# Run an enrichment

An enrichment runs when MAIA's main agent starts it or when you do. The agent tests a new column on a few rows before it runs the rest. You choose the rows yourself, from one cell to the whole list.

Updated: 2026-09-30. Source: https://maia-analytics.com/docs/enrichments/run-an-enrichment

## What you end with

A column in which every row you chose holds a value, its reasoning, and its sources, or reads **Unavailable** where nothing supported an answer.

![A table of ten rows. The Property Owner column is filled with company names, and the two enrichment columns beside it, Owner Occupied and Owner Contact Info, show an Enrich button in every cell.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/table-enrich-buttons@2x.png)

A researched column before it runs. Each empty cell offers an Enrich button.

An enrichment starts in one of two ways, and the research is the same either way. See [Enrichments](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/enrichments/overview).

## When the agent runs it

You state what you want to know. The main agent defines the column, picks the kind, and decides how many rows to attempt.

### It tests before it scales

Before it runs, the agent says how many rows it will try and why.

| Scope | Rows | The question it answers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Probe | One | Does this column work at all? |
| Sample | A few | Are these the answers you wanted? |
| Full layer | Every row still without an answer | Run it on everything |

A new column's first run is a probe or a sample. The agent judges the sample itself, corrects the column if it needs to, and samples again before it runs the full layer. A badly worded question costs a few rows, not ten thousand. Read the sample rows yourself before you approve the full run.

- A sample is the first eligible rows in order. It is not random.
- You can name the rows instead. A handful of named rows run directly.

![The chat with View activity expanded. MAIA's actions read, in part: I found 32 owner-user candidates. I'm narrowing to 18 strong corporate, healthcare, manufacturing, and nonprofit operators, then testing them in one batch to produce ten true matches.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/chat-activity@2x.png)

The agent says how many rows it will try and why, before it runs the rest.

### It asks before a large run

A run above your row limit stops on an approval card. The card names the column and the row count, and says that the run spends credits. You choose **Approve** or **Decline**. You set the row limit on your profile page, under **Auto-enrich**. Set it to 0 to be asked every time. The workspace sets a default for everyone who has not set their own.

![The Auto-enrich preference on the Profile tab. It reads: Rows MAIA may enrich while it answers you, before it checks with you first. Rows count once for each column, so 5 rows in 2 columns is 10. Use 0 to be asked every time. A field holds 10.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/profile-auto-enrich@2x.png)

Your row limit is the Auto-enrich setting on your profile. Rows count once per column.

The approval card is described on [Dispatch](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/dispatch).

## When you run it

### Add the column

1. Choose **Add enrichment** above the table.
2. Type the name of the column you want to see, such as Owner contact info. MAIA configures the column from the name.
3. Wait for the column's **Enrich** menu to open. It is ready when it does.

![The New enrichment popover, opened from the Enrichment button above the table. It reads: Type the name of the new column you want to see, and we'll automatically create it, above a field labelled Enter enrichment name.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/add-enrichment@2x.png)

Add enrichment asks for the column's name. MAIA configures the rest.

### Run the column

1. Filter and sort the table first. The **Enrich** menu runs the list as you see it, in the order you see it, so filter first and you enrich only the rows you care about.
2. Open the column's menu and choose **Enrich**.
3. Pick how many rows.

| Option | What runs |
| --- | --- |
| First 10 in list | The first ten rows the column has not tried yet |
| First 100 in list | The first hundred |
| All in list | Every row the column has not tried yet |
| Custom | A count you type |
| Re-run unavailable rows | Only the rows that came back Unavailable |

> **Note:** **All in list** on an unfiltered table runs the whole layer, and every row spends credits. MAIA asks you to confirm a large batch before it starts, and one batch has a maximum size. Above it, MAIA runs the first rows and leaves the rest for the next batch.

![The column menu open on an enrichment column named Owner Contact Info. The Enrich item is highlighted and its submenu lists First 10 in list, First 100 in list, All in list, Custom, and Re-run unavailable rows.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/column-menu-enrich@2x.png)

The Enrich menu and its five options.

### Run one row

Choose **Enrich** in an empty cell to research that row alone. The same button appears on the place's panel on the map, where **Enrich all values** runs every column the place is still missing.

Choose **Retry** on a filled cell to research it again. The row spends credits again, and the new value replaces the old one. If the re-run fails, the old value stays.

![A place's panel on the map, headed FedEx Ground, with its menu open. The menu lists Enrich all values (2) and Add note.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/place-panel-menu@2x.png)

A place's panel on the map. Enrich all values runs every column the place is still missing.

## Three controls on how many rows run

| Control | Who it applies to | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Your row limit | The agent | Above it, the agent stops on an approval card before it researches |
| The large-batch confirmation | You | Above it, MAIA asks you to confirm before the batch starts |
| The batch maximum | You | One batch runs at most this many rows. Run the column again for the rest |

## Rows that are never run twice

A run skips any row that already has a value, came back Unavailable, is in flight, or was edited by you. A sample followed by a full run covers only what the sample did not.

Change the question and every row is eligible again. Change only the column's name and nothing runs again.

## While it runs

Rows run in parallel as background jobs. They fill in as they finish, and they keep running after you close the project. To stop a run in progress, stop it from the chat. See [Dispatch](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/dispatch).

## When credits run short

MAIA checks your balance before a run starts. When the balance covers only part of the run, MAIA offers to run the rows you can afford. See [Out of credits](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/billing/out-of-credits).

## Limits

- **No automatic retry.** Use **Re-run unavailable rows**.
- **Your edits are kept.** A run never overwrites a cell you changed by hand.