What is an AI BDR? How Does It Work?

Jaspar Carmichael-Jack

Mar 7, 2025

20 minutes read

In the B2B sales landscape, companies define the BDR role differently. Some BDRs manage the entire outbound demand generation process, while others focus purely on lead generation, leaving engagement to sales development reps (SDRs) and account executives (AEs). This variability in roles highlights the need for flexible, scalable solutions in modern sales processes.

When we say “BDRs,” we mean the team members responsible for the strategic side—developing sales playbooks, defining and researching customer personas—but who also often end up handling more repetitive tasks like cold email outreach and follow-ups.

But wouldn't it be great if your BDRs could focus on the work that really matters?

Well, they can—with the help of AI BDRs.

In this article, we’ll explain what AI BDRs are, what tasks they can handle, and how to get the most out of them.

Understanding AI in Business Development

Let’s recall what a BDR typically does. Take Zoom's job description for a BDR role, which sums up the day-to-day pretty well:

Faced with overwhelming daily task loads, BDRs have long sought ways to streamline their workflows, traditionally turning to automation software. However, these solutions often fall short of addressing the full scope of BDR responsibilities.

Email templates, dynamic personalization, and automated follow-ups have been helping BDRs to stay afloat—but thriving? That’s a different story. In 2023, BDRs were still spending about 66% of their time just reaching out to prospects.

But AI is changing the game fast. AI-powered technology is already making the BDR role easier than it was five years ago.

So if AI were applied to the role Zoom describes in its job ad, the number of outbound activities could be cut in half. AI tools, like parallel dialers and voice agents, can handle cold calls, while AI-powered email personalization and sequencing can take the load off outreach efforts. This gives BDRs more time to focus on high-value activities, like building relationships and collaborating with the sales team to refine sales strategies.

What is AI BDR and How Does It Work?

An AI BDR is an advanced, AI-driven solution that takes over most of the repetitive and manual tasks BDRs typically handle. These AI-powered assistants can significantly enhance the efficiency of B2B sales teams. Here's a glimpse into their capabilities:

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  Research leads based on your ideal customer profile (ICP)

  
  
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  Enrich lead data with relevant details from hundreds of sources

  
  
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  Create personalized messages for each lead using real-time data from hundreds of sources

  
  
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  Score leads using intent data and past performance, beyond just pre-set conditions

  
  
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  Transcribe, analyze, or even fully take over cold calls

  
  
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  Forecast deal likelihood, quota attainment, and revenue

  
  

The list could go on. How many tasks (and which ones) you entrust AI with depends on your actual sales processes and the capabilities of your tech stack.

Take AI BDR Ava by Artisan, for example. She automates most of the outbound demand generation process. She performs laser-focused lead research, picks the best-quality leads, and uses key insights from their profiles to create personalized outreach messages for each. All you have to do is decide if you want to review her campaigns before sending them, or let her handle everything—including follow-up sequences—until the leads respond.

Human BDRs vs. AI BDRs

With 65% of US employees worried that AI might make their jobs obsolete, it’s only natural to wonder: If AI can manage sales processes, what role is left for human BDRs?

Human BDRs

First off, human BDRs aren’t going anywhere, and here’s why:

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  They have the unique experience and vision needed to shape outbound strategies. AI needs directions to act on, and human BDRs don’t. Human BDRs can think strategically and spot intent signals that AI might overlook, helping them create new, effective playbooks.

  
  
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  Humans are also better at building trust and rapport with prospects, which is crucial for long-term business relationships. When it comes to pushing deals forward or securing high-ticket sales, human BDRs still outperform AI.

  
  
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  Good BDRs can read between the lines and adapt in real time during complex interactions. They excel at understanding buyer psychology and handling objections—something AI, which can only rely on data, simply can’t match.

  
  

AI BDRs

The thing is, human BDRs can only play to their strengths when they're not bogged down with micromanagement. That’s where AI BDRs come in:

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  AI BDRs can handle a massive volume of tasks in a fraction of the time it would take a human. From researching leads to sending personalized messages and scheduling follow-ups, AI operates around the clock without getting tired or needing breaks.

  
  
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  AI BDRs excel at analyzing huge amounts of data. They can track and use intent signals, historical performance, and real-time behavior to prioritize leads and tailor messaging.

  
  
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  AI BDRs don’t require onboarding, training, or additional headcount costs, making them the perfect addition to any BDR team looking to grow quickly.

  
  

Why You Should Hire AI BDRs

A staggering 81 percent of sales teams are experimenting with or using AI. This widespread adoption underscores that AI in business development is not a fleeting trend, but a powerful tool delivering real, tangible benefits to B2B sales teams, such as:

Fosters Agile and Adaptive Strategies

AI BDRs can dynamically adjust strategies based on real-time performance data, ensuring optimal results in the ever-changing B2B sales environment.

