How to configure and turn on Inbound SDR
Have AI reply within seconds to anyone who comes in through a form, Lead Ads, ad, or Instagram, qualify them, and schedule a time with the salesperson.
2 min readBasicUpdated on November 12, 2026
Where to find it in Cognizy
Video lesson coming soon. For now, follow the steps below.
Inbound SDR is the AI agent that makes the first contact with leads. It sends the opening message, gradually asks what you need to know, and when the lead is qualified, it creates the deal and schedules the meeting or hands it off to the team with a summary.
Where to find it in Cognizy
Before you start
- Have an AI agent ready (or create an SDR agent on the spot) and WhatsApp connected.
- Only the owner and administrators can configure the SDR.
- Changes on this screen save automatically.
Step by step
- Step 1:
Open and the Settings. In SDR Agent, choose the Agent that will reply, or + Create SDR agent to create one with the company's persona.
- Step 2:
In Where leads come from, turn on the sources: Forms, Meta Lead Ads, Click to WhatsApp ad, Purchase intent during service and Instagram (only those coming from ads or every new contact).
- Step 3:
In First contact, write the Opening message that the form or Lead Ads lead receives within seconds, and choose the WhatsApp number that sends it.
- Step 4:
In What the SDR needs to find out, write the criteria (for example, goal and what time works) and mark the Required. Use segment suggestion fills in common criteria for your industry; Add criterion includes another one.
- Step 5:
In When qualified, choose the Deal pipeline, the service for the Meeting with the salesperson and the Receiving team for the lead when there is no available time.
- Step 6:
Finally, at the top, turn on SDR on. If it's off, no new lead receives the first contact.
How to know it worked
The badge at the top changes to on. The next leads from the selected sources receive the first contact within seconds and appear in the Leads tab with each one's status.
If something goes wrong
The form lead did not receive a message.
Check whether the lead has a phone number and whether WhatsApp is connected. Without an active email channel, a lead without WhatsApp will not be contacted.
On official WhatsApp, the opening message does not send.
On the official connection, the first message needs an approved Meta template. Approve the template in Settings › WhatsApp Templates.
Next step
Track the leads handled by the SDR.
Sign in with your Cognizy account to save your progress.
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