AI SDR in 2026: what it does, what it costs, how to choose one
Which parts of a sales development rep's week an agent can really take off your plate, what you still pay for, and six things to check before you choose one. Written by FOUND, which makes one.
On this page 7 sections
"AI SDR" now covers everything from a mail merge with a chatbot on top to software that finds people, writes to them, follows up and answers on its own. The label tells you little. What matters is which parts of a sales development rep's week the software actually does, and what happens at the edges.
We build FOUND, so this is written from the inside: what our agent does, what it costs and how to choose one well, with the numbers from the product. Hold any tool you're weighing to the same questions, ours included.
1/5 · Real people, and whyReal FOUND screens · our own workspace, people and companies blurred · Sep 202627 seconds, no sound
An SDR's week, job by job
Strip the title away and a sales development rep does six jobs: work out who is worth contacting, check they fit, write the first message, follow up, deal with the replies, and get the interested ones onto a call. Here is who does each one when an agent is running.
| The job | What FOUND's agent does | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| Find who's worth contacting | Runs its signals in turn, each one about once a day: up to 15 signals across seven kinds of buying signal | Picking the signals and describing your buyer |
| Check they fit | Reads the headline, then the profile, and keeps only people who fit your buyer, each with the reason they're there | Pressing More like this or Fewer like this on a lead, which teaches it |
| Write the first message | Writes each one from why that person was found, not a template with a name dropped in | Reading them first, for as long as review mode is on |
| Follow up | Runs a sequence of up to 8 steps across LinkedIn and email, paced from your own accounts | Deciding what the sequence says |
| Deal with replies | Stops the sequence the moment someone replies. With drafted replies switched on, writes an answer for you to send. On conversations you switch on, or every new one on your account, answers itself by your reply rules (off by default) | Anything only you can answer |
| Get them onto a call | Offers your booking link once they're interested | The call. They pick the time on your own booking tool |
What it does well
- It never skips a week. The agent checks each of its signals about once a day whether or not you had a busy week. For a founder doing outbound between everything else, this is the part that usually stops first.
- Every lead comes with a reason. Each person carries the signal that found them and why they fit, and the first message builds on that reason. That is the difference between "saw you're a VP of Sales" and a message worth answering.
- It holds back. The limits live in the code that sends, so a busy day can't talk it into sending more. When LinkedIn pushes back, it steps down and waits.
- Nobody waits on a reply. The moment someone answers, everything queued to them stops, and with drafted replies switched on, an answer is waiting for you.
What it costs
FOUND is one plan. Everything below is what the product charges today, and you see real people for your own buyer before you pay any of it.
| Item | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| The plan | $69 a month | Two agents, one LinkedIn account and one mailbox shared by both, the inbox with drafted replies, and 100 credits a month |
| A teammate | $59 a month | Their own login, LinkedIn account, mailbox and two agents |
| Another agent | $39 a month | Its own buyer and up to 15 signals |
| Credits | 1 per lookup | A verified work email, only when one is found; Ask, 1 per company plus 1 per contact, shown before it runs |
A year of the plan is $828. You can cancel any time in Settings, and the agents run to the end of the month you paid for.
What no AI SDR takes off your bill: the LinkedIn account it sends from, and that account's standing; a mailbox on your own domain if you add email; a booking tool; and your own time to answer what it hands back and to take the calls. Count those before you compare prices.
How to choose an AI SDR well
Six things separate an agent worth paying for from a mail merge with a new name. Each is how FOUND is built, and each is worth checking in any tool you weigh.
It checks every person against your buyer
Most people who engage with a post aren't buyers: staff and partners of the company that posted, vendors, students, people looking for work. An agent worth paying for reads each person before it writes, and tells you why each lead is there. FOUND checks everyone twice, the headline first and then the full profile, and every lead carries the reason it was kept.
You can judge it on your own buyer before you pay
A demo account always looks full. Ask to see people for your buyer, in your market. FOUND shows you up to five companies in your market that just raised money before you pay anything. If your buyer is narrow, you learn that early too, and the fix is more roles and industries, never vaguer titles.
It paces your account, on purpose
An agent that protects your account sends less than it could. FOUND sends nothing in a newly connected account's first 48 hours, then 35 invitations a week, climbing as the account earns it, and never more than 25 in a day: 125 a week on the Monday to Friday window it starts with. If a plan calls for a thousand touches a week from one account, here is why it shouldn't.
You can read every word before it goes
Writing in your name should wait for your yes until you trust it. FOUND's review mode holds every invitation, message and email for your approval, and you can edit any of it. When you trust what you read, autopilot sends without asking each time and still shows you the whole next window.
It knows when to hand the conversation back
The agent's job is to get the interested person to your booking link; the call, the negotiation and the exceptions are yours. FOUND's agent that answers replies is off by default, and when you switch it on, it hands the thread back the moment the question is one only you can answer.
It is straight with you about LinkedIn
Anything that works through your LinkedIn account carries some risk, and pacing is how it stays low. Be wary of any tool that promises your account is safe at any volume: nobody can promise LinkedIn will never act on an account, and we don't.
An agent or a person?
A good SDR brings judgment: they can pick up the phone, read a hesitant reply and know your product's rough edges. An agent brings the part that is repetition: the watching, the filtering, the first message written from a reason, the follow-up nobody forgets, the reply that never sits for a day.
For a founder running outbound alone, the repetition is usually what doesn't get done. That is the job to hand an agent first. The judgment stays with you, and when it outgrows you, it is the part worth hiring for.
Six questions to ask any AI SDR before you pay
- Can I see real leads for my own buyer before I pay? FOUND: yes. Paste your website and, before you pay or connect LinkedIn, you see up to five companies in your market that just raised money and could buy what you sell.
- Where do the limits live? FOUND: in the code that sends, the same for every account.
- What happens the moment someone replies? FOUND: their sequence stops and anything queued is cancelled. Switch on drafted replies, one setting, and an answer is written for you to edit and send.
- Does it answer by itself, and can I stop it? FOUND: only where you switch it on: one conversation, or every new one on your account. Off by default, and you can take a thread back at any time.
- Does it store my LinkedIn password? FOUND: no. It passes through our server once, straight to our connection provider, and is never stored or logged.
- How do I leave? FOUND: cancel any time in Settings. The agents run to the end of the month you paid for.
For what the agent refuses to do, whatever the settings say, read what an AI outbound agent should never do. For how it decides who fits, read how FOUND scores a LinkedIn lead.
Questions
Is an AI SDR the same as an automation tool?
No. An automation tool sends what you give it, to the list you give it. An agent decides who deserves a message this week, keeps only the people who fit your buyer, and builds each message around why that person was found.
How long before it sends anything?
You get leads the day you connect. Messages start on day three, because a newly connected account only finds people for its first 48 hours. Then it sends up to 35 invitations a week, rising as the account earns it.
Will it put meetings in my calendar?
No. FOUND never reads or writes your calendar. It offers your booking link to people who are interested, and they pick a slot on your own booking tool.
What results should I expect?
We don't publish reply or meeting rates: they depend on your buyer, your offer and your market, so an average would say little about yours. What you can judge before paying is your first leads: real companies in your market that just raised money and could buy what you sell.
More answers on the FAQ.