AI SDR
An AI SDR (Sales Development Representative) is an autonomous software employee that researches prospects, sends outbound messages, books meetings, and updates the CRM without human keystrokes.
An AI SDR replaces or augments the entry-level outbound role. It pulls a target list, enriches each lead with public data, drafts a personalized opener, sends through Gmail or a sequencer, handles replies, books calls on a calendar, and logs everything to the CRM. Modern AI SDRs run 24/7, cost a fraction of a human SDR's salary, and never quit after eight months. The quality bar has changed in the last 18 months. Early AI SDRs sent obvious template-and-merge spam. Current systems do real research per lead, vary cadence, escalate edge cases to a human, and back off when a prospect signals disinterest.
Example
A 12-person SaaS company replaces two human SDRs with one AI SDR. The AI handles 1,200 outbound touches per week across email and LinkedIn, books ~14 qualified meetings, and escalates 30 ambiguous replies to the founder. Cost: ~$300/mo vs. ~$15,000/mo loaded.
How OpenLabor uses it
OpenLabor's AI SDR comes pre-configured with outbound playbooks, CRM integrations, and an approval gate so the first 50 messages always pass through you before going autonomous.
How is an AI SDR different from a sales sequencer like Apollo or Outreach?
Sequencers send messages a human wrote. An AI SDR decides who to message, what to say, when to follow up, and what to do with the reply. It's the operator, not the rails.
Can an AI SDR book meetings?
Yes. Modern AI SDRs read calendar availability, propose slots, handle reschedules, and write the meeting to the prospect's calendar via a connected scheduling tool.
Is an AI SDR allowed to send cold email under CAN-SPAM and GDPR?
Yes if the same compliance rules a human SDR follows are encoded in its playbook: identifiable sender, physical address, working unsubscribe, lawful basis. AI status doesn't change the rules.
Related: ai-employee, agentic-workflow, approval-gate, headcount-equivalent.
AI Labor Glossary