Solink Spot Check allows you to create custom, reoccurring prompts for your cameras using our Sidekick AI, which uses generative AI to interpret images.

With Spot Check you can detect people, objects and scenarios to help you monitor key aspects of your business on every camera - all you need to do is provide the instructions.

Spot Check is currently in beta and available in the Solink platform. Please contact our Support team at 1-888-335-9844 or via live chat if you wish to join the beta.

The AI provides a response to your prompt at a set interval and continues to generate a response until a certain number of occurrences, which you can configure directly from the Spot Check menu.

For example, you can create a Spot Check to run every 3 hours at one of your locations that asks the question: "Are there any employees looking at their phone in the store?" or "Is there an employee providing active service to customers?".

Some more examples of prompts Spot Check is capable of responding to include:

Whether an aisle in your store is accessible or blocked by an object.
If employees are providing active service to customers or are not providing any customer service at a given time.
If security guards are present or absent from their posts.
Whether the store is opened later or earlier than usual.

Prompts use one frame as visual context from all of the selected cameras at one of your locations OR all of the selected cameras in a designated camera group.

See the following video for a quick demo of Scheduled Spot Check:

Note: More Spot Check use cases are available below in the Spot Check Use Cases and Examples section.

How Scheduled Spot Checks Work

Spot Check scans all of the cameras at the location or in the camera group and answers the question based on that moment in time.

Spot Check uses Sidekick AI to assess your prompts and create responses.

Consult this guide for more information on best practices for creating Sidekick prompts.

Please note: Spot Check is not designed to respond to prompts that measure tasks, actions etc. over a period of time, including:

Calculating speed of service.
Evaluating order accuracy.
Real-time theft detection.
Speed of travel.

Spot Check Monthly Limits

Please note there is a monthly limit on the number of spot checks you can use. You can refer to the monthly limit - which resets at the beginning of each month - at the bottom of the spot check menu:

The following chart provides a breakdown of how your monthly balance is impacted based on the frequency you run spot checks at and the number of cameras per spot check:

Note: The monthly limit does not rollover month-to-month. The monthly limit resets to your maximum amount at the beginning of each month.

Create a Spot Check

To create a Spot Check, first access the Spot Check menu:

Navigate to the Events page in the Solink platform.
Select the AI tab at the top of the page.
Select the Spot Check button.

Once the Spot Check window opens, you can configure the following:

Select either Locations or Camera Groups to choose which camera(s) you want Sidekick to evaluate.
Select the corresponding location or camera group.
(Optional): Choose which cameras from the selected location or camera group you want to include in the Spot Check:
If applicable, choose the correct time zone to ensure Spot Check runs within the appropriate time zone.
Select the start date and time - in the next step you will decide when this Spot Check will repeat based on the selected start date and time.
Choose an interval for the Sidekick message to repeat - for example, if you select “every 6 hours”, the message will be sent to Sidekick and the AI will evaluate the selected cameras every 6 hours, starting from the date and time you specified. You can also select Does Not Repeat to send the message once.
1. If applicable, select the Active Week Days you want Spot Check to run on.
2. If applicable, select the date of Expiration for the Spot Check OR the number of Spot Check Occurrences before it expires.
Type an Activity Title for the Spot Check. The Activity Title is the name of the event when it generates on the Events page. With an Activity Title, you can easily filter out all the other events that you yourself didn't create or do not need to see.
Create a Prompt. Consult this guide for help with creating good prompts that will gather effective responses. Additionally, see Spot Check Use Cases and Examples for a list of suggested prompts by use case.
Type a Response Format to ensure Sidekick responds to your prompt as clearly and effectively as possible. For example, in the Response Format field you could type:
- Provide the Location name in the response.
- Location, Camera, aisle cluttered = yes or no
- Provide people count = number in the response.
AI responses are not always consistent, so ensure to write an effective Response Format to give predictability to your answers.
(Optional) Select Preview to generate an immediate preview of your Scheduled Spot Check (an event card will generate automatically on the Events page). When you're ready, select Save to create the Spot Check.

