Is cold outbound dead now that AI floods every inbox? What still works?

Cold outbound is not dead, but the mass-blast version of it is: average reply rates fell from around 8.5 percent in 2019 to under 4 percent as AI-generated volume flooded inboxes and providers tightened filters. What still works is the opposite of the flood: tight lists, real buying signals, human-sounding messages under 100 words, and warm paths (intros, community, content) running alongside cold. Top senders still see 15 percent plus reply rates, the average has collapsed, the ceiling has not.

A quick orientation. The real value is below: resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it.