AI SDR
AI SDR (Sales Development Representative) is an autonomous follow-up agent. Once enrolled, it works a lead on a smart cadence โ sending messages, reading replies, qualifying through real back-and-forth, handling objections, and booking a meeting or handing off to a human when the lead is hot.
It runs over any combination of email, SMS, and WhatsApp. It pauses the instant any human replies.
How AI SDR Worksโ
- A lead is enrolled (manually or via an Automation action).
- On every 15-minute cron tick, the agent checks each enrolled lead's state.
- The agent reads the conversation history and decides: send a message, wait, book a meeting, mark as hot, or stop.
- If the lead replies โ at any point โ the agent pauses immediately and flags the lead for human review.
- When a human rep replies from the inbox, the agent can be re-activated if desired, or the rep continues manually.
The AI decision engine is fail-closed: if the OpenAI API is unreachable or returns an error, the agent does nothing that tick and retries on the next cycle. It never sends a garbled message.
Enrolling a Leadโ
From the Lead Detail Pageโ
- Open the lead.
- Click Enroll in AI SDR.
- Select a goal (Qualify, Book Meeting, Nurture) and channels.
- Click Start.
From an Automationโ
Add the Enroll in AI SDR action to any automation. This is the recommended approach for high-volume workflows โ e.g., automatically enroll every new inbound lead from a specific form or lead source.
Enrollment Goalsโ
| Goal | What the Agent Tries to Do |
|---|---|
| Qualify | Learn the lead's budget, timeline, and need through conversation |
| Book Meeting | Qualify lightly, then drive toward booking a meeting slot |
| Nurture | Keep the lead warm with value-based content on a longer cadence |
Channelsโ
The agent can communicate via:
- Email โ uses your workspace SMTP settings
- SMS โ requires an SMS provider configured in Settings โ Messaging
- WhatsApp โ requires a WhatsApp provider configured in Settings โ Messaging
Select one or more channels when enrolling. If multiple channels are selected, the agent rotates based on the lead's responsiveness.
Guardrailsโ
AI SDR has hard-coded safety limits that cannot be disabled:
| Guardrail | Description |
|---|---|
| Max Touch Ceiling | A hard maximum number of outbound messages per enrollment โ the agent stops regardless of lead status once this is reached |
| Business Hours | Messages are only sent during configured business hours (set in Settings โ AI & Integrations โ AI SDR) |
| Opt-Out Keywords | The word STOP (or equivalent in the lead's language) triggers immediate unenrollment and suppresses all future AI SDR messages for that contact |
| Global Opt-Out | Any lead marked as opted-out in your contact settings is never contacted by AI SDR |
| Daily / Monthly Spend Cap | AI SDR pauses if your AI spend cap is reached (see AI Overview) |
Human Takeoverโ
The agent pauses immediately when:
- The lead sends any reply
- A team member sends a manual message to the lead
- A team member clicks Pause AI SDR on the lead detail
When paused, the lead appears in a Needs Human Review view. A team member can review the conversation, respond manually, and then either re-enroll in AI SDR or continue the conversation manually.
Audit Logโ
Every AI decision is recorded. Go to the lead detail โ AI SDR Log to see:
- Timestamp of each tick
- AI decision (send / wait / book / stop / hand off)
- Message sent (if any)
- Reason for the decision
- Token usage and cost for that tick
DEMO_MODEโ
When DEMO_MODE is enabled in Settings โ AI & Integrations โ AI SDR, the agent runs its full decision logic and logs everything โ but sends no actual messages. Use this to test cadence behavior without contacting real leads.
No OpenAI Key Fallbackโ
If no OpenAI key is configured, AI SDR enrollments switch to a templated sequence: a fixed set of pre-written follow-up messages sent on a schedule, without AI-generated content. Enrollment, channels, and guardrails all function normally โ only the message content is templated rather than AI-generated.
Configuring AI SDR Settingsโ
Go to Settings โ AI & Integrations โ AI SDR:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Business Hours | Days and time window for outbound messages |
| Max Touches | Maximum messages per enrollment (your cap, below the hard system ceiling) |
| Default Goal | Pre-selected goal when enrolling manually |
| Default Channels | Pre-selected channels when enrolling manually |
| Hand-Off Tag | Tag automatically applied when AI SDR marks a lead as hot |
| Hand-Off Pipeline Stage | Stage to move the lead to when handed off |