but few reviews appear, the form is the problem: a login wall, or a link to the wrong place. If few tap, look at when you're asking.
Questions people ask
Can I offer a discount for a review?
Not for a Google review. Google's policy lists payment, discounts, and free goods or services in exchange for a review as prohibited, and the same goes for getting a negative review changed or removed. Other review sites have their own rules, so check before you offer anything there.
Is it okay to ask only the customers who seem happy?
Not if you're sending them to Google. Its policy forbids selectively soliciting positive reviews, which is exactly what “happy customers here, unhappy ones over there” does. Ask everyone the same way, and deal with complaints separately.
Can I DM all my past customers for a review?
Not through official tools. Meta's API only allows a message within 24 hours of the person's last one, so a tool can't reach customers who last wrote weeks ago. Ask at the moments they write to you, and use email, packaging or a Story for everyone else.
Can I tell customers what to write?
No. Google asks businesses not to request specific content in reviews, so leave out lines like “mention our team” or “say how fast delivery was”. Asking for an honest review in their own words is enough.
What if someone leaves a bad review after I asked?
Reply publicly and calmly, say what you'll do about it, then do it. Don't offer a refund or a discount on condition that they edit or delete the review: Google treats that as an incentive, and its policy bans it.
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