# Customer Review Analyzer — Podium Alternative (`khadinakbar/podium-alternative`) Actor

Analyze Google Maps reviews or review records you supply. Return one action plan per review with priority, issue themes, response status, source details, and an editable reply draft for human approval.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/khadinakbar/podium-alternative.md
- **Developed by:** [Khadin Akbar](https://apify.com/khadinakbar) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Automation, MCP servers
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $20.00 / 1,000 review action plans

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Customer Review Analyzer — Podium Alternative

Analyze Google Maps reviews or review records you supply. Return one action plan per review with priority, issue themes, response status, source details, and an editable reply draft for human approval. For local-business operators, each dataset row is one review action plan with a priority and editable reply draft.

### Workflow: put the results to work

Select a known business or supply authorized review records. Review the issue themes and priority queue, edit the proposed replies, and approve responses in your chosen publishing system. The Actor prepares review work; it does not send customer messages or publish replies.

### What one result means

One dataset item represents one source review selected for a human follow-up queue. The item preserves the candidate action and source evidence; a human-operated system controls every customer contact, published reply, and transaction.

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `priority` | Deterministic `urgent`, `high`, or `normal` human-review priority from rating and response status. |
| `responseStatus` | `needs_reply`, `already_responded`, or `no_text`; it reports the observed source state. |
| `issueThemes` | Simple keyword themes from source text, separate from model-generated sentiment or a diagnosis. |
| `responseDraft` | An editable, deterministic suggestion that must be reviewed before use. |
| `sourceUrl`, `sourceCollectedAt`, `retrievedAt` | Provenance and freshness fields for the source observation and this Actor's work. |

### Quick start

The Google Maps mode starts from one precise business name and location. It collects only public review data with reviewer profile fields disabled, then produces an action-plan row for each selected review.

```json
{
  "sourceMode": "googleMaps",
  "businessName": "Joe's Pizza",
  "location": "New York, NY",
  "countryCode": "US",
  "maxReviews": 10,
  "analysisScope": "needsReply",
  "responseTone": "warmProfessional"
}
```

If you already hold authorized records, use the caller-provided route instead:

```json
{
  "sourceMode": "providedReviews",
  "businessName": "Example Bakery",
  "maxReviews": 2,
  "analysisScope": "all",
  "responseTone": "concise",
  "providedReviews": [
    {
      "reviewId": "review-001",
      "rating": 2,
      "text": "The staff was rude and the wait was slow.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://example.com/reviews/review-001"
    },
    {
      "reviewId": "review-002",
      "rating": 5,
      "text": "Great service.",
      "ownerResponse": "Thank you for visiting!",
      "sourceUrl": "https://example.com/reviews/review-002"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "reviewId": "review-001",
  "businessName": "Example Bakery",
  "rating": 2,
  "reviewText": "The staff was rude and the wait was slow.",
  "ownerResponse": null,
  "responseStatus": "needs_reply",
  "priority": "urgent",
  "issueThemes": ["service", "wait_time"],
  "responseDraft": "Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about service and wait_time. We're sorry we missed the mark and would value the opportunity to learn more and make this right; please contact Example Bakery directly.",
  "responseGuidance": "Review and tailor this draft before sending or posting it. External sending and posting stay in your approved human-operated workflow.",
  "sourceUrl": "https://example.com/reviews/review-001",
  "sourceCollectedAt": null,
  "retrievedAt": "ISO-8601 timestamp",
  "dataSource": "caller-provided-review-records",
  "sourceRunId": null
}
```

### How this bounded workflow compares with Podium

This independent Actor is a focused alternative for the public-review triage and reply-drafting step. It starts from a known Google Maps business or caller-supplied review records and returns one source-linked action-plan row per review. Podium remains the broader fit for its lead-conversion, private messaging, calling, booking, payments, team operations, customer database, and support workflows.

| Decision | This Actor | Podium | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Read-only review queue and editable drafts | Broader local-business customer-journey platform | Use this Actor for bounded review operations; use Podium for its broader suite. |
| Billing | One persisted review-action-plan event plus platform usage | Current public pricing page is sales-led | Compare an exact workload before making a cost decision. |
| Starting point | One known Maps business or authorized review objects | Managed business workflow and product setup | Use this Actor for a small, defined input. |
| Output | Portable dataset rows with priority, themes, provenance, and draft status | Conversational and operational product workflows | Use this Actor when JSON/API output is the next step. |
| Operator efficiency | One bounded execution produces a batch of review action-plan rows for the next human review step | Broader operational customer journey | Use this Actor when the bounded output, rather than a full customer workspace, is the immediate need. |
| Automation | API-run batch with explicit terminal outcomes; no outbound side effects | Broader customer-journey automation | Use Podium when actions inside customer conversations are required. |
| Safety boundary | Never messages, posts, pays, books, or changes a profile | Those operations belong to a broader platform workflow | Keep a human approval step before any reply is sent. |

Podium is a trademark of its owner. This independent Actor is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Podium.

