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

# FAQ & troubleshooting

> Quick answers to the most common questions.

Short answers to the questions we hear most often, grouped by topic. Every answer links to the full page if you want the detail behind it.

## Scores

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why does my score say 'Awaiting first scan'?">
    It means no scan has run yet, so there's nothing to score — not that your visibility is zero. Every brand needs one free baseline scan before a real number appears. Run yours from the dashboard checklist, or see [Scan schedule & cadence](/scans/scan-schedule) for how the baseline works.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is my score 0?">
    A real 0 means you've been scanned and your brand wasn't mentioned in any tracked run — genuinely different from "Awaiting first scan," which means no scan has happened at all. Surfais shows a true zero gently as "No visibility yet" rather than an alarming score. See [Why scores move](/metrics/why-scores-move#awaiting-data-vs-a-real-zero) for the full distinction.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why did my score drop?">
    Usually one of two things: a genuine change in how AI platforms answer your prompts, or a change in what you're measuring — adding prompts, competitors, or countries all change the denominator behind your score, which can look like a drop even when nothing about your actual visibility changed. Check whether your tracked scope changed in the same period before reading too much into a single move. See [Why scores move](/metrics/why-scores-move).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between the AIS Score and the Readiness Score?">
    The AIS Score asks "what do AI platforms say about me today?" — it's measured directly from live scan data. The Readiness Score asks "how well am I set up to earn AI citations?" — it comes from your audit, a separate assessment of your content and site structure. They're deliberately never merged into one number, and they can disagree. See [AIS Score vs Readiness Score](/metrics/ais-vs-readiness).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Scans

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why didn't my scan run today?">
    Automatic scans run on fixed weekdays that vary by plan — Starter and Growth on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, Scale adds Sunday, Enterprise daily. They also fire against the UTC calendar, not your local timezone, so a scan can land earlier or later in your day than you'd expect near the day boundary. Check [Scan schedule & cadence](/scans/scan-schedule) for your plan's exact days, or trigger a [manual scan](/scans/manual-scans) if you don't want to wait.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I ran a scan but my dashboard scores haven't updated yet.">
    That's expected while a scan is in flight — mentions appear live on the Mentions page as each platform finishes, but dashboard scores only update once every platform has completed, typically 5–10 minutes. A banner across the top of the app tells you a scan is still running. See [What happens in a scan](/scans/how-scans-work).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Audits

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why can't I run an audit yet?">
    New brands need a 14-day warm-up period of scan coverage before their first audit unlocks — there needs to be enough scan history for the audit to assess against. Once you're past warm-up, your plan's monthly audit allowance and cadence apply. See [Running your first audit](/audits/running-your-first-audit).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I've used my monthly audit allowance — can I still run one?">
    Yes, with a one-off audit credit. Every plan includes a monthly allowance, and extra audits are available to purchase individually beyond that. See [Extra audits & credits](/audits/extra-audits).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Search Console

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What does connecting Google Search Console unlock?">
    Two things: Coverage Gaps, which surfaces real organic search queries you already rank for that you haven't tracked as AI prompts yet, and a search-vs-AI comparison on your dashboard. See [Connecting Google Search Console](/search-console/connecting-gsc).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I turn a Coverage Gap into a tracked prompt?">
    Yes — select any number of gap queries and bulk-track them in one action from the Coverage Gaps page. Surfais creates a prompt for each, defaulted to your brand's primary market. See [Coverage gaps](/search-console/coverage-gaps).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Surfais work in my country?">
    Surfais tracks a wide range of markets, and each of the five AI platforms handles country targeting differently — some with a strong, infrastructure-level geo signal, others with a language-level hint. Check the country picker when adding a prompt for the current trackable list, and see [Countries & markets](/setup/countries) for how per-platform geo targeting works and your plan's country limit.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Billing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I change plans mid-cycle?">
    Upgrading is immediate — pick a plan and your new limits and scan cadence apply as soon as checkout completes. Downgrading is scheduled instead: you choose which brands to keep if you're over the new plan's brand cap, and the change takes effect at your next billing cycle, not immediately. See [Managing your subscription](/billing/subscription).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when I hit my prompt limit?">
    Surfais blocks the save and tells you you've hit your plan's prompt cap, rather than silently dropping the prompt or failing partway through a batch. Upgrading raises the cap, or you can free up space by removing prompts you're no longer using. See [Setting up your prompts](/setup/prompts#plan-limits).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I unsubscribe from emails?">
    Every onboarding and product-tips email includes a one-click unsubscribe link — no login required. Account and billing emails aren't affected, since those carry information about your account rather than marketing content. See [Email notifications](/billing/notifications) to manage preferences in-app instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I delete a prompt, and what happens to its history?">
    Deleting a prompt is permanent — Surfais asks you to confirm, and the confirmation is explicit that it also removes the prompt's scan history and mentions with it. If you might want that history later, pause the prompt (toggle it to Inactive) instead of deleting it; a paused prompt is skipped in future scans but stays in your library. See [Changing and removing prompts](/setup/prompts#changing-and-removing-prompts).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do you offer refunds?">
    This isn't something we can answer definitively here — get in touch through [Getting support](/billing/support) with your account details and what happened, and we'll look into it directly.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related pages

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Video library" href="/resources/video-library">
    Walkthrough videos for the topics above, as they're released.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Getting support" href="/billing/support">
    Open a ticket if your question isn't answered here.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Why scores move" href="/metrics/why-scores-move">
    The full detail behind most of the Scores section above.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Plans & limits" href="/billing/plans-limits">
    The full comparison table behind most of the Billing section above.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>