A great example of this is how AI refines lead scoring in real time. As new data comes in—like how often a lead opens emails, clicks on links, or engages with content—AI recalculates the lead’s score and ensures the best prospects get the attention they deserve. This means your team is always working on the most promising leads without wasting time on dead ends.

Ava does just that, adapting her outreach on the fly by learning from fresh lead data and past performance. She tweaks her writing style and adjusts the sending schedule to boost delivery and open rates for your cold outreach. Try her today. 

Enhances Personalization at Scale

Before AI, personalization at scale was limited to the dynamic insertion of someone’s name into a generic email template. And let’s be honest: most of the sales emails in your inbox still use this outdated trick.

AI BDRs take personalization to a whole new level. They analyze each lead’s profile, social activity, and company data to find the most relevant details for crafting personalized messages. At the end of the day, no two leads get the exact same cold email.

Keeps You Competitive

Good old automation lets sales teams blast high volumes of emails to anyone, flooding consumers’ inboxes with irrelevant messages—and making it even harder to cut through the noise. No wonder 57% of sales pros admit the competition has gotten trickier these days.

AI helps BDRs rise above the clutter while maintaining scale and hitting their sales goals. It identifies leads that fit your ICP perfectly, crafts personalized messages that connect, and tweaks strategies in real time, keeping your brand ahead of the competition.

Scales Operations Without Increasing Costs

If you're like most sales teams, you're probably feeling the pressure to hit those sales quotas while sending more qualified leads to your account executives. But here’s the thing: your BDRs are already swamped with repetitive tasks, and it doesn’t look like there’s any more room on their plates.

So, what are your options? You could hire more sales staff or use AI to optimize and scale existing processes without the associated overhead costs. The latter also enables you to break away from traditional linear growth patterns, freeing you from the dependency on the number of team members.

Supports Your BDRs And Boosts Retention

Providing opportunities for growth significantly contributes to employee satisfaction, and BDRs are no exception. When they feel stuck—whether struggling to meet quotas or feeling overwhelmed with their workload—they’re likely to start exploring other job opportunities.

Implementing AI BDRs is a way to give your BDRs more room for growth. And with two-thirds of surveyed BDRs eager to adopt AI-driven tools into their prospecting and outreach processes,  it’s just about time to take this step.

Helps You Meet The Quota

Lastly, the research by Gartner has revealed that B2B sellers who use AI to augment their sales teams are 3.7 times more likely to meet their sales quota. Looks like no further convincing is needed, huh?

How Human and AI BDRs Can Work Together

AI BDRs can seamlessly integrate with your B2B sales operations in various ways, optimizing processes based on your organization's unique needs, objectives, and pain points.

For instance, for teams that are struggling to hit quotas, AI BDRs can serve as top-of-funnel lead generators, quickly filling their pipeline with qualified leads. They can also act as pocket assistants for human BDRs, automating repetitive tasks like lead qualification and copywriting. And for small startups that don’t have a dedicated BDR team yet, AI BDRs can take on the key BDR responsibilities to get outbound sales operations up and running fast. 

No matter how you structure the collaboration, the key is balancing automation (i.e. AI BDRs) with a personal touch (i.e. human BDRs).

Here’s how a smooth human-AI BDR collaboration looks when you use Artisan’s Ava:

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   A human BDR defines the ICP for a campaign and gives an AI BDR instructions on the target profiles.

   
   
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   The AI BDR searches for qualified leads, presenting the list to the human BDR for review.

   
   
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   The human BDR develops an outbound sales playbook and provides it to the AI BDR to follow in its outreach efforts.

   
   
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   Based on the playbook and lead data, the AI BDR drafts personalized outreach sequences and submits them for approval.

   
   
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   The human BDR reviews the AI-generated messages, makes adjustments if needed, and launches the campaign.

   
   
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   The AI BDR manages the outreach process—sending messages, tracking responses, and forwarding warm leads to the human BDRs for personalized follow-up.

   
   

Throughout most of the outbound demand generation process, the human BDR acts more as a supervisor, overseeing the AI's work while focusing on the high-value aspects of their role.

The 5 Best AI BDRs

AI-powered tools are everywhere these days, which makes picking the right one for your sales team a real challenge. On top of that, too many tools claim to have AI features, but they’re really just automation. 

We’ve hand-picked the top AI BDR software that uses the latest AI algorithms and handles most of your lead generation and development activities.

1. Artisan

Artisan is a comprehensive outbound sales automation platform that comes with an advanced AI BDR, Ava.

Ava can handle most of the outbound demand generation process. All your BDRs need to do is provide a detailed ICP, and Ava takes it from there. 

