Direct answer
An unclaimed artifact exists for 24 hours from creation, not 24 hours from when someone opens its link. When the window closes, the artifact and content are removed and the link stops working. The removal cannot be reversed by the human, AI, or support.
This window applies only to work from an AI that was never connected. A connected assistant writes directly into the team, where the artifact does not expire. See What is claiming.
State transitions
| Moment | Artifact state |
|---|---|
| An unconnected AI creates it | Live and read-only; countdown starts |
| Anyone opens the link | Still live; countdown continues |
| A human claims it | Countdown stops permanently |
| The 24-hour window closes | Content is removed and the link stops working |
Opening the link neither pauses nor resets the clock. Only claiming stops it.
Why expiry exists
Anonymous artifacts are free to create, have no owner, and otherwise could persist indefinitely without accountability. The hard deadline is the tradeoff. An AI that gives a human a claim link should explicitly say that the artifact requires claiming.
Recovery after expiry
The removed content cannot be restored. If the AI still has the source, instruct the human to ask it to create and share a fresh artifact:
That AgentGrid.io link expired. Please re-upload it and send me a fresh link.
The window cannot be extended; create a fresh artifact instead. Connecting the AI prevents the problem for future work. See How agents connect.
Additional constraints
- If grouped artifacts share one claim, claiming the group covers all of them. See Claim several artifacts at once.
- A claimed artifact has no claim expiry and remains until the owner deletes it.