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Agentforce SDR: what Salesforce's SDR agent does, what it needs, and what it costs
Agentforce SDR is Salesforce's agent for working leads already in your org. It emails each lead, sends nudges when they go quiet, answers product questions from documents you upload, handles "not now" and "not interested", and books meetings for the lead's owner, around the clock. It needs Data Cloud and Einstein features switched on, and agents that deal with customers are billed in Flex Credits: 20 credits, or $0.10, per action.
What it does with a lead
The agent starts when a lead meets the engagement rules you set, or when someone activates it on a lead record. Salesforce's guide describes each step:
| When | The agent |
|---|---|
| Lead activated | Schedules an introduction email minutes later, inside the agent's working hours. |
| No reply | Sends nudge emails on your "time between attempts", up to a maximum you set. |
| Lead asks a question | Answers from files you uploaded (retrieval through Data Cloud); if it doesn't know, suggests a meeting with the lead owner. |
| "Let's book a meeting" | Replies with a meeting link (with Salesforce Inbox on), copies the lead owner and notifies the seller. |
| "Interested, but not now" | Says the lead owner is the best person to help and suggests a meeting. |
| "Not interested" | Stops and sets the lead's Email Opt-Out field. |
Each email carries a sign-off disclosure. The guide's own pitch is "nurturing inbound leads 24/7", and Salesforce's sales agent page puts it under engagement: "Never miss an inbound lead. Route inbound leads to Agentforce and set clear guardrails for when and how to reach out." That makes it a different tool from a cold outbound agent. It doesn't search a contact database for strangers; Salesforce's separate prospecting features rank and research prospects for your reps and write outreach for them.
What you need switched on
- Einstein for Sales: Einstein generative AI, and Einstein Activity Capture so the agent reads and logs email.
- The Agentforce SKU: Sales Engagement cadences (one Sales Engagement license is included), automated actions, and Salesforce Inbox for meeting links.
- Data Cloud (or Salesforce Foundations' Data Cloud), for answering questions from your documents.
- A dedicated email address for the agent; the guide's readiness checklist asks whether you can provision one.
So it fits a company already paying for Sales Cloud with an admin to set it up. It is not something a founder switches on in an afternoon.
What it costs
Salesforce's Agentforce pricing page lists two ways to pay for agents that deal with customers:
- Flex Credits: $500 per 100,000 credits. Each action an agent takes (drafting an email, answering a question, updating a record) uses 20 credits, which is $0.10; a voice action uses 30.
- Conversations: $2 per conversation.
An example, not a quote: if a lead gets an intro email, two nudges, one answer and a meeting reply, that's five actions, 100 credits, $0.50. A thousand such leads a month would be about $500 in credits, on top of your Salesforce licenses. The implementation guide doesn't say whether an SDR email thread counts as a "conversation" at $2, so ask Salesforce which model applies before you budget. The $125-a-user Agentforce add-ons cover employee-facing use; the Max editions, from $550 a user a month, include 2.75 million Flex Credits per org per year.
Agentforce SDR against outbound agents
| Tool | Works on | Sends | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agentforce SDR | Inbound leads in Salesforce | On its own, inside your rules | $0.10 per action + licenses |
| HubSpot Prospecting Agent | Signals and contacts in HubSpot | Review or no review, per play | 100 credits ($1) a lead + seat |
| AiSDR | New people from its database; logs to Salesforce on team plans | On its own; co-pilot for replies | $1.50 a person |
| Artisan | New people from its database; Salesforce sync on team plans | Approval mode or autonomous | From $280 a month |
| Moab | New people you find through your Prospeo account | After you approve (per draft in its docs) | Free, $49 or $149 a month |
If your leads come in through forms and sit in Salesforce, Agentforce SDR does a job the outbound tools don't: it answers them in minutes from your own material. If you need new conversations with people who've never heard of you, an outbound agent fits better; note that Moab's integrations page lists no Salesforce sync. If you're on HubSpot, see HubSpot Prospecting Agent.
Questions
What does the Agentforce SDR agent do?
It emails leads in your Salesforce org, sends nudges when they don't reply, answers their product questions from documents you upload, books meetings with the lead owner and records opt-outs, without a rep writing each email.
How much does Agentforce SDR cost?
Agents that deal with customers are billed in Flex Credits at $500 per 100,000, and each action uses 20 credits, or $0.10; Salesforce also lists $2 per conversation. You also need Salesforce with Data Cloud and the Einstein features the agent uses.
About this page
Published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes Moab, which is named above as one alternative. Winding AI earns from Moab subscriptions, not from links to other products. Back to the AI sales agent software comparison.