### API example

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/podium-alternative').call({
  sourceMode: 'googleMaps',
  businessName: "Joe's Pizza",
  location: 'New York, NY',
  countryCode: 'US',
  maxReviews: 10,
  analysisScope: 'needsReply',
  responseTone: 'warmProfessional',
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems({ clean: true });
console.log(items);
```

### Use with AI agents and MCP

MCP-ready agent prompt card:

> Create a read-only review follow-up queue for this known local business. Return the highest-priority unanswered reviews with rating, source URL, response status, issue themes, and editable reply drafts. Keep customer communication and publishing in a human-approved workflow.

The Actor returns source-linked dataset records and a compact `OUTPUT` terminal contract. `COMPLETE`, `PARTIAL`, `VALID_EMPTY`, and `INVALID_INPUT` are successful transport outcomes; `UPSTREAM_FAILED` records a source interruption before useful action-plan rows exist. When the result is capped, retrieve additional rows from the default dataset or start another bounded request.

### Best results and workflow guidance

- Start with an exact business name and city or country; broad category queries can resolve the wrong place.
- Keep `maxReviews` at 10 for a first source run, then increase only after reviewing costs and output quality.
- The draft is deterministic template text rather than a model judgment, and review text functions only as a keyword-classification input.
- Public review text can include personal information written by the reviewer. Keep processing aligned with your documented purpose, and keep reviewer profile data outside this workflow.
- Historical deltas, review invitations, contact management, private-account connections, and full customer-engagement operations belong in adjacent systems.

### Responsible use

Use public review data or review records you are authorized to process. Review source terms, privacy obligations, and your internal approval policy before using a draft. This Actor keeps external communications and account changes in a human-operated system.

### Builder's note

I designed the Google Maps source route to keep reviewer profile fields disabled while preserving a source-operation reference when available. I built the action-plan layer to validate every output row before persistence and billing, so an incomplete source record produces a diagnostic rather than a thin, invented result.

### Pricing and run costs

This Actor uses **Pay per event plus Apify platform usage**. The [Pricing tab](https://apify.com/khadinakbar/podium-alternative/pricing) lists the current event rates and billing terms.

| Event | Billing unit | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| `apify-actor-start` | Actor Start | Charged when the Actor starts running. Number of events charged depends on Actor memory (one event per GB, minimum one event). |
| `review-action-plan` | Review action plan | Charged only when one validated review-action-plan row with priority, issue themes, provenance, and an editable draft is persisted. |

Run cost combines the charged events and Apify platform usage. Review the run charge limit and requested result count before starting.

### Connect an AI agent

Use the [Apify MCP configurator](https://mcp.apify.com) to choose an available client connection. Inspect this Actor’s current input schema and required credentials before running it.

# Actor input Schema

## `sourceMode` (type: `string`):

Choose where the review records come from. Use googleMaps to collect current public Google Maps reviews for one named place, or providedReviews to analyze your own review objects without an external fetch. Defaults to googleMaps. This is not a connector to a Podium, CRM, payment, or messaging account.

## `businessName` (type: `string`):

Name of the business whose public feedback should be reviewed, for example Eiffel Tower. It is used with location to resolve one Google Maps place and is carried into every action-plan record. Defaults to Eiffel Tower for the quality-test path. This is not a broad category search or a customer-contact list.

## `location` (type: `string`):

City, region, or country used to disambiguate businessName, for example Paris, France. It is sent only to the public-review source when sourceMode is googleMaps. Defaults to Paris, France. This is not a customer address or a proxy configuration.

## `maxReviews` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on review records requested or processed in this run. Accepts 1 to 50 and defaults to 10, so the event-charge ceiling is $0.02 per persisted action-plan row plus platform usage. Use a small number for a first run. This is not a count of messages to send because the Actor has no sending capability.

## `analysisScope` (type: `string`):

Controls which valid review records become action-plan rows. Use all for every review, needsReply for reviews without an owner response, or negativeOnly for ratings of one or two. Defaults to all. This filter does not alter a source review or publish a response.

## `responseTone` (type: `string`):

Sets the voice of the deterministic, editable response draft. Choose warmProfessional, concise, or apologetic; every draft still requires a human review before any use. Defaults to warmProfessional. This setting does not activate generative AI or send a message.

## `countryCode` (type: `string`):

Two-letter market hint used when resolving a public Google Maps place, for example FR, US, or GB. Defaults to FR for the Eiffel Tower prefill and accepts two uppercase letters. It affects public-place resolution only. This is not an address, customer country field, or guaranteed proxy location.

## `providedReviews` (type: `array`):

Review records to analyze when sourceMode is providedReviews. Each object needs a stable reviewId, rating, sourceUrl, and optional text, ownerResponse, and publishedAt; no reviewer profile fields are accepted. Defaults to an empty list. This is not a way to supply credentials, cookies, or private CRM exports without your own authority.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sourceMode": "googleMaps",
  "businessName": "Joe's Pizza",
  "location": "New York, NY",
  "maxReviews": 10,
  "analysisScope": "needsReply",
  "responseTone": "warmProfessional",
  "countryCode": "US",
  "providedReviews": []
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `reviewActionPlans` (type: `string`):

Dataset rows with priority, issue themes, review provenance, response status, and draft replies for human approval.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

OUTPUT record with outcome, counts, source route, charges, and warnings.

## `runDiagnostics` (type: `string`):

RUN\_SUMMARY record with source route, safe diagnostics, and detailed counters.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "sourceMode": "googleMaps",
    "businessName": "Eiffel Tower",
    "location": "Paris, France",
    "maxReviews": 10,
    "analysisScope": "all",
    "responseTone": "warmProfessional",
    "countryCode": "FR",
    "providedReviews": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("khadinakbar/podium-alternative").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "sourceMode": "googleMaps",
    "businessName": "Eiffel Tower",
    "location": "Paris, France",
    "maxReviews": 10,
    "analysisScope": "all",
    "responseTone": "warmProfessional",
    "countryCode": "FR",
    "providedReviews": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("khadinakbar/podium-alternative").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "sourceMode": "googleMaps",
  "businessName": "Eiffel Tower",
  "location": "Paris, France",
  "maxReviews": 10,
  "analysisScope": "all",
  "responseTone": "warmProfessional",
  "countryCode": "FR",
  "providedReviews": []
}' |
apify call khadinakbar/podium-alternative --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,khadinakbar/podium-alternative"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/sVziDtCA9hn3oicSb/builds/bThfhA05gmQMstIUI/openapi.json