AI SDR With MCP: Build Your Own on Claude or ChatGPT

An AI SDR is software that does a sales development rep's outbound work: it sets up sending, writes the sequence, sends it and follows the replies. You can buy one as a product (11x, Artisan, AiSDR, Salesforge's Agent Frank, Reply.io's Jason AI, Amplemarket Duo, Instantly's AI agents) or build the email part yourself with an AI assistant such as Claude and an MCP server that runs the infrastructure. With the Outreach2day MCP server, the assistant checks and quotes domains and mailboxes, starts warm-up, builds and launches the campaign, and reads stats and replies, while sending, warm-up and the reply inbox run inside Outreach2day. You approve each order and the launch, bring the contact list and answer the replies. For about 2,000 new contacts a month, that setup costs about $53 a month: 12 mailboxes at $2.50, three .com domains and a Claude Pro plan.

Product prices below come from each vendor's own pricing page, checked October 9, 2026.

What an AI SDR Does, and Which Parts MCP Covers

The split is simple: an MCP server gives the assistant the infrastructure and the sequencer, and the assistant brings the writing and the judgement. Lead data and automatic replies are where AI SDR products do more.

Run the AI SDR Workflow Step by Step

1. Connect the server. Add https://public.outreach2day.com/mcp as a custom connector in Claude (or another MCP client) and sign in with OAuth. Setup per client: Claude, ChatGPT, Codex

2. Ask for the infrastructure. "Set up outbound for acme.com: 3 domains, 12 mailboxes." The assistant calls get_account_status, check_domains and quote_order, shows the quote (12 mailboxes, $30 a month, plus the domains) and waits for your yes. create_checkout returns a Stripe page; the assistant can't pay it

3. Start warm-up. After payment get_order shows registration, DNS and mailbox creation; start_warmup starts all 12. Mailboxes become ready 14 days later and reach full volume around day 21

4. Write the campaign meanwhile. Give the assistant your offer, your ideal customer and two or three past emails that got replies. It drafts the steps with upsert_campaign_step, runs check_copy on each and fixes flagged words. Our free agent skills cover openers, copy review and spintax

5. Import contacts. Paste or attach a CSV; import_campaign_contacts takes up to 10,000 rows and turns extra columns into variables

6. Launch. attach_campaign_mailboxes accepts mailboxes 14 or more days into warm-up, preflight_campaign lists anything that blocks the launch, and launch_campaign runs after your yes

7. Run the daily loop. "What happened yesterday?" get_campaign_stats and list_replies return the numbers and the replies with an intent label; the assistant lists the ones that ask for a call and drafts answers you paste into the Outreach2day inbox. "Pause if bounces pass 3%" maps to pause_campaign

The whole sequence, with every tool and an example session, is on the MCP for outbound page. If you prefer to send from Instantly or Smartlead, stop after step 3: export_mailboxes_to_sequencer moves the warmed mailboxes there after you confirm.

Honest Limits of the MCP Route

• No reply sending through MCP. list_replies reads replies; you send answers from the Outreach2day inbox, where you read and reply to every thread

• No lead sourcing or verification. Contacts come from your CSV; verify them before import with a tool you already use

• The assistant drafts the copy. check_copy is a spam-word check: it returns trigger words in a subject and body, nothing more. It does not score quality or predict replies

• Email only. No LinkedIn, call or SMS steps

• Google and Microsoft mailboxes are not in the order. Orders create SMTP/IMAP mailboxes on your domains

• No inbox placement test. The warm-up inbox rate and spam rate from get_warmup_status are the signals the assistant reads

• You approve money and launches. Every order is paid on Stripe after your yes, and launch_campaign needs your confirmation

• Client limits. Claude supports custom remote MCP connectors on Free (one connector), Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise (Anthropic help). In ChatGPT, MCP with write actions is in developer mode on Business and Enterprise plans (OpenAI help); our server gives ChatGPT checks, warm-up and campaigns, and orders are placed in the Outreach2day web app

AI SDR Products Compared

11x's own page gives two numbers: $3,750 a month on Growth and, in its FAQ, $36,000 a year. Reply.io's pricing page blocked automated reads; its prices were read in a browser.

What 2,000 New Contacts a Month Costs

A three-step sequence to 2,000 new contacts is about 6,000 emails a month. At 25 cold emails per mailbox per working day (550 a month), that is 11 mailboxes; the Outreach2day minimum of 12 sends up to 6,600.

The difference pays for the work the products do: lead data, research, LinkedIn and answering replies. If your team has a list source and someone who answers replies anyway, the MCP route covers the rest for the price of the mailboxes. To size a bigger program, the cold email capacity calculator turns a monthly volume into mailboxes, domains and a price. From 1,000 mailboxes we quote a volume price on a call; book one and our deliverability team reviews the setup with you.

When to Buy an AI SDR Product Instead

• You have no lead source and want the product's contact database and signals

• You need LinkedIn, calls or SMS in the same sequence

• Nobody on the team can answer replies within hours, and you want automatic answers

• You want a managed service with onboarding, a CSM and a fixed annual budget

Several of these products send from mailboxes you buy separately (Salesforge, Reply.io's extra mailboxes, Instantly). Outreach2day mailboxes on your domains connect to Instantly and Smartlead by API key, and to other tools by CSV export or SMTP/IMAP logins.

FAQ

Can Claude work as an AI SDR?

For email outbound, mostly yes. With the Outreach2day MCP server connected, Claude sets up domains and mailboxes after your approval, starts warm-up, writes and checks the sequence, imports your contacts, launches after your yes and reports stats and replies. It does not source leads or send replies through MCP.

What does an AI SDR cost?

Published prices on October 9, 2026: AiSDR from $250 a month, Salesforge Agent Frank from $499, Reply.io Jason AI from $500 a month billed yearly, Amplemarket from $600, 11x Growth from $3,750 a month on an annual contract. Artisan does not publish prices. A Claude Pro plan plus 12 Outreach2day mailboxes and three domains costs about $53 a month.

Does the Outreach2day MCP server send replies?

No. list_replies reads replies with a subject, sender, snippet and reply intent. You answer them in the Outreach2day inbox; the assistant can draft the text.

Does the assistant write the emails?

Yes. The model writes and edits the copy; the server stores it as campaign steps. check_copy only matches spam trigger words in a subject and body.

Where do the leads come from?

From a CSV you provide: import_campaign_contacts takes up to 10,000 rows per call, and extra columns become variables for personalization.

Which AI assistants can run the full flow?

Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and other clients with OAuth sign-in, with orders turned on when you sign in. ChatGPT runs checks, warm-up and campaigns; orders are placed in the Outreach2day web app.

How long until the first email goes out?

About 14 days after the order. Warm-up runs 14 days before a mailbox can be attached to a campaign, and mailboxes reach full volume around day 21. The assistant drafts and checks the campaign during warm-up.

Sources

Checked October 9, 2026:

• 11x Alice pricing and 11x pricing overview

• Artisan pricing

• AiSDR pricing

• Salesforge pricing and Agent Frank

• Reply.io pricing (read in a browser)

• Amplemarket pricing and Duo

• Instantly pricing.md and Instantly AI SDR agent

• Claude pricing and custom connectors with remote MCP

• ChatGPT developer mode and MCP apps