Appearance
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Q: What can Zeus.ai do?
A: Zeus.ai helps you find, analyze, and evaluate locations for franchise or retail expansion. You can:
- Search and filter locations by criteria
- View AI-powered revenue predictions (Zeustimate)
- Analyze demographics and competition
- Compare potential sites with grades and benchmarks
- Ask questions using the AI assistant
- Visualize data on interactive maps
Q: How do I switch between projects?
A: Click the back button (←) in the chat bar to return to the project selection screen. From there, choose a different project to work with.
Zeus.ai saves your workspace state per project — including your map position (center, zoom level, and tilt), and per-panel settings such as visible Listings filters and traffic state. When you return to a project, the map restores to where you last left it. Switching projects also clears any temporary overlays from the previous project (such as Listings pins or Site Sonar search pins) so you start with a clean view of the new project.
Q: Can I export data from Zeus.ai?
A: Yes. The main export points are:
- Site Sonar — CSV export of the results table and PNG export of the map view.
- Listings — Saved Views capture filter + map state; the results grid can be exported to CSV.
- Sites tab — CSV export of the filtered location list.
- Shapes / Polygons — PNG export of the shape design view.
Look for the download icon in each surface's header. If you can't find an export in a specific view, ask the AI assistant: "How do I export data from [view name]?"
Q: Why is a feature locked, and what subscription do I need?
A: Some features and data surfaces are gated by subscription tier or by add-on data bundles. When you don't have access, the affected surface shows an in-app upgrade prompt. The prompt wording tells you which type of gate applies:
- Tier-gated prompts say "requires Emerging" or "requires Enterprise".
- Bundle-gated prompts say "[Data Bundle] is a data add-on" — for example, Mobile Data (Population Pulse bundle), Lifestyle Segments, and restaurant intelligence data in the demographics panel are all bundle-gated.
Gating at a glance:
- Open to all tiers: chat assistant, scorecards, notes, Gamma generation, Site Sonar (scorecard scoring)
- Tier-gated: Zeustimate scoring in Site Sonar (Enterprise tier only)
- Bundle-gated: Customer Insights, Mobile Data, Lifestyle Segments, Restaurant Intelligence data, and other premium data surfaces
To unlock a gated surface, click Talk to your account team in the upgrade prompt. For bundle-gated surfaces, the button opens a pre-addressed email to support@sitezeus.com with the relevant bundle name in the subject so your account team can route the inquiry. You can also contact your SiteZeus account team directly. If you're unsure why a specific surface is locked, ask the AI assistant in chat — it can tell you which entitlement controls that surface.
Q: What's the difference between the chat bar and the Chat tab?
A: Both provide access to the AI assistant:
- Chat bar (bottom-left): Always visible, quick access for questions
- Chat tab (right panel): Expanded view with full conversation history, better for long sessions
Map Questions
Q: Why can't I see individual location markers?
A: When zoomed out, locations are grouped into clusters (circles with numbers). Zoom in to see individual markers, or click a cluster to zoom to that area.
Q: What do the different colored markers mean?
A: Marker colors indicate the status category of each location:
Existing sites:
- Blue = Mature (established locations)
- Purple = New (recently opened)
- Cyan = Non-Traditional (non-standard formats)
- Gray = Closed
Proposed sites:
- Green = Consideration (under evaluation)
- Blue = Approved
- Orange = Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Pink = In Development
Other:
- Pink/Red = Search pins (temporary results)
- Various = Layer locations (competitors, etc.)
Q: Does the map remember my position when I return to a project?
A: Yes. Zeus.ai saves your map viewport (center position, zoom level, and tilt) per project. When you leave a project and come back, the map restores to where you last left it. If you want to return to a known starting point, use the compass icon (if visible) or zoom out and pan manually.
Q: How do I reset the map view?
A:
- Click the compass icon (if visible) to reset rotation and tilt
- In 3D mode, the compass returns you to north-up, flat view
- Zoom out and pan to recenter manually
Q: Why don't I see a territory that a colleague created?
A: Custom territory sets use per-user sharing. A territory only appears in your list when the creator has explicitly shared it with your account. If a territory is missing:
- Ask the territory creator to share it with you from the Shapes workspace.
