Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Can Apex Compliance scan any website?

Apex Compliance should work on most websites. For extremely large websites like Amazon, the program does not allow entire website searching, and it defaults to search the exact URL instead. Some website security measures block bots.  If this is the case, please ask your IT team to whitelist this IP address. 34.171.73.83

Can I run multiple scans at one time?

You can run as many scans as you want, but newer scans may run slower.

Document & OCR Scanning

You can choose to run a Document Scan or OCR Scan.

  • A document scan reads the actual written text in a document. Use this for DocX, Word, and Excel files. Soon, you will be able to upload up to ten files at a time.
  • An OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scan converts images of text into machine-readable text. Use this for images and PDFs. Soon, you will be able to upload up to ten files at a time.

Does Apex Compliance work on social media?

Currently, we can only scan YouTube videos and YouTube channels (250 most recent videos), but we are working on a solution for other social media platforms.

Does Apex Compliance work on spreadsheets and PDFs?

Apex Compliance works on spreadsheets and PDFs, but it is suggested to upload a Word or Docx documents for the best experience. Here’s a video about this.

Error message when entering keyword risk rating: STATUS_STACK_OVERFLOW

This is a localized issue that can be fixed by updating your browser (e.g., Chrome) and restarting. If this does not work for some reason try clearing your cache and inactivating browser extensions. Email us if we can be of any help. Support@ApexComplianceProgram.com

How did you develop your keyword risk rating system?

This system provides general guidance on five categories of risk, ranging from lowest to highest. Each category has descriptions to help categorize risk, but updating the risk rating is a company preference, as companies may approach risk differently. The ultimate responsibility and decision are up to you, but our risk categories may help inform your decision. Here’s a video about this.

How do I add a new keyword?

To add a new keyword, click on “All Keywords” on the left of your screen, then click on the “New Keyword” button. Here is a video tutorial.

How do I scan a document?

To scan a document, click on the “Scan Documents” button at the top of your dashboard. You then give the project a name and upload your file. Apex Compliance works best with documents such as Word or Docx files. Here is a video tutorial.  It also works on spreadsheets and PDFs but it is always suggested to upload Word or Docx documents for the best experience. Here’s a video about this.

How do I use keyword lists?

Keyword lists are a core functionality of the program. You can use one or more keyword lists to search websites, YouTube videos, or content before publishing. Here’s a short video about this.

How does “Search For Exact Match” work?

This allows you to search for an exact word or acronym and nothing else. For example, entering the keyword “HIV” and clicking the “Search For Exact Match” button” will only flag “HIV” but will not look for words that have “HIV” in the word, such as “archive.” This helps narrow your search.

How does “Smart Suggestion” work?

Smart Suggestion is an Apex Compliance feature that helps you choose alternative words and phrases. Smart Suggestions will automatically populate. If you don’t see suggestions you like, please add an example of compliant suggestions and click “Reload.”  This directs the AI to provide results specific to your prompt. Here is a video tutorial. Our AI is trained on compliance principles, but AI is not perfect, so please ensure you are comfortable with the suggestions and that you have substantiation.

How to create and manage keyword lists.

Creating and managing keyword lists is easy. Some companies make keyword lists for different countries and regulations. Here’s a short video tutorial.

How to share keyword lists.

We love this feature. Click on “Keywords Lists” on the left side of your dashboard and choose the keyword list to download. Click the download symbol and then share the list. To upload the list click the “Import List” button at the top right of your screen and upload the file. The keywords, variances, possible suggestions, and notes will be added to your account.  Here’s a tutorial video.

Is there a limit to the website size that can be searched?

Apex Compliance can search up to ~48,000 web pages. For extremely large websites like Amazon, the program does not allow complete website searching, and it defaults to search the exact URL search instead. Please note that some websites are slow to respond to our inquiries, which means some website scans may take 12+ hours to complete. We understand this may be frustrating, but we are limited by how “responsive” the website is. Eventually, all scans do complete, but some may take several hours.

Media scans

This media scan feature allows you to upload audio or video files for keyword scanning. We find this helpful for reviewing files such as influencer content before posting. Currently, we are limiting this to files up to 15 minutes but we will continue to improve this offering. This is in beta, but please send us your feedback so we can continue to improve it. support@apexcomplianceprogram.com

Running a YouTube Channel Scan

YouTube channel scans will scan the most recent 250 videos. Please enter that YouTube channel ID (e.g., @AsaWaldstein) to conduct a channel scan. At this time, we are unable to scan YouTube Shorts.

Scanning website images and embedded videos

Apex Compliance is now able to scan most website images and some embedded videos. Currently, this only works when selecting the Exact URL website scan option rather than the Entire Website search option. Please note that Apex Compliance is not able to scan all types of website-embedded videos and images at this time, but we are looking to add more functionality.

Text Scan Feature

This allows you to quickly review and update text rather than uploading a file. Simply paste or write in your text, choose the keywords to search, and click scan. We love this feature for quickly reviewing text and utilizing Apex Compliance’s AI to help you develop possible compliant marketing copy. Here is a short video about this.

What are keyword “exceptions”?

Keyword exceptions allow you to exclude certain words or phrases from your search. For example, if your keyword was “cancer” but you wanted to omit results with this term in a Prop 65 warning, you would add the phrase “known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity” in the “Add Exceptions” section of the keyword “cancer”.

What are keyword “variances” and how does the AI feature “Smart Variance” work?

Keyword variances are words and phrases similar to your primary keyword. When conducting a search, Apex Compliance will flag and categorize keyword variances under your primary keyword. You can manually add variances, and you can also use Apex Compliance’s AI to help suggest options.

Why do some website scans take so long?

Some websites are slow to respond to our inquiries, which means some poorly responsive and large website scans may take 12+ hours to complete. We understand this may be frustrating, but we are limited by how “responsive” the website is. Eventually, all scans do complete, but some may take several hours.

Why won’t my website scan work?

Some website security measures block bots. Please ask your IT team to whitelist this IP address. 34.171.73.83