Remember when outbound used to work?

• You found a great list
  
  
• Wrote a decent email
  
  
• Hit send
  
  
• Booked meetings
  
  

Not anymore.

AI has created a massive surplus of meh outreach. Your inbox, like mine, is now stuffed with emails that are grammatically perfect, but emotionally empty.

Outbound is flooded. Response rates are falling off a cliff. And everyone’s building the same sequences with the same AI tools.

So what now?

AI vs. AI = Zero

Here’s the problem:

• AI tools are being used to send more emails
  
  
• Spam filters and AI inbox protection are blocking more messages
  
  
• Everyone’s using the same prompts, the same tone, the same structure
  
  

So what happens?

No one stands out.

The Return of Human-First GTM

The companies winning in outbound now are doing a few things differently:

1. Leaning into community and connection – Co-hosted events, content partnerships, warm referrals
   
   
2. Using outbound as a bridge, not a pitch – Starting conversations with real insight, not CTA spam
   
   
3. Getting specific, personal, and weird – Emails that feel human because they are
   
   

Outbound isn’t dead. It’s just being redefined.

And the companies that double down on quality, connection, and context will outperform the automation arms race.

Use AI to Support, Not Send

AI still has a place in GTM. But it’s behind the scenes:

• Research targets
  
  
• Summarize call notes
  
  
• Draft messaging scaffolds
  
  
• Score leads
  
  

Just don’t let it speak for you.

Because the second your outbound starts sounding like everyone else’s?

You’re done.