# AI Research always runs on the server

Source: https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/background-runs
Last updated: 2026-09-28

Every AI Research run works on the server, not in your browser. There's no
**In the background** checkbox anymore — you don't need one: a run keeps
searching when you close the tab or the window, switch tabs for a long time,
or your laptop sleeps. This article covers how long an unattended run keeps
going, how to resume it, and how long results stick around.

## About an hour before it pauses

A run doesn't run forever unattended — it keeps working for roughly an hour
on its own before pausing. After that, the header shows **Time limit
reached — results are kept**, and everything found so far is kept exactly
as it was.

## Resuming a run

A paused, stopped or finished run, or one marked **Stalled — no more
response from the run**, shows a **Resume** button — click it and the agent
picks up where it left off, searching for genuinely new matches instead of
repeating itself. Each Resume looks for up to 25 more matches and gives the
run a fresh block of unattended working time, so you can resume a run
several times, up to 200 matches per research. **Stop** ends a run at any
time and keeps everything found so far.

## Shared with your workspace

Researches belong to your workspace, so every member sees them on any
device they sign in on; a run a colleague started shows their name (for example "by Anna"). Runs
are charged to the workspace owner's credit balance. There's no fixed limit
on how many researches run at once — credits are the only limit.

## How long results are kept

A run and its matches are kept for 7 days counted from when it was started,
whatever its status — running, paused or finished — and are deleted
automatically once that window passes, so add anything you want to keep to
a list before then.

## Related topics

ai-research · write-a-good-research-brief · research-costs-and-sources ·
what-is-a-workspace.

## FAQ

### What happened to the "In the background" checkbox?

It's gone because every research now runs on the server automatically. A run keeps searching even after you close the tab or the window — there's nothing to turn on.

### What does "Time limit reached — results are kept" mean?

Your run used its roughly one hour of unattended working time and paused itself. Everything it found is kept; click Resume to give it another block of working time.

### How do I continue a paused research?

Click Resume on the run — the agent picks up where it stopped and searches for up to 25 new matches, excluding what it already found. Resume also works on a finished or stopped run, and each click gives it another block of unattended working time, up to 200 matches per research in total.

### Does resuming a research reset the 7-day clock?

No — the 7-day expiry is fixed to when the run was first started, and clicking Resume doesn't push it back. To keep matches beyond that, add them to a list or save them to a folder.

### What happens to a research if I close its tab?

Nothing — it keeps running on the server. Reopen Research later, on this or any other device you sign in on, to follow its progress and review its matches.

### What does "Stalled — no more response from the run" mean?

The run stopped reporting progress before it finished. Everything it found so far is kept — click Resume to continue.