# Provider: AI Research's web sources

Source: https://listplus.ai/en/help/data-sources-privacy-legal/provider-research-sources
Last updated: 2026-09-25

AI Research reads the open web while it looks for matches. This article
covers which sources it can reach and what's free versus paid; for exact
per-call pricing and how metering works, see "How is AI Research metered,
and what do paid sources cost?"

**What it delivers.** A free Google-powered web search, scoped on demand
to a specific site (Reddit, Hacker News, GitHub, LinkedIn or a company's
own domain) or left unscoped for press and team pages; a free news search
for announcements and funding news; a free, structured Hacker News search
(story and comment authors); a free page-reading tool that fetches the
text of any URL the agent finds (a forum thread, a team page, a GitHub
profile); and three opt-in paid sources: Reddit search, Twitter / X search
and a BuiltWith technology lookup, for posts, profiles and tech-stack data
those free sources don't otherwise surface well. Every match is also run
through a free LinkedIn check before it's returned.

**Where in ListPlus.** Runs automatically during every AI Research run;
Reddit search, Twitter / X search and the BuiltWith technology lookup only
run if you tick them under "Unlock additional sources (paid)" before
starting.

**Inputs needed.** The research brief you describe when starting a run —
AI Research builds its own search queries from it.

**Coverage & freshness.** Whatever is currently indexed or postable on
each site at the moment of the search — there's no stored copy or delay.

**Credits & charge rule.** Web search, news search, Hacker News search and
page reading are always free. Reddit search, Twitter / X search and the
BuiltWith technology lookup are billed per call, whether or not the call
finds anything; see "How is AI Research metered" for current rates.

**What the provider receives from us.** Only the search query the agent
builds for that one call, never your list or brief in full.

**Company seat, data location, legal basis.** Available on request from
support@listplus.ai.

**Caching.** Not cached — a research run searches live each time.

**Related topics:** research-costs-and-sources · ai-research ·
provider-google-search.

## FAQ

### Which web sources can AI Research search?

Google-powered web search (which it can scope to Reddit, Hacker News, GitHub, LinkedIn or a company's own site), a news search, a free Hacker News search, and a page-reading tool that fetches any URL it finds. Reddit, Twitter / X and a BuiltWith tech-stack lookup are three further, opt-in paid sources.

### Is there a dedicated GitHub source, or does it use web search?

There's no separate GitHub tool — the free web search is scoped to github.com when the agent judges that useful, the same way it scopes to Reddit or Hacker News.

### Are Reddit, X and BuiltWith free like the others?

No — those three are opt-in paid sources you unlock under "Unlock additional sources (paid)" before starting a run; every other source (web search, news, Hacker News, reading a page) is always free. Reddit search costs 6 credits per call, Twitter / X search costs 3 credits per call, and the BuiltWith technology lookup costs 0.25 credits per call, each charged whether or not it finds something. See "[AI, research and import costs](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/price-list-ai-research-imports)" for the current rates.

### How does AI Research read a company's own website or team page?

The same free page-reading tool that opens any URL the agent finds — it fetches the text of a team, about or press page once a search points to it.

### Does AI Research use a stored index, or search live each time?

Live each time. Every source reflects whatever's currently on the web or postable at the moment of the search, with no stored copy or delay.

### What does a source receive when AI Research calls it?

Only the search query the agent builds for that one call — never your full research brief or list.