How AI SDRs Use Webhooks to Time Outreach

The importance of webhooks for an AI SDR should not be understated. After all, for AI SDRs, timing is the strategy. For identifying and reaching out at the perfect moment, the prospect is likely to respond; AI SDRs need real-time signals. And these signals are delivered via webhooks.

This blog breaks down how webhooks work, why static enrichment doesn’t cut it anymore, and how you can use Crustdata’s Watcher API to build AI SDRs that send out relevant messages to the right people at the right time.

What are webhooks?

Webhooks are real-time notifications sent from one system to another, the moment something changes. They are instant alerts that enable signal-based automation.

For example, when a VP of Sales changes jobs, a company opens new hiring roles, or a funding round closes, a webhook can immediately notify your system. 

That webhook can now trigger a chain of actions in an AI SDR: generate a message tailored to that role change, feed it into your outbound sequencer, and send it while the context is still fresh.

Why should I use webhook-based signals instead of static enrichment?

Static enrichment is built for humans. It was built for human reps working off spreadsheets and their CRMs. They could be slow to outreach and might occasionally reach out to the wrong person due to outdated data, but it worked a decade ago, not anymore. And especially not for AI SDRs. 

The job of an AI SDR is to act like your best sales rep but faster. This includes finding high-intent leads, prioritizing them, and reaching out with the right messaging after understanding their pain points. 

Webhooks make that possible. They replace the old model of “enrich everything once a month and check what’s changed” with “get notified the second something does.”

However, most data vendors don’t have the infrastructure built for webhooks and still run on the old model. They still provide only bulk refreshes every 30 - 90 days. That means your AI SDR is blind to what’s actually happening right now.

Webhooks give you a zero-latency layer between external changes and execution:

• Outreach can begin within minutes of a trigger

• Messaging can reference the exact change that occurred

• Lead scoring can reprioritize based on live context

Let’s say your AI SDR is selling a RevOps tool. A company in your ICP just posted a job for their first Head of Revenue Operations. That’s your signal.

If you’re waiting for a static data refresh, you’ll miss it. By the time your agent sees the update, a competitor’s AI SDR has already messaged, booked a meeting, and moved on.

With webhooks, the signal arrives as it happens, and the message can go out while interest is high, decision-making is fresh, and competitors haven’t reached out yet.

Signals AI SDRs can track using webhooks

With webhooks, you can watch specific companies, specific people, or events happening across all companies and people. 

You can monitor:

Company-Level Signals

• New job postings with keywords like SDR, Head of Growth, or RevOps
  

• Hiring activity in specific locations or departments (e.g., first AE in Europe)
  
  

• Headcount growth in specific departments (e.g., sales team grew 30% QoQ)
  
  

• Funding rounds (e.g., Series B raised)
  
  

• Product launches or market expansion signals (e.g., international hiring begins)
  
  

• Social media activity from the company
  
  

• News mentions about the company or its leadership
  
  
  

People-Level Signals

• Job changes (someone joined a new company or got promoted)
  
  

• Social media posts by target prospects (use keywords to flag buying intent)
  
  

• News mentions of specific executives or decision-makers
  
  

These are signals that would take a lot of resources to identify with legacy data providers and their periodic bulk enrichment, assuming they caught them at all.

Very few B2B data providers offer webhook access to this kind of data. And among those who do, most batch updates weekly.

Crustdata pushes them in real-time so your AI SDR knows the instant something’s changed. 

Introducing the Watcher API

The ‘Watcher’ is Crustdata’s webhook-based infrastructure built for AI SDRs.

It continuously monitors the web’s richest source of signals and pushes real-time updates to your system the moment something changes.

It can track specific events, people or companies for any changes. 

You don’t need to enrich your entire dataset to find changes. You just set your watches like:

• “Notify me when anyone with ‘Revenue Operations’ in their title switches companies.”

• “Tell me if X company posts a GTM role in Europe.”

• “Track any posts by Y prospect that mention ‘sales velocity.’” 

And the watcher will push this notification to your AI SDR the instant this change happens. 

There are other data providers who offer webhooks. However, these are limited to specific events such as job changes and often do not deliver the updates in real-time.  

If you’re building AI SDRs or automated sales workflows that run on triggers, think of the Watcher as your eyes and ears on the ground that reports back any news instantly.

How to implement webhook-based GTM workflows

Setting up a webhook-based workflow isn’t hard, especially if the webhooks are designed to be easy to use, like Crustdata’s Watcher. 

Here’s how teams building AI SDRs can do it:

1. Define your ICP and what signals matter:

Before setting up any watches, you need to know who you’re reaching out to and what events should trigger your outreach.

• Define your ICP:
  
  

  • Company traits: industry, headcount, funding stage, tech stack

  • Buyer persona: title, seniority, department
    
    
    

• Identify relevant signals:
  
  

  • New job openings for GTM roles (Head of RevOps, AE, SDR)

  • Executive changes (new VP Sales, new CMO)

  • Funding rounds

  • Geographical expansion (e.g., first hire in APAC)

  • Social posts around the pain points your product solves

2. Set up webhook endpoints to receive events:

These endpoints are where Crustdata will push real-time updates to. 

• Build a simple REST API endpoint that accepts POST requests

• Can be hosted on your backend (Node/Express, Django), serverless (AWS Lambda), or tools like Make/Zapier

• Expect a JSON payload with details (e.g., person, event type, company, timestamp)

• Secure it with auth headers, IP allowlists, or verification keys

3. Connect those events to message generation and sequencing logic:

When your endpoint receives a signal, your AI SDR logic comes into action.

• Parse the payload

• Enrich with internal context (Optional)

• Generate a task for your AI SDR:
  
  

  1. Select a messaging template

  2. Add real-time context (title change, company, other signals)

  3. Run LLM prompt (GPT-4, Claude, or fine-tuned model)

  4. Push the output into your sequencer
     
     

4. Feed engagement data back into prioritization:

Use performance feedback (opens, clicks, replies, bounces) to refine your triggers and messaging.

• Which signals convert best?

• Which titles are responding?

• Which sequences perform post-signal?

Feed that data back in to make your AI SDR smarter over time.

AI SDRs Are Only as Good as Their Signals

AI SDRs win on timing. It’s not just about what they say, but when they say it. If your agent is waiting a week or a month to know what’s changed, it loses out on deals because intent fades quickly. 

Webhooks change that. They turn signals into outreach triggers.

Crustdata’s Watcher API was built for that exact job. Providing your AI SDR with real-time alerts on the leads, companies, and signals that matter, delivered the second they happen.