What is an AI SDR?
An AI SDR is software that does a sales development rep's outreach work: it finds buyers, researches each one, writes and sends the messages on LinkedIn, email and other channels, and answers replies. Ragworks AI SDR is an execution engine for multi-channel outbound, with an AI sales strategist that tells you what to change in each campaign.
By Kishore Kannan, Co-Founder & CEO. Last updated .
How does an AI SDR work?
An AI SDR has two jobs: doing the outreach, and learning from it. The execution engine does the first five steps below. The strategist does the sixth.
- 1
You say what you sell and who buys it.
Ragworks AI SDR turns that short description into search filters, so there is no filter form to fill in.
- 2
It finds and scores leads.
It searches LinkedIn, the Ragworks Database or Instagram, or takes your own list. It can look up work emails, and it can score each lead from 0 to 100 against your ideal customer profile so the best fits go first.
- 3
It researches each lead and writes the message.
For each AI-written step it reads what it can find about the lead and their company, then opens on a true, recent fact where it finds one, instead of a template. How much it reads is a setting on the step. Research depth and hooks.
- 4
It sends across channels, on your schedule.
One sequence can run LinkedIn, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and AI phone calls, wait between steps and branch on what happens, inside the working hours you set. Nothing is sent until you approve and launch the campaign.
- 5
It handles replies.
When a lead answers, the sequence stops and the AI replies using your playbook's response guidelines. It labels each reply, for example Interested, and you choose which labels hand the conversation to a person. You can take over any conversation yourself.
- 6
A strategist reads the results.
The AI sales strategist reviews a campaign's messages, replies, timing and lead fit, then gives it a 0 to 100 health score and a ranked list of edits, so you know what to change next. The strategist report.
AI SDR vs human SDR vs sequencer
The three differ in who does the work.
| Compared on | AI SDR | Human SDR | Sequencer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finds and researches leads | The software | The rep | You: you load the list |
| Writes the messages | The software, from research on each lead | The rep | You: you write the templates |
| Sends and follows up | The software, across channels, on a schedule you set | The rep, by hand and with tools | The tool, on the steps you set |
| Handles replies | The software replies within your rules and hands interested leads to you | The rep | You |
| What it costs | A plan or credits: the cost grows with the leads you reach | A salary and commission, whatever the volume | A seat or a tier, plus the time to build lists and write copy |
| Good at | Steady volume with consistent research and follow-up | Judgement, calls and negotiation on complex deals | Sending a sequence you already trust to a list you already have |
| Still needs you for | What you sell, who to target, the rules and the conversations that matter | Training, management and tooling | Everything except the sending |
How much does an AI SDR cost?
Vendors price AI SDRs in different units: per seat, per prospect, per contact or by monthly credits. So compare the cost of each lead reached, not the headline price.
Ragworks AI SDR sells monthly credit plans. A lead costs about 5 credits, scoring and research included, and each connected account uses 100 credits a month. A plan's leads a month are therefore its credits, minus 100 for each account, divided by 5.
| Plan | Price a month | Credits a month | Connected accounts | Leads a month (about) | Price per lead (about) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $99 | 1,000 | 2 | 160 | $0.62 |
| Starter | $249 | 3,000 | 3 | 540 | $0.46 |
| Explorer | $749 | 15,000 | 15 | 2,700 | $0.28 |
| Scale | $1,499 | 30,000 | 30 | 5,400 | $0.28 |
| Pro | $2,999 | 60,000 | 60 | 10,800 | $0.28 |
Prices are for the Quarterly term: billed monthly, with a 3-month commitment. The Monthly and Yearly prices are on the pricing page.
To compare with a person, divide what an SDR costs you in a month (pay, commission and tools) by the leads they research and contact in a month, and set that beside the last column.
See every plan and the credits calculatorWhat to look for in an AI SDR
An AI SDR sends from your LinkedIn account and your mailbox, so it can damage both. Ask every vendor, Ragworks included, how it protects them.
LinkedIn account safety
LinkedIn's rules do not allow third-party tools that automate activity on the site, so every AI SDR that sends on LinkedIn carries some risk of a restriction. Safeguards reduce that risk; none removes it. Check for these:
- Daily limits that ramp up. Ragworks ramps each LinkedIn account's daily limits up by a fixed step, to a maximum you set.
- A warm-up for new or quiet accounts. Ragworks has an optional 6-day warm-up that starts with profile visits only, then adds a few connection requests.
- An automatic pause when requests go unanswered. Ragworks pauses an account's new connection requests on a campaign once at least 100 have been sent and fewer than 10% were accepted. It resumes by itself when acceptance reaches 15%, or you can resume it yourself.
- Paced sending. Ragworks sends only inside the working hours and days you set, with a random pause between actions.
- A pause when the account disconnects. If a LinkedIn account disconnects, Ragworks pauses the campaigns that send through it and resumes them when you reconnect.
Read more: LinkedIn's rules on automation, How the Ragworks pause works
Email deliverability
Cold email lands in the inbox or in spam depending on the mailbox it comes from and the list it goes to. Check for these:
- Your own mailbox. Ragworks sends from a Gmail or Google Workspace, Outlook or Microsoft 365, or IMAP and SMTP mailbox that you connect.
- A volume ramp and daily caps. Ragworks ramps email volume up gradually and caps each mailbox's daily sends, with paced sending.
- Bounce handling. Ragworks stops sequencing an address that hard-bounces.
- What remains your job. A warmed-up mailbox, a verified list, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up on your sending domain. Ragworks recommends all three in its docs, and list quality and mailbox health remain your responsibility.
Read more: Cold email best practices
Common questions about AI SDRs
Is an AI SDR the same as an AI SDR agent?
Yes. People use the two names for the same thing: software that does an SDR's outreach work on its own. "Agent" stresses that it decides what to do next, such as who to contact, what to say and when to follow up, inside the rules you set.
Can an AI SDR replace a human SDR?
It can take over the repetitive part of the job: finding leads, researching them, sending first messages and follow-ups, and sorting replies. A person is still better placed to run calls, handle a complex deal and build a relationship, and someone has to decide what you sell, who to target and which rules the software follows.
How is an AI SDR different from a sequencer?
A sequencer sends the steps you wrote to the list you loaded. An AI SDR also finds the leads, researches each one, writes the messages and answers replies, so you set the goal and the rules instead of building every step.
How much does an AI SDR cost?
Ragworks AI SDR plans run from $99 a month for about 160 leads to $2,999 a month for about 10,800 leads, on the Quarterly term. A lead costs about 5 credits, scoring and research included. Compare the price per lead, not the headline price.
Is an AI SDR safe to use on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn's rules do not allow third-party automation, so no tool is risk-free. Look for safeguards that reduce the risk. Ragworks AI SDR ramps each account's daily limits, has an optional 6-day warm-up, and pauses new connection requests on a campaign when at least 100 have been sent and fewer than 10% were accepted. These reduce the risk of a LinkedIn restriction; they cannot remove it.
Does an AI SDR hurt email deliverability?
It can, if it sends from a cold mailbox or to a bad list. Use a warmed-up mailbox, verify your list, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your sending domain, and start with low volumes. Ragworks AI SDR ramps volume, caps daily sends and stops sequencing an address that hard-bounces; the mailbox and the list remain your responsibility.
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