AI SDR vs Human SDR: 3-Month Experiment for a B2B IT Services Firm
TechFlow Solutions ran a 90-day parallel experiment: three human SDRs versus one AI SDR agent. The results were surprising — and not just in the obvious direction.
The Setup
TechFlow Solutions (London) ran an experiment from October–December 2025. Three human SDRs on one side, our AI SDR agent on the other. Both targeting the same ICP: IT decision-makers (CTO/VP Eng) at companies with 50–500 employees in the UK, US, and EU.
Methodology
Both teams received the same lead lists — 1,200 contacts each. Same ICP, same industries, different outreach mechanisms.
- ✓Human SDRs: LinkedIn + email, manually personalised
- ✓AI Agent: LinkedIn automation + Playwright-scraped personalisation context
90-Day Results
| Metric | Human SDRs (3) | AI Agent (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Leads contacted | 847 | 1,987 |
| Reply rate | 24% | 18.4% |
| Meetings booked | 67 | 48 |
| Cost/meeting | $99 | $22 |
| Meetings/month | 22 | 16 |
The Nuanced Story
Human SDRs had a higher reply rate (24% vs 18.4%) — which was expected. Personalisation at human level is genuinely better.
But cost per meeting was 4.5x cheaper with AI. And the AI ran 24/7 — following up at 7am when a US prospect first opens their laptop.
Where AI Won
1. Volume: The AI contacted 2.3x more leads in the same period
2. Consistency: No bad days, no sick days, no "I'll do it tomorrow"
3. US market: AI follow-ups at the right timezone made a measurable difference
4. Cost: $299/month vs $12,000/month for three SDRs
Where Humans Won
1. Complex deals: Deals over $12K needed human nuance and relationship-building
2. Objection handling: Novel objections confused the AI
3. Reply quality: Human replies led to longer conversations, higher close rates
Conclusion
The winning strategy: use AI for top-of-funnel volume and qualification, hand off to humans for deals over $6K. This is exactly how TechFlow now operates.
Writing about AI automation, growing businesses worldwide, and building products that work across languages and markets.
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