In the Age of AI, scaling efficiently while maintaining a personal touch can be a challenge. AI without thoughtful, intentional design can miss the mark. That's why at Qualified, we set out to build something different—something that could do the heavy lifting of front line sales engagement while still creating personal, helpful interactions with buyers at scale.

Enter Piper the AI SDR, designed to bring the best qualities of a top-performing human SDR to life.

The inspiration behind Piper?

Blake–our very first SDR.

As one of our best human SDRs, Blake's approach to engaging website traffic was efficient, personable, and incredibly effective. We knew that if we could capture his skills and scale them with AI, we’d be able to revolutionize how companies approach pipeline generation.

Here’s why and how we built Piper:

The blueprint for success

‍Blake was everything you’d want in an SDR—focused, intuitive, and great at building rapport. She had an uncanny ability to read "digital body language," knew just when to reach out, and always managed to personalize her approach, making every interaction feel thoughtful and intentional.

But even Blake had her limits. As demand increased, we realized that scaling her skill set across a larger team was challenging.

When we were building Piper the AI SDR, we knew we wanted to integrate all of Blake's best traits into her behavior.

1. Reading digital body language

‍One of Blake’s standout abilities was her knack for reading digital cues—knowing when a prospect was genuinely interested versus just browsing. Piper was designed with this same capability, using sophisticated algorithms to track user behavior on websites and tapping into your CRM data to understand past interactions. This allows her to identify high-value leads and engage them at just the right moment, replicating Blake's sense of timing and opportunity.

2. Seamless, personal outreach

‍Blake’s success stemmed from her ability to make every message feel personal. She’d dig through data to find just the right hook, whether it was a recent action the buyer took or a particular interest they showed. With Piper, we honed this data-driven approach to ensure she can send personalized, engaging messages at scale. Whether it’s referencing a prospect’s recent activity or tailoring a message to their unique needs, Piper mirrors Blake’s thoughtful approach, but with the power to do it for hundreds of leads simultaneously.

3. Pouncing on high-value leads

‍Time is of the essence in sales, and no one understood this better than Blake. She knew that being the first to engage could often make the difference between a booked meeting and a missed opportunity. We built Piper to react just as quickly, “pouncing” on high-value leads the moment they show intent. Her ability to initiate conversations swiftly helps capture interest when it's at its peak—just like Blake did.

4. Handling objections with confidence

‍One of the trickiest parts of the SDR role is handling objections. Blake mastered the art of overcoming initial hesitations, steering conversations back on track with ease. We wanted Piper to have this same finesse, so we programmed her to recognize common objections and respond confidently. This allows her to keep conversations moving forward, ensuring that leads aren’t lost due to a simple misunderstanding or hesitation.

Why hire an AI SDR?

Piper augments your SDR team by taking on front line interactions and making sure your human reps are brought in when it matters most. By modeling Piper after Blake, we aimed to build an AI SDR that could handle the repetitive, time-consuming tasks of lead generation and qualification, giving human reps more time to focus on strategic selling. Piper frees up SDRs to do what they’re best at—building relationships and closing deals—while still ensuring a steady stream of qualified leads.

The results: Piper in action

‍Since we launched Piper, she’s become a game changer for Qualified and our customers. She consistently drives up meeting volumes, improves pipeline quality, and ensures no lead slips through the cracks. By taking Blake’s skills and scaling them across hundreds of prospects at once, Piper has proven that AI SDRs can be just as personal, effective, and engaging as their human counterparts—if not more so.

How are we so confident that Piper is a real game changer?

We drink our own champagne. Piper has been part of our inbound SDR team for the better part of this year and has allowed our reps to focus more of their time on high-fidelity outbound activities and other tasks, or even moving into account executive roles, but thanks to Piper's coverage, we're booking more meetings from the website than ever.

Read how Piper the AI SDR doubled Demandbase's inbound pipeline generation ➡️

The future of pipeline generation

‍AI technology continues to evolve, and we’re committed to making Piper even better with new features like Piper Email. Every update is aimed at sharpening her abilities, enhancing personalization, and ensuring seamless integration with human SDR teams. The future of sales lies in this right balance between human insight and AI efficiency, and Piper is leading the way.

If you’ve been struggling with scaling your sales efforts or finding that your team is spread too thin, consider adding an AI SDR like Piper to your strategy. Modeled after the best, and built to perform, she’s ready to help you close the gap between pipeline and revenue.

Learn more about Piper the AI SDR here.