An AI lead researcher that builds the list.
It finds the companies that match your ICP, finds the right person at each, verifies every email with your connected tools and writes a one-page brief per account. The list arrives as a sheet, scored.
300 free credits to start. Live in two minutes.
What is an AI lead researcher?
An AI lead researcher is an agent that builds the list before anyone sells to it: it finds companies that match your ICP with tools like ZoomInfo, Apollo, Amplemarket and LinkedIn, finds the right person at each, verifies every email with the connected tools, scores each account against your criteria, and writes a one-page brief per account with the facts worth opening with. Cicada's does that from iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack or email, hands you the list as a spreadsheet link, and keeps your ICP in its memory so the next list starts from the last one's corrections.
What your AI lead researcher does.
Builds the list
From a sentence: industry, size, geography, the title you sell to. Pulled from ZoomInfo, Apollo, Amplemarket or LinkedIn, deduplicated against your CRM so nobody already in a deal shows up.
Finds the right person
The owner, the COO, the head of the team you sell to, with their LinkedIn profile and how long they've been in the role. A second contact where the first is a long shot.
Verifies every email
Each address checked through the connected tool before it goes on the list. The ones that fail are kept on a separate tab, never mixed in.
Scores against your ICP
Your criteria, kept in its memory: size, tools in use, signals like hiring or a new location. Each account gets a score and the reason, so the list sorts itself.
Writes the brief per account
One page: who runs it, what they do, recent news, the tools they use, the open roles, and the line worth opening with. As a document link in the sheet.
Keeps the list fresh
On a schedule it re-checks the top accounts for a new hire, a funding round or a job post, and texts you the ones whose timing just changed.
Who hires an AI lead researcher.
Lists that arrive researched
Every rep starts the day with accounts scored, emails verified and a brief per account, built overnight.
Your first hundred prospects
Describe the customer you want and get the list, the people and the reason each one fits, as a sheet.
An ICP that gets sharper
Correct one score and the rule sticks; the next list is built on what you taught it.
Business development targets
Companies posting the roles you fill, the hiring manager found, the email verified.
Prospects who look like your best clients
The same industry, size and stack as the accounts you keep, with the campaign they just ran in the brief.
Account lists for a campaign
A target list for the next launch, enriched and scored, handed to sales as a sheet everyone can open.
Set up in three steps.
Say what the job is
Describe the role in a sentence when you sign up, or tell the agent in the chat. It writes its own brief, which you can read and change any time.
Connect the apps it needs
One click for most apps. Each one can be Full, Ask first or Read-only, for every agent in the workspace.
Link your phone, or don't
Scan a code and it's in your iMessage or WhatsApp. Or keep it in the app, Slack and email. Hand it the first job in the same message.
Nothing goes out without your yes.
Nothing goes out without your yes
Anything that can't be undone, and any message to another person, waits for your OK. Approve with a 👍 in the chat, or set a role to full autonomy once you trust it.
Read-only is a real lock
Make any app read-only and the agent can look but never change a thing. It applies to every agent in the workspace, from their next run.
Every step on the record
Each run shows what it read, what it did and what it sent, step by step, in the Activity tab. Corrections you make stick.
What it won't do.
Won't pretend
If it couldn't confirm something, it leaves it out and says so. A number without a source doesn't go in a message.
Won't go around you
It never messages anyone on your behalf unless you asked, never spends money, and never makes a judgement call about money on its own.
Won't read what isn't shared
Teammates' agents work only through the apps the workspace shares. Your inbox and your personal apps stay under your own login.
Three ways to build a prospect list
| Task | Doing it yourself | A data provider's list builder | An AI lead researcher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building the list | Filters, exports, a spreadsheet | Filters and an export | A sentence; the right filters chosen and run across your tools |
| The right person | A LinkedIn search per account | A title filter | Found per account, with a second contact where needed |
| Email verification | A separate tool, a separate upload | Their own data, as is | Every address verified through your connected tool, failures kept apart |
| Scoring | A column you fill by hand | Not covered | Against your ICP, with the reason, and corrections stick |
| The brief per account | Ten minutes each | Not covered | One page per account, linked in the sheet |
| Deduplication against the CRM | A VLOOKUP, if you remember | An integration you set up | Checked against HubSpot or Salesforce before anything is added |
| Where it happens | Three browser tabs | Their web app | Your iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack or email |
Things to ask your AI lead researcher.
