> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.asteragents.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Business Reviews Tool

> Fetch Google reviews for a business by place_id, or auto-lookup by business name

## What it does

The Get Business Reviews tool fetches Google reviews for a business or place. It accepts a `place_id` directly (from [Search Google Maps](/tools/search_google_maps)) for maximum reliability, or falls back to an internal Google Maps search using `business_name` (+ optional `location`) to resolve the place first. Great for reputation research, sentiment summaries, competitor review analysis, and lead-gen quality signals.

## Key features

* Works with a known `place_id` **or** a business name
* Auto-lookup fallback — no need to pre-run a maps search if you only have a name
* Sort reviews by relevance, newest, highest rating, or lowest rating
* Pagination via `next_page_token` for fetching additional pages
* Optional topic filtering via Google `topic_id`

## Parameters

| Parameter         | Type   | Required | Description                                                                                                          |
| ----------------- | ------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `place_id`        | string | One of   | Google `place_id` (preferred). Obtain from `search_google_maps`. When provided, no auto-lookup is performed.         |
| `business_name`   | string | One of   | Business name — used to auto-lookup `place_id` when `place_id` is not provided. Less reliable for ambiguous names.   |
| `location`        | string | No       | Optional location to disambiguate `business_name` (e.g., `"Austin, TX"`). Only used when `place_id` is not provided. |
| `sort_by`         | string | No       | Sort order: `"most_relevant"` (default), `"newest"`, `"highest_rating"`, `"lowest_rating"`                           |
| `topic_id`        | string | No       | Optional Google topic/KGMID filter (e.g., `"/m/016bn0"`) to filter reviews by topic                                  |
| `next_page_token` | string | No       | Pagination cursor returned by a previous call                                                                        |
| `hl`              | string | No       | Language code (e.g., `"en"`, `"es"`). Default: `"en"`                                                                |
| `gl`              | string | No       | Two-letter country code (e.g., `"us"`, `"gb"`)                                                                       |

<Note>
  Either `place_id` or `business_name` is required. Passing `place_id` is strongly preferred — auto-lookup by name uses Google's top search result, which can be ambiguous for common names.
</Note>

## Common use cases

### Fetch reviews by place\_id (preferred)

```
place_id: "ChIJM8w7rqS1RIYRhEz2-KuoqzE"
sort_by: "newest"
```

### Fetch reviews by business name (auto-lookup)

```
business_name: "Franklin Barbecue"
location: "Austin, TX"
```

The tool first resolves the `place_id` via Google Maps, then returns reviews. The response includes `resolved_via: "name_lookup"` so you know the fallback was used.

### Paginate through more reviews

```
place_id: "ChIJM8w7rqS1RIYRhEz2-KuoqzE"
next_page_token: "<token_from_previous_response>"
```

### Get the worst reviews (risk research)

```
place_id: "ChIJ..."
sort_by: "lowest_rating"
```

## What you get back

```jsonc theme={null}
{
  "place": {
    "place_id": "...",
    "title": "...",
    "address": "...",
    "rating": 4.7,
    "reviews_count": 7065,
    "website": "...",
    "phone": "..."
  },
  "resolved_via": "place_id",           // or "name_lookup"
  "reviews": [
    {
      "review_id": "...",
      "author": "Kevin S.",
      "author_reviews_count": 12,
      "author_local_guide": true,
      "rating": 5,
      "date": "2 weeks ago",
      "iso_date": "2026-04-05T...",
      "snippet": "Worth every minute of the wait...",
      "likes": 3,
      "owner_response": { "date": "...", "snippet": "..." }
    }
  ],
  "returned": 10,
  "next_page_token": "..."
}
```

## Best practices

* Always prefer `place_id` over `business_name` when you have it — faster and disambiguated
* Pair with [Search Google Maps](/tools/search_google_maps) at the start of a workflow to capture `place_id`s for batch processing
* Use `sort_by: "newest"` for fresh signals (recent service quality, new menu, etc.) and `sort_by: "lowest_rating"` for risk/complaint analysis
* Paginate only as needed — 10 reviews is usually enough for a summary

## Troubleshooting

**"Could not find a Google Maps place for \<name>"**

* Add a `location` (city, state) to disambiguate
* Fall back to calling `search_google_maps` directly and passing the `place_id` explicitly

**"Either place\_id or business\_name is required"**

* You called the tool with neither — pass one of them

**Fewer reviews than expected**

* Use `next_page_token` to paginate
* Try a different `sort_by` — each sort surfaces a different slice

## Related tools

* [Search Google Maps](/tools/search_google_maps) — find businesses and get their `place_id`
* [Search Google](/tools/search_google) — general web search
* [Ask Web](/tools/ask_web) — AI-powered answers over web data