How Sellbird Automates Outreach for Small Businesses
A new open-source tool lets small businesses automate lead generation and email drafting using their current Claude or ChatGPT plans.
Sellbird is an open-source platform that identifies potential customers and decision-makers, verifies their contact details, and drafts personalized emails. It operates on your existing AI subscription, eliminating per-token API fees while keeping human approval in the loop.
What Sellbird Does
Sellbird, formerly known as Harvey, is an open-source outreach platform designed to run on your existing Claude or ChatGPT subscription. It automates the entire sales pipeline, starting with finding companies that match your customer profile. The tool searches for businesses using free sources like OpenStreetMap or paid sources you select, with costs displayed before any search runs.
Once companies are identified, Sellbird reads their websites to find buying signals, such as a lack of online booking systems or active job postings. It then locates the owner or manager named on those pages, limiting the search to two people per company to maintain focus. This process requires no additional model calls, meaning it costs nothing in terms of AI usage.
Cost and Infrastructure
One of the most significant advantages for small businesses is the cost structure. Sellbird does not require a separate API key or per-token billing. Instead, it uses the Claude Code CLI on a Claude Pro or Max plan, or the Codex CLI on a ChatGPT plan. This means you are not paying extra for the AI intelligence behind the tool; you are using the subscription you already have.
The only additional costs are for a mailbox to send from, such as Google Workspace, which costs about $7 a month. The tool also recommends using a warmup service like TrulyInbox to ensure emails do not end up in spam folders. There are no hidden fees for prospecting tools like Apollo or ZoomInfo, as Sellbird handles discovery independently.
Safety and Control
For small business owners, control is critical. Sellbird is designed so that nothing is sent without your approval. Every outgoing email waits in an Outbox until you explicitly approve it or turn on autopilot. Before sending, a pre-send check rejects emails with unfilled merge tags, banned phrases, or undeliverable addresses.
The system also handles replies by reading them, drafting answers, and setting aside auto-replies. It honors opt-outs immediately and flags any complex replies that require human intervention. This ensures that while the heavy lifting is automated, the final decision on what goes out always rests with you.
Implementation and Setup
Setting up Sellbird requires Python 3.11 or newer and a signed-in Claude or ChatGPT CLI. The repository includes a guide that allows Claude Code to assist with the setup process, checking for missing dependencies and training the tool on your specific product. You can also set it up manually by installing the package and adding your credentials.
The tool learns about your business by analyzing your website and confirming what makes a good prospect. Once configured, you can run the pipeline to discover businesses, verify emails, and draft campaigns. The dashboard provides a private link to monitor the process, allowing you to pause sending at any time if needed.
Takeaways
- Sellbird runs on your existing Claude or ChatGPT subscription, avoiding additional API costs.
- It automates prospect discovery, email verification, and personalized drafting while requiring human approval for sending.
- The tool is open-source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your outreach data and process.
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