Updated September 7, 2025

Short answer: AI trims the entire lead discovery workflow to five steps. 1) Describe your Ideal Customer Profile in plain words. 2) Ask Copilot to pull matching, verified contacts from the SuperSearch lead database. 3) Generate a multi-step, personalized email sequence with variables and spin syntax. 4) Review and edit for tone, then run deliverability checks. 5) Launch, monitor reply rate and meetings, and iterate. This reduces tool-switching and time-to-first-meeting while keeping costs predictable under Instantly’s flat-fee, unlimited-account model.

How many hours did you spend last week toggling between a lead database, a spreadsheet, and your sequencer? What if you could cut that to near zero?

Finding your first customers is a race against time. Instantly’s AI Copilot is built for that race. It functions as a research assistant, list builder, and copywriter inside one platform, so you can go from idea to launch-ready outreach in minutes, not weeks.

• Context switching kills momentum. Research shows it can take about 23 minutes to refocus after a distraction, as described in Atlassian’s article on the cost of context switching.
• Reps spend only about 36.6% of their time actually selling, with heavy losses to admin and prospect research, according to a LinkedIn analysis of selling time.
• Teams keep adding tools to compensate. Marketers already devote about 18% of budget to technology and most plan to increase it, which makes consolidation attractive, as noted in Forrester’s global martech spending outlook.

This guide is a playbook for founders who value speed-to-value. Follow the five steps below to find your ideal leads, generate a clean list, and launch a personalized sequence fast.

What is Instantly’s AI Copilot?

AI Copilot is Instantly’s in-app assistant for research, lead targeting, sequence writing, and campaign prep. You give it product context and your Ideal Customer Profile. It returns a targeted lead list from the integrated SuperSearch database, then drafts a multi-step sequence you can refine in minutes. See the feature overview on the Copilot page. You can also watch a quick walkthrough in this Instantly AI Copilot video.

Why this matters for a founder:

• Fewer tools to juggle. Data, verification, writing, and analytics live in one place.
• Faster first draft. The AI writes with your inputs, not generic templates.
• Safer outreach. SuperSearch focuses on verified contacts to protect domain health. Learn more on the SuperSearch lead database page and find details on email verification.

How to find leads and build a campaign in 5 steps

Below is a founder-friendly blueprint. Each step includes what to do, checks to validate, common pitfalls to avoid, and success metrics to watch.

Prerequisites

• Account: An Instantly workspace with at least one sending inbox connected and warmed. If you are new to cold email, start with two warmed inboxes and a gentle ramp. You can learn more about unlimited email warmup.
• Context: A short product description, website URL, and your current best guess of the Ideal Customer Profile.
• Guardrails: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aligned for your sending domain. Keep hard bounces at or below 1%.

Step 1: Define your Ideal Customer Profile with AI

• What you do: Open Copilot. Add your company URL and a 2-3 sentence product description to its memory. Ask Copilot to propose an ICP. It will suggest firmographics such as industry, employee range, geography, and buyer roles. Edit until it reflects your market hypothesis. You can see the ICP setup in the Copilot help article.
• Checks/validation: The ICP should include 3 to 5 firmographic filters and at least 2 buyer roles. Run a quick look-alike scan of 3 known good customers and confirm they match.
• Common pitfalls: Over-broad ICPs inflate list size and lower reply rate. Avoid “any industry” and “any size.” Pick a narrow wedge first.
• Success metrics: A precise ICP should later yield a lead list where fewer than 1 in 10 contacts is off-target when you spot-check.

Step 2: Generate a targeted lead list from SuperSearch

• What you do: In Copilot, select “Find ideal prospects.” It queries Instantly’s built-in SuperSearch across 450M+ B2B contacts, applying your ICP filters to return buyers by name, title, company, and verified email. Details on the SuperSearch lead database. You can see a short walkthrough in this Instantly SuperSearch video.

• Checks/validation: Pull a first batch of 50 to 200 contacts. Confirm titles match your buyer roles and spot-check 10 records on LinkedIn for accuracy. Instantly focuses on verified addresses to protect deliverability, as explained in its email searching tools guide.
• Common pitfalls: Skipping verification raises bounces and damages sender reputation. Keep catch-alls out of your first campaign. Maintain list hygiene during imports and de-dupe across campaigns.
• Success metrics: Hard bounce rate at or below 1%. Titles match your buyer roles on at least 80% of a 20-contact spot-check.

