Frequently Asked Questions

CLAI (ChoiceLocal AI Platform) is an internal digital marketing automation tool that scales franchise marketing operations. It automates repetitive tasks across SEO, PPC, social media, and business listing audits. Processing happens in the background so your team can focus on strategy while CLAI handles execution.

Click "Register" on the CLAI login page. Enter Registration code, your email and password. After registration, log in with your credentials.

Excel files in .xlsx format only. The file must have the correct column headers for the module you selected.

CLAI currently offers seven automation modules across different marketing channels:

Additional automation modules are in development to further streamline franchise marketing operations.

1. Log in
2. Click "New Submission"
3. Select module from dropdown
4. Select brand (if required by module)
5. Upload .xlsx file
6. Click "Submit"
7. Dashboard shows your submission

• SEO content - Depends on file size and number of rows
• PPC campaigns - 30-60 minutes for 100+ rows
• Social media content - Image analysis adds 5-10 seconds per image
• NAP audits - Depends on number of locations checked

The dashboard shows a progress bar with percentage complete and processed row count.

Yes. The dashboard shows:

• Status: Pending, Processing, Completed, Failed, or Cancelled
• Progress bar with percentage
• Processed row count
• Total rows

The dashboard auto-refreshes while submissions are processing.

When status shows "Completed":

1. Find submission on dashboard
2. Click "Download" in Output File column
3. File downloads as CSV or XLSX

You can also download the original input file from the Input File column.

Yes. Click the "Cancel" button on the dashboard while the submission is processing. The system will stop processing and mark it as cancelled. Cannot cancel completed or failed submissions.

Yes. Processing happens in the background independently of your login session. Log out, close browser, or shut down your computer - processing continues. Log back in to check status and download results.

• Brand-specific SEO - Select one brand from dropdown. Content follows that brand's rules.
• Brand-flexible SEO - Custom brand selection without predefined brand rules.
• National SEO - Excel file must contain 'Brand' column. Cell A1 must contain prompt template. Processes multiple brands in one file.
• Choicelocal.com SEO - Specific column format for Choicelocal.com. Uses URL templates with placeholders.

20+ brands are in the system. The brand dropdown shows available brands. If your brand is not listed, use Brand-flexible module or submit a Jira request to have it added.

National SEO:

• Cell A1: Prompt template
• Column named "Brand" with brand names
• Other columns as specified in your template

Choicelocal SEO:

• Specific column format for Choicelocal content
• URL templates with placeholders

Other SEO modules:

• Columns depend on the brand's content generation rules
• Submit a Jira request for brand-specific column requirements

Google Ads Editor format. The output file can be imported directly into Google Ads Editor.

• 100+ rows: 30-60 minutes
• API rate limiting: 50 calls/minute to OpenAI
• Large campaigns may exceed these times
• Tasks have resume capability if interrupted

Required:

• Industry names for targeting
• Phone number for call extensions
• Website URL for ad destinations

Multiple social media platforms. Platform names must match valid platform identifiers in the system.

Yes. Image analysis adds 5-10 seconds per image to processing time. Image URLs must be accessible.

Text-only content generation works without images. For Pinterest, blog details improve content quality.

NAP = Name, Address, Phone. The module searches for each business across multiple platforms and compares the Name, Address, and Phone information to identify inconsistencies. Output shows what information is listed on each platform, match status, and action needed.

• Google Business Profile - Searches Google's business listings
• Yext - Searches Yext business listings
• Website - Checks business information on your website

Excel file with business names in the first column. Each row is one business location to audit. Output CSV includes all found information from each platform plus consistency analysis.

Possible causes:

• System restarts - Platform restarts processes daily for maintenance
• Large files - Legitimately taking longer
• High demand - System processing multiple requests

Check status after 10+ minutes. Submissions stuck in "Processing" for hours should be reported via Jira.

Common causes:

• File format - Wrong column headers or Excel structure
• File size - Files over 10MB not recommended
• Invalid data - Missing required fields or incorrect data types
• System issues - Temporary service interruptions

Check the error message in submission details on dashboard. If error is unclear, submit a Jira request with the error message.

Yes. Click "New Submission" and upload the file again. Fix any errors in your Excel file first if the error message indicated file format issues.

Try refreshing the dashboard. If problem persists, submit a Jira request with:

• Submission ID or name
• When you submitted it
• Screenshot of the error (if any)

Yes. Click "Cancel" button if submission is still processing. If already completed, submit a new request with the correct file.

Recommended maximum: 10MB. Larger files may cause:

• Longer processing times
• Higher chance of errors
• Processing timeouts

• File extension: .xlsx
• First row: Column headers
• Module-specific column requirements vary

Yes. Each module requires specific column names:

• National SEO: Cell A1 = prompt template, "Brand" column required
• Choicelocal SEO: Choicelocal-specific column format
• PPC: Industry, phone, website URL columns
• Social Media: Platform, image URL columns
• NAP Audit: Business name, address, phone columns

Check exact column names per module in the platform documentation or submit a Jira request for clarification.

Submit a Jira request for module-specific Excel templates.

• SEO modules: CSV or XLSX with generated content
• PPC: XLSX formatted for Google Ads Editor import
• Social Media: CSV or XLSX with platform-specific content
• NAP Audit: XLSX with consistency check results

Files are stored on the platform. Storage retention policy is set by your organization. Files are not automatically deleted.

Yes. Download links remain available until files are deleted from storage.

Modify your input Excel file and submit a new request. The system does not edit existing output files.

The dashboard auto-refreshes while submissions are processing. If not working:

• Manually refresh browser (F5 or reload button)
• Clear browser cache
• Try a different browser

If issue persists, submit a Jira request.

• Verify email and password
• Password is case-sensitive
• Use "Forgot Password" if available
• Submit a Jira request for account reset if needed

Possible reasons:

• Submission may have failed and been removed
• System maintenance or data cleanup

Submit a Jira request with the submission details and when you submitted it.

Submit a Jira request for technical issues, questions, or feature requests.