How does an AI SDR personalize outreach?
An AI SDR personalizes outreach by researching each lead, then opening each message on one true fact, such as a new role or recent funding. Ragworks AI SDR researches a lead once, keeps the result for 30 days and uses one fact, called a hook, per message. If it finds nothing true, it writes from your playbook.
By Kishore Kannan, Co-Founder & CEO. Last updated .
What does an AI SDR read before it writes?
An AI SDR can only personalize with facts it has. In Ragworks AI SDR, how much it reads is a setting on each AI-written step. A Template step sends your text as written, so it has nothing to research.
| Research depth | Cost per lead | What Ragworks AI SDR reads |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | What it already has about the lead: their title, company and profile fields, anything your list or import carried, such as school and work history, and, when the campaign has a connected LinkedIn account, the lead's profile and yours, read through that account. |
| Standard | 3.5 credits | Everything in Basic, plus research on the company: recent funding, open roles and what its website says. |
| Deep | 6 credits | Everything in Standard, plus company news, the lead's own recent posts and interests you share. |
Read more: Research depth and hooks
What is a hook, and which hooks can a message use?
A hook is the fact a message opens on. Ragworks AI SDR has ten. You tick the ones a step may use, and it picks the best true one for each lead.
| Hook | What the message can open on | Research needed |
|---|---|---|
| New role | They started their current role in the last 6 months. | Basic |
| Funding | Their company raised funding in the last 90 days. | Standard |
| Hiring | Their company is hiring for a role related to what you offer. | Standard |
| Company news | A recent launch, partnership or acquisition. | Deep |
| Their posts | Something they posted about your topic. | Deep |
| Shared education | The same school, or the same field of study, as you. | Basic |
| Shared background | The same past company or city as you. | Basic |
| Shared interest | The same certification or volunteering organization, or a topic you both write about. | Deep |
| Company observation | A specific thing on their company website. | Standard |
| Role pain | The pain your playbook's persona describes for their role. | Basic |
A hook marked Basic works whenever Ragworks AI SDR has the data for that lead. The three Deep hooks are switched off while a step is set to Standard. Shared education compares the lead's school with yours, so it needs your LinkedIn link on the sender account. See Sender profile.
How does Ragworks AI SDR keep personalization true?
- One hook per message. A message never stacks two facts about a person.
- A different hook each step, when there is one. Ragworks AI SDR remembers the hook an earlier message to the lead used and opens the next one on something else if it can.
- No hook, no problem. If nothing true and relevant is found, or you untick every hook, the message is written from your playbook and the lead's basic details.
- Only what it found. A hook states a fact Ragworks AI SDR found, in its own words. It is never built from health, family, politics, religion or similar personal traits, and a post hook is phrased around the topic, never as "I saw you liked...".
- Your tone and your exclusions. Conservative, Balanced or Bold sets how boldly the message uses its hook. A Never mention field keeps topics or words, such as competitor names or layoffs, out of the message.
What does personalization cost?
Basic research is free. Standard costs 3.5 credits a lead and Deep costs 6, charged once per lead. A lead researched at Standard and later at Deep is charged the difference.
Ragworks AI SDR researches a lead once, the first time a step that needs it is about to run, and every later step reuses the result. A four-message sequence therefore costs the same research as a one-message sequence. The result is kept for 30 days.
| Plan | Highest research depth |
|---|---|
| Lite and Starter | Standard |
| Explorer, Scale and Pro | Deep |
Deeper research uses more credits, so a plan covers fewer leads at Deep than at Basic. Research shares a per-cycle budget with lead sourcing and scoring. When that part of the budget is used, sending carries on and new leads are researched at Basic until it resets.
Read more: How credits are counted, Choosing a plan
What should you ask any AI SDR about personalization?
These five questions apply to every vendor, Ragworks included. The right-hand column is how Ragworks AI SDR answers each one.
| Ask any AI SDR vendor | Ragworks AI SDR |
|---|---|
| What does it read about each lead? | Your choice on each AI-written step: profile fields and your import at Basic, company research at Standard, news, posts and shared interests at Deep. |
| Does it research once or at every step? | Once. The result is kept for 30 days and every later step reuses it. |
| What does it write when it finds nothing true? | A message from your playbook and the lead's basic details, not an invented fact. |
| Can you limit what it says? | Yes: tick the hooks a step may use, set the tone and list what it must never mention. |
| What does the research cost? | Basic is free, Standard is 3.5 credits a lead and Deep is 6. Lite and Starter stop at Standard. |
Common questions about AI SDR personalization
How does an AI SDR personalize outreach?
It researches each lead, picks one true fact to open on and writes the message around it. In Ragworks AI SDR you set how much research an AI-written step gets, from Basic, which is free, to Deep, and which kinds of fact it may open on. It researches a lead once and every step reuses the result. If nothing true is found, the message is written from your playbook.
What data does an AI SDR need to personalize a message?
It needs facts about the lead and their company. In Ragworks AI SDR, Basic research reads what it already has: the lead's title, company and profile fields, anything your list or import carried, such as school and work history, and, when the campaign has a connected LinkedIn account, the lead's profile and yours. Standard adds the company's recent funding, open roles and website. Deep adds company news and the lead's recent posts.
Is AI personalization more than inserting a name and a company?
It can be. A merge field fills a blank in a template you wrote. In Ragworks AI SDR a step is either a Template, which sends your text as written, or Agentic, which is AI-written: it researches the lead and writes the message around one hook.
What does an AI SDR do when it cannot find anything about a lead?
In Ragworks AI SDR the message is written from your playbook and the lead's basic details, not from an invented fact. The same happens if you untick every hook on the step.
Does an AI SDR use personal details such as family or health?
In Ragworks AI SDR a hook states a fact it found, in its own words, and is never built from health, family, politics, religion or similar personal traits. A hook about a lead's post is phrased around the topic, never as "I saw you liked...".
How much does AI SDR research cost?
In Ragworks AI SDR, Basic research is free, Standard costs 3.5 credits a lead and Deep costs 6, charged once per lead. A lead researched at Standard and later at Deep is charged the difference. Explorer, Scale and Pro plans can use Deep. Lite and Starter stop at Standard.
Does the AI write my LinkedIn connection note?
No. In Ragworks AI SDR a LinkedIn connection request carries your template text, so it needs no research. Research applies to the AI-written steps: email, LinkedIn messages, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Can I stop the AI mentioning a topic?
Yes. Each AI-written step in Ragworks AI SDR has a Never mention field for topics or words, such as competitor names or layoffs, and the agent is told never to bring them up.
Sources
The Ragworks docs describe each setting and price. They were read on 6 November 2026.
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