Step 3: Craft a personalized email sequence

• What you do: In Copilot, select “Write a sequence.” Provide the ICP, your value proposition, one simple ask, and any tone preferences. Copilot drafts subject lines and a 3-4 step sequence with merge tags such as {FirstName} and {Company}. Use spin syntax to vary intros or value lines without rewriting from scratch. See examples in Instantly’s outreach guides, such as the AI-powered cold email personalization guide.
• Checks/validation: Each step should have one clear purpose. Subject lines under 7 words. Body under 120 words for step 1. Merge tags render correctly in previews.
• Common pitfalls: Multiple asks per email, jargon, and over-personalization that strains credibility. Avoid heavy links or images in early steps. Keep tracking pixels off if you face strict privacy regions.
• Success metrics: Two subject variants and two body variants per step prepared for testing. At least one version reads naturally when spoken aloud.

"Instantly are providing cutting edge software with the latest AI capabilities. I chose Instantly over other cold email marketing providers every time!" - a Trustpilot review by Eddy Kelly, September 4, 2025.

Step 4: Review and refine the AI’s output

• What you do: Treat AI drafts as a head start. Apply your voice. Add one relevant proof point or micro-insight per email. Use Copilot’s guidance rules to set do’s and don’ts for tone and vocabulary, then re-generate where needed. See guidance controls in the Copilot help article.
• Checks/validation: Run Instantly’s spam check and preview with 5 random contacts to confirm variables, links, and signatures render. Test-send to a seed list. Aim for primary inbox placement before scaling.
• Common pitfalls: Pressing send on a raw AI draft. Generic phrases can read robotic, as Instantly explains in its article on AI email limits. Your edit is essential.
• Success metrics: Spam score in a healthy range. Test sends land in the primary inbox on at least 3 major providers. Two humans on your team sign off on tone and ask.

Step 5: Launch and measure your campaign

• What you do: Launch to a capped daily volume and safe send windows. Monitor open, reply, and bounce rates in Instantly’s analytics. Keep follow-ups active, as shown in Gartner’s B2B buying journey research.
• Checks/validation: Reply classification and meeting tracking are configured. Replies route to one place so nothing slips. You can manage replies in the Unibox and move qualified leads into your pipeline.
• Common pitfalls: Scaling volume before placement stabilizes. Ignoring bounce spikes. Stopping after one touch when buyers need more, which LinkedIn’s analysis of selling time also hints at in its breakdown of rep activities.
• Success metrics: Early campaigns often target 3% to 5% replies and 1% meetings, then improve through testing. Track pipeline per dollar and time-to-first-meeting.

"Easy setup, AI superpowered, intuitive user interface." - Alexander, from a Trustpilot review on September 4, 2025.

Table: Manual vs. AI Copilot workflow

Beyond the first campaign: scaling your outreach

Once the first sequence is live, scale without per-seat penalties. Instantly’s outreach plans use a flat-fee model with unlimited sending accounts and warmup, which means you can add inboxes and domains safely as volume grows. You can see the current plans on the pricing page.

Keep the system simple:

• Add inboxes gradually. Warm new accounts and keep bounces under control with Instantly's unlimited email warmup feature.
• Centralize replies. Route everything to the Unibox for centralized management.
• Rinse and repeat. Copy your best campaign, swap the ICP, refresh the opener, and relaunch. Copilot remembers your brand rules and prior wins for faster iteration.

"Works great and integrates with GHL which is super helpful for keeping my emails warm and getting to the inbox." - a Trustpilot review by Eli Kirlin, August 18, 2025.

If you prefer a look under the hood, browse the short product overview on the Copilot page and find quick wins from founders on Instantly’s Wall of Love.

From idea to pipeline in record time

Tool sprawl and blank-page writing slow founders down. AI Copilot collapses research, targeting, verification, and writing into one guided workflow so you can focus on conversations, not set-up. The result is faster time-to-first-meeting, a cleaner pipeline, and predictable costs through a flat-fee, unlimited-account model.

Start your free trial and find your first 10 ideal leads with AI Copilot.

Frequently asked questions

• How does Copilot avoid robotic copy?
  Copilot writes with your inputs, not generic prompts. You add your URL, ICP, voice rules, and one clear ask. Then you edit. Use guidance rules to set tone and vocabulary, run a spam check, and test-send before launch. See setup tips in the Copilot Help Center article.
• How are contacts verified in SuperSearch?
  SuperSearch focuses on verified contacts so you do not waste sends or damage domain health. Instantly explains its approach in the email searching tools guide.
• What does it cost to run my first campaign?
  Instantly uses flat-fee plans for outreach with unlimited email accounts and warmup, plus separate plans for the lead database. See current tiers on the pricing page. This keeps total cost predictable as you add inboxes.
• What metrics should I watch first?
  Start with delivery rate, hard bounces, reply rate, and meetings booked. Many teams aim for 3% to 5% replies on early runs, then improve with testing. Track pipeline per dollar and time-to-first-meeting each week.
• Why so many touches?
  Buyers split attention across channels and rarely spend long with vendors, as shown in Gartner’s B2B buying journey research. Consistent, respectful follow-ups matter.