If you are asking this, you are deciding whether a product can replace a seat. An AI SDR cannot learn who buys, and it cannot close. Use it on research and first drafts, next to a person who already sells. Score it the way you score a human SDR: quota, ramp, and raw pipeline. This page does not rank vendors.
What you are comparing
| Job | AI | Person | Who says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn who buys, why, and at what price | No | Founder, until the motion transfers | SaaStr: close the first ~10 yourself before any sales hire |
| First sales hire | No. Not the first seat | Two closers you would buy from, with AE experience | SaaStr: at least 18 months as an AE, beyond SDR work. Hire two, not one |
| Research, lists, first-draft sequences | Yes, if a person reviews before it sends | The seller who already knows the buyer | FounderNexus session |
| Chatbot in front of inbound | No | A person answers. Speed is the job | FounderNexus session |
| Closing a deal large enough to matter | No | Founder or AE | SaaStr; FounderNexus session |
| Replacing an SDR headcount line | Only after you can score it on the table below | The seat still has a quota, a ramp, and attrition | Bridge Group |
This page does not cite vendor tests of AI SDR reply rates or cost per meeting. The ones in circulation do not publish a sample, a method, and a date you can check. Use the Bridge Group scoreboard instead.
The human scoreboard
| Metric | Figure | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| SDRs at quota | 60% | Lowest in the study's history |
| Median OTE | $80K | $55K base / $25K variable. Unchanged since 2022 |
| Average ramp | 3.0 months | Lowest since 2010. They say this may be AI onboarding or tighter expectations. They do not split the two |
| Raw pipeline per SDR | $3.78M | Not closed-won. Was $2.83M in 2022. They attribute the rise to higher ASPs, not more meetings. Half of respondents sit between $1.9M and $6.4M |
| Monthly quota, Stage 0 held | 10 | Global median. Stage 1 converted median is 6 |
| Annual attrition, 2024 | 40% median | 25th to 75th percentile: 21% to 57%. Involuntary 13%, voluntary 11%, promotions 16%. The 40% includes promotions |
| AI SDR as its own category | 1% of respondents | First year the category appeared in this study. Not a recommendation |
Sample: 351 B2B companies. 78% North America. 83% B2B SaaS. Median revenue $47M. Median ASP $50K. Published 6 February 2025. Survey responses, not an experiment. The full package for a first sales leader, which is a different seat, is on when to hire the first VP of Sales.
fn-content has no verified benchmark atom for these metrics yet. fn-content tracks it as benchmark request: SDR OTE, ramp, quota attainment, and attrition.
When the AI SDR is the wrong buy
- You have not closed the first customers. SaaStr: close the first 10 or so yourself. You cannot teach a motion you have not run, and a tool cannot learn it for you.
- The first seat you would buy is a meeting-booker. SaaStr's bar for the first reps is 18 months as an AE, not an SDR-only resume, and two of them so you can tell whether the motion transferred.
- Inbound is the leak. Do not put a chatbot in front of it; have a person answer. A FounderNexus session drew the same line on the close: a human keeps the deals large enough to matter, and the goal is one seller made more effective, not a team deleted.
- The dashboard you will manage is meetings booked. Bridge Group scores the human seat on quota (60% at it), ramp (3.0 months), Stage 0 meetings held (10 a month), and raw pipeline ($3.78M). If you cannot read the pilot on that scoreboard, you are not comparing SDRs.
- The plan has no kill criteria. Gartner, 25 June 2025, forecasts that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027 because of escalating costs, unclear business value, or inadequate risk controls. That forecast covers agentic projects in general. Keep it separate from AI SDR win rates and from the Bridge Group 1%.
Worked situations
You have closed fewer than 10 customers, there is no sales rep, and the board wants an AI SDR that books meetings overnight. SaaStr says you are still in the founder-close phase. There is no human seat to replace, and nothing for the tool to learn from. Bridge Group's $80K OTE and $3.78M pipeline describe companies at a $47M median revenue and a $50K median ASP. Keep selling until you can teach the motion.
Two closers are working, inbound sits for days, and the proposal is a chatbot plus an AI SDR instead of another person. Put a person on inbound. If you still pilot AI, limit it to research and first drafts for those closers, with a human review before anything sends. Count Stage 0 meetings the AE will take, and raw pipeline, the way Bridge Group scores an SDR. A meeting the AE will not take does not count. Headcount comes later, and the title question is on the Series A leadership sequence if the board is already talking executives.
Sources
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions & Metrics: 2025 Research Report. Matt Bertuzzi, 10th ed., published 6 February 2025. 351 B2B companies. 60% at quota, $80K OTE, 3.0 month ramp, $3.78M raw pipeline, Stage 0 quota of 10, 40% attrition, AI SDR category at 1%. Cite page: sales-development-metrics.
- Gartner, Over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027. Press release, 25 June 2025. Escalating costs, unclear business value, or inadequate risk controls. A forecast, not an SDR study.
- SaaStr, How to successfully source your first 2 sales reps. Close the first 10 or so yourself. Hire two. At least 18 months as an AE, not just as an SDR.
- FounderNexus. Founder sessions, 2026. AI on research and drafts. A person on inbound and on the close. Amplify the seller you have. Not a survey.
- fn-content #15. Benchmark request: SDR OTE, ramp, quota attainment, and attrition.
Related
An AI SDR helps in one phase and does not close. Founders who have run one while keeping a person on the deals will pressure-test where it sits in your motion in a FounderNexus session.