Preview Spot Check Responses

Scheduled Spot Check generates responses on the Events page in the Solink platform.

Before saving a Scheduled Spot Check, it is highly recommended to preview. Select Preview to generate a "preview" event - this allows you to review an example of your Scheduled Spot Check before creating it.

Edit and Filter Scheduled Spot Checks

To locate your Spot Check events, select the Spot Check tab in the top-right corner of the Events page:

Use the following filters to further enhance your search for Scheduled Spot Check events:

Activity Title: This filter allows you to search for the name of the Scheduled Spot Check event. You assign the Activity Title during Scheduled Spot Check creation.

Spot Check Answers: Use this filter to search for the response text in the Scheduled Spot Check event card. For example, if you specified a certain format for the response - respond with "active service" or "inactive service" - you can use this filter to search for either of those terms and locate the corresponding Scheduled Spot Check event.

Once you have located a Spot Check event, you can review the prompt and answer within the event card. Select Show Prompt to show the original prompt:

To edit a Scheduled Spot Check:

Select the More Options (three dots) icon in the Spot Check event card.
Select Edit Spot Check to launch the Scheduled Spot Check configuration window. From here you can edit any of the parameters for your Scheduled Spot Check:

Spot Check Use Cases and Examples

The following table provides a list of example prompts you can create for Scheduled Spot Checks, based on various goals you may have depending on the industry you operate in.

Spot Check Goal	Suggested Prompt Text
Track Late Prep Employee Arrival	Prompt: Determine if at least one employee has arrived to begin preparing the restaurant for customers. Response Format: Prep = on time/late
Track Late Store Opening	Prompt: Determine if the restaurant is open and ready to serve customers. Employees should be in uniform, the donut display case should be stocked and employees should be in customer facing areas of the restaurant. Response Format: "Ready for customers" if all criteria are met, otherwise respond with "not ready for customers"
Track Early Store Closure	Prompt: Determine if the restaurant is open and ready to serve customers. Lights should be on in all areas of the restaurant and employees should be in customer-facing areas of the restaurant. Response Format: If the restaurant appears closed, respond with "early closure", otherwise respond with "open for business"
Check for Dirty Tables in Restaurant	Prompt: Carefully inspect images of the restaurant for dining tables that are not clean and ready for new customers. List only the locations with vacant dining tables which have garbage or food packaging left on the tables indicating the tables are not ready for new customers. Response Format: Respond with Dirty Tables = Yes or No, Store location, number of tables that requiring cleaning
Check How Many Customers are Awaiting Service	Prompt: Carefully inspect images of the restaurant to determine if there are customers awaiting service. It is likely customers will be waiting but there is no cashier present behind the counter. Take your time and double check that the people you count are standing in line waiting to be served. Response Format: Customers Awaiting Service = Yes/No
Check Hourly for Clear Aisles	Prompt: Carefully inspect images of aisles in the store to determine if the aisles are fully or partially blocked or impassable by abandoned objects such as shopping carts, fallen merchandise, dollies, boxes…etc. Patrons must have at least 3 feet width throughout egress of the aisle. Response Format: If any aisle is blocked or impassable, respond with "Aisle obstruction detected" otherwise respond with "All clear"
Check for Customer Service Desk Clerk	Prompt: Determine if an employee is standing behind the customer service desk waiting or actively serving customers. Response Format: If there is no employee behind the customer service desk respond with "inactive service", otherwise respond with "active service"
Check Storage Container Door State	Prompt: Carefully inspect the shipping containers to determine if all of the doors on each shipping container have been fully closed. Response Format: Door state = open or closed
Tire Room Safety Monitor	Prompt: Carefully inspect the image for people in the tire room. Determine if a person has fallen or is sleeping on the floor. Response Format: If a person is detected and appears to have fallen, respond with "irregular activity". If no people are detected to have fallen, respond with "regular activity".

Alarm Schedule Exceptions

Alarm FAQs

Alarm Events with Video Verification

Spot Check with Sidekick AI

Creating Prompts for Sidekick