AI SDR handles cold outbound and qualification. AI BDR works inbound leads and early-stage pipeline development post-MQL. Run both if you have both motions; they share data but run separate playbooks.
AI SDR — outbound
Prospects cold accounts from your ICP, runs signal-triggered and volume outbound, qualifies interest, and books first meetings. Success metric: qualified meetings booked from net-new accounts.
AI BDR — inbound and early pipeline
Picks up MQLs, demo requests, and content leads; qualifies fast; routes hot leads to AEs; and nurtures the rest. Success metric: MQL-to-SQL conversion and speed-to-lead.
How they differ operationally
The SDR optimizes for finding the right accounts at the right time. The BDR optimizes for response speed and qualification accuracy. Different templates, different cadences, different escalation rules.
Running both
Deploy them as a pod: the BDR handles everything inbound, the SDR generates net-new. They share the same Golden DB and suppression lists so they never collide on the same contact.
