# Person Search: what you can type

Source: https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/person-search-inputs
Last updated: 2026-09-28

Person Search reads one line of free text and works out what you meant. This
topic is a closer look at exactly what you can type into that field and what
it does with each kind of input. For the search-and-pick flow itself, what a
last-name-only or group search does, see "[Person Search](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/person-search)"; for what to do when
nothing turns up, see "[Person not found — what now?](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/not-found-what-now)".

## What works

- **Name + company** — "Satya Nadella, Microsoft" or "Smith, Goldman Sachs".
  This is the most reliable input and goes through the candidate picker, since
  a name alone can belong to several people.
- **Name + city** — "Jane Doe, Ulm" is read as a name with a place, not a
  company: a recognized city or town without a legal suffix (GmbH, Inc, Ltd
  and similar) becomes the location instead. Add the company too if you know
  it, for a tighter match.
- **Email address** — an exact identifier. There's nobody to choose between,
  so ListPlus skips the candidate picker and loads a result for that address
  directly.
- **Company domain** — also an exact identifier. With no person to
  disambiguate, ListPlus loads the company's profile directly instead of a
  picker.
- **LinkedIn profile URL** — also an exact identifier; same direct-load
  behaviour.
- **A role question** — "current CEO of BMW" is understood as a role at a
  company. ListPlus still shows the matches before loading anything. When web
  sources confirm who holds the role, the picker says "These people match
  your question" (or "Is this the person you mean?" for one); otherwise you
  see the usual "Which person do you mean?".
- **An e-mail signature** — paste a whole signature block; name, role,
  company and phone are picked out of it. Because the search field is a
  single line, a pasted multi-line text is joined into one line with commas
  automatically.

The field's placeholder reads "Name, company, email or LinkedIn URL". The
example cards under **Try an example** fill in "Satya Nadella, Microsoft",
"CFO at HubSpot", "hubspot.com" or a LinkedIn profile URL; the E-mail address
and E-mail signature cards leave the field for you to paste your own (see
"[Person Search](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/person-search)").

## What does not work

- **A last name on its own** isn't enough to return candidates — see "Person
  Search" for what to add instead.
- **Dictation / voice input.** Person Search has no microphone or dictate
  button; type your search instead. Dictation is available elsewhere in
  ListPlus — Segment Search (Segmentsuche), AI Research and the Inbox (Eingang) —
  just not here.
- **A description of a group of people**, such as "marketing managers in
  London", is offered to Segment Search instead — see "[Person Search](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/person-search)" for that
  handoff.

## Related topics

See "[Person Search](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/person-search)" for the full search-and-pick flow and what a profile
costs, and "[Person not found — what now?](https://listplus.ai/en/help/find-contacts/not-found-what-now)" for tightening a search that comes
up empty.

## FAQ

### Can I search by name and city?

Yes — "Jane Doe, Ulm" is read as a name with a place, since a known city or town without a legal suffix is recognized as a location rather than a company. Add the company name too if you know it, for a tighter match.

### What do I get when I search a company domain?

A company domain has no person to disambiguate, so ListPlus skips the candidate picker and loads the company's profile directly instead. If you're looking for someone at that company, search by their name and the company instead.

### What happens when I paste an email address?

An email address is also an exact identifier, so ListPlus skips the picker and loads a result for that address right away. If it doesn't already know who's behind it, use the "Contact Profile (by Email)" add-on to look up their name and other details.

### Can I paste an e-mail signature into Person Search?

Yes — paste the whole signature into the search field; name, role, company and phone are picked out of it. The field is a single line, so a multi-line paste is joined into one line with commas automatically. Then click Search and pick the right person as usual.

### Can I dictate my search into Person Search?

No — Person Search has no dictation or voice-input button, so type your search into the field. Dictation is available on Segment Search (Segmentsuche), AI Research and the Inbox (Eingang) instead.

### What's a "role question" and how is it different from a name search?

A role question like "current CEO of BMW" names a position at a company instead of a person's name. ListPlus still shows the matches before loading anything. When web sources confirm who holds the role, the picker says "These people match your question" (or "Is this the person you mean?" for one); otherwise you see the usual "Which person do you mean?".

### I typed an email or LinkedIn URL — why didn't I get to pick from a list?

An email address, a company domain and a LinkedIn profile URL are exact identifiers with nobody to choose between, so ListPlus loads that result straight onto the page instead of showing the "Which person do you mean?" picker.

### Does understanding my input cost credits?

No — reading your input and listing matching people is free. Charges start when a profile loads its basics or you run an add-on; see "[Person Search: basics and profile add-ons](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/price-list-profile-add-ons)" for what each costs.