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

# Menu recognition issues

> Fixes for when the AI can't find menu items, invents items, or gets specials and menu hours wrong.

For misheard or mispronounced item names, see [Speech recognition limits](https://docs.maple.inc/help/troubleshooting/ai-voice-recognition-limitations-and-workarounds.md) and [Pronunciation fixes](https://docs.maple.inc/help/troubleshooting/fixing-ai-pronunciation-of-restaurant-and-menu-names.md). For menus that didn’t sync, see [Menu sync issues](https://docs.maple.inc/help/troubleshooting/menu-sync-troubleshooting.md).

## The AI says an item doesn’t exist

Usually the item isn’t properly linked or categorized in your POS, is marked unavailable or hidden, didn’t sync, or sits in an unlinked category the AI can’t reach.

1. In your POS (for example Toast), check the item is active, visible and in the right menu section.
2. Check every menu category is linked. The AI can’t find items in unlinked categories.
3. If the menu changed recently, click **Resync Menu** on the **Menus** page, or ask Maple support to confirm the sync finished.
4. Turn back on items that were switched off, such as a returning seasonal item or a daily special left inactive.
5. Call your AI number and ask for the item.

## The AI mentions items or services you don’t offer

This is hallucination: the AI fills gaps in your menu or profile, for example offering a “chocolate chip cheesecake”, delivery or parking you don’t have.

1. Check every item in your POS has an accurate name, description and availability. Wrong POS data is the most common cause.
2. Check services (dine-in, takeout, delivery), parking and alcohol are correct in **My Location** and in your **Knowledge** entries.
3. Turn off discontinued items in your POS.
4. If it continues after your data is correct, send Maple support the item mentioned and the date and time of the call.

## Customers use different names

The AI matches requests against your item names, so “fried chicken sandwich” may not match “Peri-Peri Chicken Sandwich”, or “House Fried Rice” may not match “Combination Fried Rice”.

- In your POS, add the names customers use to the item description. For “Smash Burger”, note that callers may just say “burger” and should be asked about 1 or 2 patties.
- Add aliases on the **Knowledge** page (**All Entries** → **Add entry**), or ask Maple support to add them.
- If customers use both an English and a non-English name (“Chicken in Cream Sauce” and “Pollo a la Crema”), add both.

## Large menus

Very large menus can make the AI slow or inaccurate, return only part of a category (3 appetizers out of 10), or in extreme cases stop responding. POS syncs can also time out.

1. Ask Maple support to confirm your full menu was imported.
2. Turn off items rarely ordered by phone, or that need complex customization better handled by staff.
3. Organize items into clear categories.
4. Turn off inactive and seasonal items.
5. For a particularly large menu, ask support for advice on your menu structure.

## Specials and menu hours

The AI may offer a daily special without saying it’s only on certain days, mix a special up with a regular item (“Fried Chicken” vs “Chicken Fried Chicken”), or say items don’t exist when their menu hasn’t started yet (telling a 3 p.m. caller there are no desserts when dinner starts at 4 p.m.).

1. In your POS, mark specials with the days and times they’re available.
2. Make brunch, lunch, dinner and weekend menus separate menus with their own hours, in your POS or on Maple’s **Menus** page (edit a menu → **Availability**). If you set hours in Maple, turn on **Keep Maple menu hours on POS resync** so a resync doesn’t replace them.
3. Add knowledge base entries saying when specials run (for example “Friday afternoon through Sunday”).
4. If the AI says an item doesn’t exist instead of “not available yet”, send support the date and time of the call.

## Different answers on different calls

If the AI lists different pizza sizes, or says wine is available on one call and not the next, the cause is usually changes still syncing, knowledge base entries that contradict your POS, or a partial menu sync.

1. Keep menu items, hours and availability in your POS as the single source of truth.
2. After a POS change, let it sync before testing.
3. Remove or fix knowledge base entries that contradict your POS.
4. Ask the same question 2–3 times. If answers differ, note them and send them to support.

## Items you sell that aren’t on your menu

The AI only knows the menu data it has. If staff make items that aren’t in your POS (an off-menu chicken egg roll, say):

1. Add every orderable item to your POS, even if it’s not on your printed or website menu.
2. To have the AI describe an item that isn’t in your POS, add a **Knowledge** entry or ask support to. Items only in the knowledge base can be described but not ordered.
3. Keep your website menu current, since it may have been used as a source during setup.

When you contact [support](https://docs.maple.inc/need-help.md), include the item names, what the customer said and what the AI answered, the date and time of the call, and any recent POS or menu changes.