She searches a database of over 300M B2B leads, crafts personalized email or LinkedIn messages based on demographic, intent, and personal data, and sets up multi-channel sequences to keep your leads engaged until they’re ready for a human rep.

Artisan Pros

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  You can use pre-defined sales playbooks or create custom ones to match your brand’s tone and strategy.

  
  
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  Ava supports both email and LinkedIn outreach, making it easier to stay connected with your customers. 

  
  
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  You can step in at any point—review and adjust Ava’s messaging or make other changes as needed.

  
  
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  Ava learns from new lead data and past campaign performance, optimizing campaigns on her own.

  
  
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  It integrates smoothly with major CRMs, so managing your customer data is easy and doesn’t require manual input.

  
  

Artisan Cons

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  As a young company, Artisan has yet to release many marketing and customer success products that could help to expand the platform’s use cases.

  
  

2. BDR.ai

BDR.ai is a prospecting automation suite built by a sales engagement agency.

It combines lead sourcing, automated email, and LinkedIn outreach, and dialing assistance, helping BDRs book more appointments in less time.

BDR.ai Pros

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  It simplifies lead sourcing so BDRs can spend more time on outreach and relationship-building instead of manual research.

  
  
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  It supports email, LinkedIn, and calling, helping BDRs engage across multiple channels.

  
  
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  It even helps with creating prospecting videos.

  
  

BDR.ai Cons

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  BDR.ai focuses heavily on lead discovery and connection requests but doesn’t offer the same depth in personalized outreach or performance optimization as other AI BDR tools.

  
  
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  Users need to invest a lot of manual effort to make the most of the platform’s workflows.

  
  

3. Relevance AI

Relevance AI software allows businesses to build their own AI agents for any task.

Beyond creating custom AI-powered team members, Relevance AI offers an out-of-the-box AI BDR called Bosh.

Bosh works a bit differently from the other platforms. Instead of handling the entire process from lead research to outreach, Bosh allows you to decide what tasks it will handle. You can give it specific skills, assign tasks like message crafting or lead scoring, and even include it in cross-functional workflows where it can pass off tasks to other AI agents.

Relevance AI Pros

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  It gives you the freedom to customize your AI BDR according to your specific needs, so you can tailor it to fit your unique sales process.

  
  
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  Relevance AI’s Bosh can support both inbound and outbound sales processes.

  
  
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  The platform allows you to integrate AI across various business functions beyond sales.

  
  

Relevance AI Cons

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  Bosh doesn’t have its own lead database.

  
  
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  Setting up and customizing Bosh requires a learning curve.

  
  

4. Jason AI

Jason AI is an AI-powered sales agent by Reply.io. 

It handles the entire outbound process, from lead research to meeting scheduling. 

Jason AI Pros

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  Beyond standard features, Jason AI can build an ICP for you based on your business needs.

  
  
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  It can also read and analyze replies to provide appropriate responses.

  
  
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  Since it’s built on the Reply.io sales platform, you can expect all the advanced tools you’d find in comprehensive sales automation software.

  
  

Jason AI Cons

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  The tool is still in its early stages, so some features may be in the process of refinement or improvement.

  
  

5. 11x

Like Relevance AI, 11x offers AI agents for different tasks. However, 11x’s agents are more focused on sales. 

Its outbound SDR Alice automates key outbound processes, including lead generation and follow-up via email and LinkedIn.

11x Pros

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  The platform has strong lead sourcing capabilities.

  
  
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  11x’s Alice generates a handy one-page summary of each lead.

  
  
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  Alice also keeps an eye on your mailbox health and applies deliverability optimization techniques to boost your cold email's delivery and open rates.

  
  

11x Cons

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  As of now, 11x doesn't offer the ability to create automated sequences, which can limit your outreach efforts.

  
  
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  The email personalization options are less detailed compared to more advanced AI assistants like Ava.

  
  

Implementing Artificial Intelligence BDR Tools in Your Organization

Which AI BDR tool is right for you? Should you use it for your entire outbound sales process or just specific areas? And how do you know if AI BDRs are actually working? Let’s break it down and tackle these questions step by step.

1. Craft a Strategic Vision for AI Integration

AI BDRs can help with a lot of things, from boosting lead quality to creating a smoother experience with personalized messages and timely follow-ups. But before deciding where to use them, take a step back and look at your business goals—or, more specifically, what’s holding you back from reaching them.

Are you consistently missing your lead quota? Maybe you're hitting it but dealing with poor lead quality? Or are you trying to enter a new market but don’t have enough manpower? 

AI BDRs can help with any of these, but you need to be clear on which goal you’re focusing on.