- Confirm you are viewing the correct project -- territories are project-scoped.
- If you believe you should have access, contact your account administrator.
Note: Trade area boundaries (drive-time and ring polygons) are not subject to per-user sharing and appear for all project members.
Q: How do I enable 3D buildings?
A:
- Click the map icon (🗺️) in the chat bar
- Go to the Basemap tab
- Choose a supported vector or satellite-compatible theme
- 3D-capable controls become available automatically
Q: Why are my POI controls grayed out?
A: POI category controls are only available on Raster map themes, not Vector themes. Switch to a non-Vector theme to enable POI customization.
Analytics Questions
Q: What is a Zeustimate?
A: Zeustimate is Zeus.ai's AI-powered revenue prediction. It estimates potential annual revenue for locations based on demographics, competition, and other factors. It includes:
- Predicted revenue amount
- Confidence interval (range)
- Revenue grade (A, B, C, D, F)
- Comparison to AUV (Average Unit Volume)
Q: What does my Revenue Grade (A, B, C, D, F) mean?
A: Revenue grades compare a location's revenue to your portfolio's mature sites:
- A (Top Performer): Top performers
- B (High Performer): Above average
- C (Average): Around portfolio average
- D (Below Average): Below average
- F (Needs Improvement): Significantly underperforming
Grades are relative to your portfolio, not absolute.
Q: What is AUV?
A: AUV (Average Unit Volume) is the average revenue of mature sites in your portfolio. It serves as a benchmark to compare individual locations. A location performing "above AUV" is doing better than average.
Q: Why don't I see Zeustimate for some locations?
A:
- Existing sites show Revenue Metrics (actual revenue) instead of Zeustimate predictions
- Some locations may be missing required data
- Check if the location is categorized as "existing" vs "proposed"
Q: How accurate is the Zeustimate?
A: Zeustimate is a prediction based on AI analysis of multiple factors. High-confidence predictions with narrow intervals are typically within 10-20% of actual performance. Always consider the confidence interval when making decisions.
Q: Why is my grade showing "No Revenue Data"?
A: Grades require enough mature site data in your portfolio to establish meaningful benchmarks. If you don't have enough mature existing sites, grades cannot be calculated reliably.
Filtering Questions
Q: What does "Filtering Map" mean?
A: The Filtering Map toggle in the Sites tab controls whether your filter selections affect the map:
- Teal (Filtering Map): Filters affect both the list AND the map markers
- Red (Not Filtering Map): Filters only affect the list; map shows all locations
Q: How do I filter to see only proposed sites?
A:
- Click the store icon (🏪) in the chat bar
- In the Site Type section, uncheck "Existing"
- Keep "Proposed" checked
- Map and list will show only proposed sites
Q: Can I filter by multiple criteria?
A: Yes! Combine any filters:
- Site Type (Proposed/Existing)
- Revenue Range (dual slider)
- Categories (status subcategories)
- Custom Attributes (project-specific)
Filters work together (AND logic).
Performance Questions
Q: The map is running slowly. What should I do?
A:
- Enable Smart Clustering: Map Settings → Layers tab → Turn on clustering
- Increase cluster radius: Larger radius = fewer points to render
- Use filters: Reduce the number of visible locations
- Zoom in: Fewer locations in view = better performance
- Try a Vector theme: Better performance with large datasets
Q: What do the performance metrics mean?
A: In Map Settings → Layers tab, you can see:
- FPS: Frames per second (55+ is good, <30 is slow)
- Render Time: Time to draw each frame (<16ms is ideal)
- Memory: RAM usage (<100MB is good)
Q: Why do I see a warning in Map Settings?
A: Performance warnings indicate the map is under stress. Try:
- Enabling clustering
- Reducing visible layers
- Zooming in to a smaller area
- Using a Vector theme
Chat & AI Questions
Q: Which AI model should I use?
A: Zeus.ai ships a model picker with several families. Pick by task:
- Zeus.ai Secure (Third-Party) (Default): 1M context, text and code — SiteZeus-paid third-party inference, the global chat default. Good starting point for most analytics questions.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro: 1M context, text and code — max-thinking reasoning, direct-provider host.
