Glossary
AI SDR
An AI SDR is software that does the work of a sales development representative with AI: it finds and researches prospects, writes and sends personalized outreach, handles replies and books meetings, with varying levels of human review.
What Is AI SDR?
In short IBM describes an AI SDR as a software system that uses AI to perform the early, top-of-funnel stages of the sales process.
In practice it chains the SDR's steps: pull accounts that match an ideal customer profile, find and verify contacts, research each one, write and send a sequence over email and often LinkedIn, sort replies and hand interested prospects to an account executive. Some products run the whole chain on their own; others draft and wait for approval.
The case for AI SDRs is coverage: software can work every account in a territory at once. The risks are a careless human SDR's risks at higher volume: generic copy, contacts who do not fit and burned sending domains. Targeting, data accuracy and deliverability decide results more than the AI does.
AI SDR Example
For example, a company targets 2,000 operations leaders at mid-size manufacturers. The AI SDR verifies 1,600 emails, sends a four-step sequence over three weeks and gets 48 replies. It routes the 14 interested replies to the account executive's calendar and suppresses 9 opt-outs, while a human SDR reviews the copy every week.
AI SDR in Practice
Teams that get value keep people on strategy and judgment. A person defines the ICP and offer, approves the messaging, watches reply quality and takes the meetings. Salesforce positions AI SDRs as assistants to human reps rather than replacements, and IBM notes that human SDRs handle ambiguity and complex situations better.
FAQ
What does an AI SDR do?
Top-of-funnel work: finding and researching prospects, sending personalized outreach, following up, qualifying replies, booking meetings and passing qualified leads to an account executive with a summary.
Can an AI SDR replace a human SDR?
Not fully. Salesforce says AI SDRs are designed to assist human reps, not replace them, and IBM notes that people handle ambiguity and complex conversations better. Most teams use AI for volume and people for judgment and live conversations.
How is an AI SDR different from a sequencing tool?
A sequencing tool sends the steps you set to the list you load. An AI SDR also decides parts of the work, such as whom to contact, what to say to each person and what to do after a reply.
Which channels do AI SDRs use?
IBM lists email, chat and SMS, plus LinkedIn, as channels AI SDRs work in. IBM also lists inbound qualification next to outbound prospecting, so some AI SDRs answer website leads as well.
Do This in Ken
Do This in Ken
Ken covers the core SDR steps: Ken Search finds contacts among 250M people and 24M companies, Campaigns run email and LinkedIn sequences, and replies come into Inbox.
- Module
- Campaigns
- Open in Ken
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The new Ken opens to the waiting list in batches.
Related
Sources
| Source | Checked |
|---|---|
| IBM: What is an AI SDR? | |
| Salesforce: What is an AI SDR? |
Changelog
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