Mind that AI BDRs won’t deliver overnight results. You’ll usually need 3-6 months to see real progress and decide whether to stick with your current approach or make adjustments. And to track that progress, you’ll need to set measurable objectives for your AI BDRs.

If you already have a BDR team and know where your gaps are, your goals might look like "automate 70% of follow-up emails next quarter" or "increase lead conversion rates by 10% in 6 months." Or, if you’re just launching a go-to-market (GTM) strategy, you could aim for "booking 100 sales calls in the first three months" or "forwarding 200 sales-qualified leads to sales reps."

The choice is yours, just make sure your objectives align with and support your broader business goals. Setting clear, measurable targets will help keep your AI BDR implementation on track and contribute to long-term success.

2. Conduct a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Once you’ve nailed down your goals, it’s time to figure out how you’ll achieve them.

For example, if you aim to forward more engaged leads to your AEs, you’ll want to concentrate on increasing lead volume. But, if you’re looking to boost the number of sales calls through AI, simply increasing lead quantity may not be the best approach—instead, you might need to focus on crafting highly personalized emails.

Depending on your needs, you may decide to implement AI BDRs across any of these functions:

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  Lead generation: If your team spends too much time researching leads, an AI BDR can quickly scan databases and qualify prospects based on your ICP.

  
  
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  Outreach: If your BDRs struggle with scaling outreach, AI BDRs can automate personalized email or LinkedIn sequences across thousands of leads.

  
  
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  Data management: If your lead data is a mess, AI BDRs can handle that, too. They will enrich lead profiles by pulling in additional data points, organize the information for easier tracking, score leads based on engagement, and provide analytics to help you prioritize high-value prospects.

  
  

Identifying the specific areas where you want to use AI in BDR will help you define the features you’ll be looking for in your AI BDR software. On that note…

3. Choose the Right AI BDR Tool for Your Needs

Now that you know where you want to use AI BDRs and what your goals are, it's time to select the software that will help you achieve those.

First, make a list of must-have features based on your earlier assessment, and use it as a guide when evaluating potential tools.

Generally, solid AI sales automation software should include:

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  A vast database of high-quality leads

  
  
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  Lead discovery and enrichment

  
  
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  Email personalization

  
  
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  Multi-channel sequences

  
  
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  Automated follow-up

  
  
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  Built-in outbound CRM

  
  
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  Sales playbooks

  
  
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  Writing style self-optimization

  
  
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  Automatic email warmup

  
  
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  Deliverability optimization

  
  
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  Workflow automation

  
  
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  Integrations with major CRM systems

  
  

When choosing an AI BDR tool, you shouldn’t overlook data privacy and enhanced security features. Since these tools handle sensitive customer information, the software you choose must comply with industry regulations and take robust data protection measures to keep your data safe. 

💡 Many AI software options are still relatively new, which means there may not be a lot of reviews or case studies available online. That’s why you’ll have to rely on product demos and free trials to guide your decision-making. Let your BDR team explore the software during demos to see how comfortable they feel with it.

4. Ensure Effective Training and Change Management

Now, let’s talk about a common hurdle: resistance to change. It might seem odd that people would resist something designed to save them time, but the truth is, many are apprehensive about change. On top of that, there’s a real fear that AI might replace their jobs.

To tackle this, help your team understand that mastering AI software is essential for staying relevant in their roles. Highlight how these tools are here to assist and empower your team, not to replace them. With the help of AI, they’ll become more adept at their jobs and able to focus on higher-level tasks that require human intuition and creativity.

When everyone is on board, it’s time for training.

This part goes hand-in-hand with choosing the right software. Not only do you want to review the features of your AI BDR tools, but you also need to ensure that the providers offer excellent onboarding and ongoing support.

Look for vendors that provide comprehensive training sessions, user guides, and easy access to customer support.

5. Monitor Performance and Optimize Continuously

Implementing AI BDRs is a strategic investment that requires patience and ongoing refinement. Real progress typically takes time—usually around 3 to 6 months—before you can gauge their full impact on your business goals.

Establish a routine for monitoring your AI BDRs' performance to ensure they consistently deliver value. Use the measurable objectives you set earlier as benchmarks. Are you automating 70% of follow-up emails? Is your lead conversion rate on track to increase by 10%? Regularly review these metrics to spot positive trends or their absences.

This is where self-optimizing AI BDRs come in handy. Tools like Ava will automatically adjust their writing style and outreach schedules over time. This means you won’t have to constantly micromanage your campaigns and can focus on higher-level strategy while the AI takes care of the day-to-day optimizations.

Get Started with Your AI BDR Solutions

AI BDRs complement human BDRs, significantly enhancing your B2B sales operations in today’s competitive market

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Author:

Jaspar Carmichael-Jack