- 01
"Build a list of 100 independent pharmacies in Ohio and Michigan with 3+ locations. Owner or pharmacy director. Verified emails only."
You get: A sheet of 100 accounts from your prospecting tools, the contact and verified email on each, the failures on a second tab.
- 02
"Score that list against our ICP and tell me why the top ten rank where they do."
You get: A score and a one-line reason per account in the sheet, and a message on the top ten with what makes each a fit.
- 03
"Write a one-page brief on Northwind Logistics: who runs it, what they use, recent news, open roles, the line to open with."
You get: A document in your branding shared as a link and added to the account's row.
- 04
"Check this list against HubSpot and remove anyone already in a deal or contacted in the last 90 days."
You get: The sheet with the overlaps taken out and listed on their own tab with the deal or the last touch named.
- 05
"Every Monday at 7 re-check my top 50 for new hires, funding or job posts and text me the ones with a change."
You get: A morning message on the minute naming the accounts whose timing changed and what changed, with the sheet updated.
Frequently asked questions.
Where do I talk to it?
iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email or the web app. Link your phone with a code at sign-up and it answers in the same thread you text it in. In a group chat it stays quiet until someone names it.
Which tools does it search?
Whichever you connect: ZoomInfo, Apollo, Amplemarket and LinkedIn are the usual ones. It runs the search through the tool's own connection, so what it finds is what your plan with that tool allows.
How does it verify emails?
Through the enrichment or verification in the connected tool, one address at a time, before it goes on the list. Addresses that fail are kept on a separate tab; it never mixes a guessed address in with a verified one.
How does it know our ICP?
You describe it once, or correct a score in the chat, and it keeps the rule in its memory, which you can read and edit in the app. The next list starts from everything you've told it.
Does it send the outreach?
No, this role builds and researches the list. Hand the sheet to your AI SDR or your reps; a message to a prospect always waits for a yes from the person who sends it.
What won't it do?
It won't put an unverified email on the list, won't invent a fact about a company in a brief, won't add anyone already in a deal in your CRM, and won't message a prospect.
Does it write to the CRM?
Only when you ask, and with your yes. It can add the finished list to HubSpot or Salesforce as new contacts with the source noted, or leave it as a sheet; make the CRM read-only and it only checks for duplicates.
Can the whole team use it?
Yes. Every rep gets their own researcher on their own territory. The prospecting tools and the CRM are connected once for the workspace, and a coordinator can split a big list between specialists and hand you one sheet.
What does it cost?
Every workspace starts with 300 free credits. You add a card at sign-up and nothing is charged until you run low; then it's $25 for 200 credits, with no subscription. A quick reply is about 5 credits and a typical run under 20; plans start at $99 a month.
Other roles you can hire for
- AI Executive Assistant
- AI Chief of Staff
- AI Virtual Assistant
- AI Personal Assistant
- AI Office Manager
- AI Receptionist
- AI Scheduling Assistant
- AI SDR
- AI Sales Assistant
- AI Account Manager
- AI Customer Success Manager
- AI Head of Growth
- AI RevOps Analyst
- AI Marketing Manager
- AI Content Writer
- AI SEO Specialist
- AI Social Media Manager
- AI Community Manager
- AI Content Creator
- AI Email Marketing Manager
- AI Operations Manager
- AI Project Manager
- AI Procurement Assistant
- AI Inventory Manager
- AI Supply Chain Analyst
- AI Ecommerce Manager
- AI Property Management Assistant
- AI Bookkeeper
- AI Finance Analyst
- AI Recruiter
- AI HR Assistant
- AI Data Analyst
- AI Research Assistant
- AI Customer Support Agent
- AI Legal Assistant
- AI Software Engineer
- AI Designer
- AI IT Support Assistant
- AI Compliance Assistant
- For Shopify stores
- For home services
- For real estate teams
- For recruiting agencies
- For manufacturers
- For agencies
- For law firms
- For restaurants and hospitality
- For property managers
- For consultants
One teammate. The output of a team.
Works nights, remembers every decision, answers in the thread. Start free with 300 credits.