Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr, recently issued a stark warning regarding the proliferation of ineffective artificial intelligence (AI) in sales and public relations, advocating for the immediate blocking of "mediocre AI SDRs and mediocre AI PR emails and agents." This statement came as part of the latest installment of "The Agents #004," where Lemkin revealed that SaaStr has achieved a significant turnaround, moving from a -19% to a +47% year-over-year revenue growth by deploying over 20 AI agents. He emphasized that there is "no downside to blocking the mediocre ones," as prospects will otherwise never hear from the sender again.
Lemkin elaborated on his stance, explaining that while AI can generate well-written and customized pitches, the core issue often lies in poor targeting. "The better the copy gets, the more important the question becomes whether the pitch itself is correct," he stated in the SaaStr article accompanying "The Agents #004." He noted that many AI PR pitches, despite their sophisticated language, are fundamentally "wrong," leading to immediate blocks rather than engagement. This echoes his earlier concerns from 2025, where he questioned if "Block" could be the death of the AI SDR, highlighting a lack of guilt in blocking non-human senders.
SaaStr's own successful implementation of AI agents, which now handle tasks previously managed by a team of human SDRs and AEs, underscores a critical distinction between effective and ineffective AI deployment. The company's experience suggests that while AI agents can drive substantial revenue and efficiency, their success hinges on rigorous training, daily human oversight, and a disciplined approach. Lemkin stressed that companies treating AI SDRs as a "set it and forget it" tool typically achieve zero pipeline, contrasting with the 10% who scale by investing significant time in message architecture, daily output review, and rapid response.
However, managing a large fleet of AI agents is not without its challenges. SaaStr, running nearly 30 agents, has identified issues such as the "context switching tax" due to varied agent interfaces, "blackout periods" during new agent onboarding, and a "succession planning crisis" where critical knowledge resides with a single human operator. Lemkin also humorously pointed out that agents can be "brutally honest truth-tellers," constantly highlighting performance gaps without human empathy, which can be demoralizing for human teams.
The insights from SaaStr, a leading voice in the SaaS industry, suggest a bifurcated future for AI in sales and PR: highly effective, disciplined AI deployments will thrive and drive significant growth, while poorly managed or untargeted AI efforts will face widespread blocking and ultimately fail to deliver results. The key, according to Lemkin, lies in treating AI implementation with the same strategic rigor as any other critical business function, ensuring quality, relevance, and continuous human-led optimization.