- Zeus.ai Clean Room (🔒 Clean Room subscription): Two data-resident models — Zeus.ai Clean Room (1M, text-only) and Zeus.ai Clean Room (GPT-5) (272K, images and PDFs) — running entirely inside the SiteZeus Azure tenant. Contact your account team to enable.
- Claude Opus 4.8 / Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic): 1M context, images + PDFs, strong reasoning; Opus is the most capable, Sonnet is the fast balanced pick.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 (Anthropic): 200K context, fastest and cheapest Claude option.
- GPT-5.5 / GPT-5.4 / GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI): 1M context each, images + PDFs + URL fetch.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro / Gemini 3.5 Flash (Google): 1M context, full multimodal (audio + video input).
Some model families require admin activation on your account. The default is a good starting point. Switch when you have a specific reason — audio/video input, very long-context document handling, or Clean Room data residency for compliance.
Q: Can I upload files to the AI?
A: Yes! Click the attach button (📎) to upload:
- Images (.jpg, .png, .gif, .webp)
- Documents (.pdf)
- Text files (.txt, .csv)
- Audio files (.mp3, .wav, .m4a)
- Video files (.mp4, .mov, .webm)
Max 20MB per file, up to 10 files per message. Then ask a question about the uploaded content.
Q: How do I reference a specific location in my question?
A: Use the @ mention feature:
- Type @ in the chat input
- Select a location from the dropdown
- The location appears as a tagged reference
- Continue typing your question
Example: "What's the Zeustimate for @Highland Park Store?"
Q: What does "Your Zeus.ai session expired" mean in chat?
A: This message appears when a chat action (such as opening a project, fetching data, or running a search) encounters an expired authentication token. The action did not complete.
To recover:
- Refresh the page (Ctrl+R / Cmd+R)
- If the error persists, log out and log back in
- Retry your request
Session expiry typically happens after long inactivity or when a browser tab remains open without reloading for an extended period.
Q: Can I use voice input?
A: Yes! Click the microphone button (🎤) to speak your question. Works best in Chrome. Allow microphone access when prompted.
Technical Questions
Q: The page is loading slowly. What should I do?
A:
- Check your internet connection
- Try zooming in to load fewer locations
- Use filters to reduce visible locations
- Refresh the page
- Try a different browser (Chrome recommended)
Q: I see a "New version available" banner. What does it mean?
A: This notification appears when a Zeus.ai update was deployed while your browser tab was already open. Zeus.ai checks for new deploys in the background — roughly once per minute and whenever you return to the tab after it has been in the background. When a newer version is detected, the banner appears right away without waiting for a navigation error.
To apply the update, click the Reload button in the notification. Zeus.ai will navigate you to the page you were on (or were trying to reach) using the new build. If you dismiss the banner without clicking Reload, navigation to some pages may fail until you manually refresh the tab (Ctrl+R / Cmd+R).
Q: I'm seeing an error message. What should I do?
A:
- Note the error message
- Refresh the page
- If it persists, try clearing browser cache
- Contact support with the error details
Q: My changes aren't saving. What's wrong?
A: It depends on the type of change:
- Analytics view layout changes (section order, display settings, add/hide/pin sections) do not auto-save. Look for the floating "X unsaved view changes" bar at the bottom of the Location Analytics or Shape Analytics tab and click Save view to persist them. If you reloaded the page before saving, the draft is gone -- re-apply and save.
- Most other settings (map position, filter state, collapse/expand state, etc.) save automatically. If they are not persisting, check your internet connection and try refreshing the page.
Q: Why can't I enable certain features?
A: Some features depend on:
- Map theme: 3D mode requires Vector/Satellite themes; POI controls require Raster themes
- Data availability: Some analytics need sufficient portfolio data
- Permissions: Your account may have access restrictions
Mobile Questions
Q: Where did the controls go on mobile?
A: On mobile, some controls move:
- Back button: Top-left of screen
- Profile: Top-right of screen
- Project name: Top-center
- Chat bar: Bottom of screen (simplified)
Q: How do I rotate the map on mobile?
A: Use two-finger rotate gesture (only works when 3D mode is enabled).
Q: Why does the panel take up the whole screen?
A: On mobile, workspace content opens in an expanded bottom-sheet style container for better usability.
Have a question not listed here? Just ask the AI assistant directly!