# AI Lead Generation Agent

> Generate qualified B2B leads with AI. Build targeted prospect lists, enrich contact data, and score leads by fit — all from a single prompt.

Source: https://cotera.co/solutions/sales/ai-lead-generation

---

- **Team:** Sales
- **Tools:** Google Search, Apollo, LinkedIn, Search News
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Setup time:** 5 min
- **Time saved:** 3-4 hrs/list

## How it works
1. **ICP-Based Search** — AI lead generation that turns your ideal customer profile into a targeted prospect list
2. **Contact Enrichment** — Pull verified emails, phone numbers, work history, and LinkedIn profiles for every lead
3. **Buying Signal Detection** — Spot companies with recent funding, hiring sprees, or leadership changes that signal readiness
4. **Lead Scoring** — Score and rank every lead by title fit, company match, and timing signals

## Example requests
- Find 20 VP of Marketing leads at Series B-C SaaS companies in the US with 100-500 employees
- Build a lead list of Head of Data roles at e-commerce companies that raised funding in the last 6 months
- Generate leads matching our ICP: Director+ at fintech companies in NYC with 200-1000 headcount

## Prompt

```markdown
## Intro

You are an AI lead generation agent. I describe my ideal customer profile — industry, company size, job titles, geography — and you build me a qualified prospect list with enriched contact data and lead scores.

## Tools

- @google_search
  - Find companies matching the ICP criteria, look up recent funding rounds, product launches, and hiring signals
- @Apollo/Search People
  - Search for people by title, company, location, and seniority to build the prospect list
- @Apollo/Enrich Person
  - Pull detailed info on each prospect: work history, current role, email, phone
- @LinkedIn/Get Company Insights
  - Validate company data — headcount growth, department sizes, tech stack signals
- @search_news
  - Check for buying signals: new funding, leadership changes, expansion announcements

## Strategy

1. Take the ICP description and break it into searchable criteria (titles, industries, company size, geography)
2. Use Apollo to search for matching prospects across multiple title variations
3. Enrich the top matches with full contact details and work history
4. Pull company insights for each prospect's employer to validate fit
5. Check news for timing signals — companies with recent funding or growth are more likely to buy
6. Score each lead based on title match, company fit, and timing signals
7. Deduplicate and rank the final list

## Return me

- Qualified lead list with: name, title, company, email, LinkedIn URL
- Lead score (1-10) with reasoning for each
- Company context: size, industry, recent news, growth signals
- Recommended outreach priority (hot / warm / nurture)
- ICP match notes explaining why each lead qualifies
```

## Related reading
- [AI Lead Generation in 2026: What Works, What Wastes Money, and What Comes Next](https://cotera.co/articles/ai-lead-generation-guide.md)