GDPR-compliant AI SDR tools 2026: what to check, 13 compared
2026-10-15 · updated 2026-10-15 · 11 min read · Adam Axelsson, founder of Revexa
No AI SDR tool is GDPR-compliant on its own: the company that sends is the data controller, and the tool is usually its processor. What decides it is your legal basis (usually legitimate interest, Article 6(1)(f)), telling each prospect where you got their data (Article 14), stopping when someone objects (Article 21), a data processing agreement (Article 28), safeguards for data leaving the EEA (Chapter V) and each country's ePrivacy rule, which requires consent even for B2B email in Germany, Denmark and at least five other EU countries. From the tool, demand a DPA, a sub-processor list, a stated data location, one suppression list for every channel and review before sending. Of the 13 tools below, four (Apollo, Instantly, lemlist and Smartlead) publish both a processor DPA and a full sub-processor list.
Checked on 15 October 2026 against each vendor's own pages and the law texts on EUR-Lex. This is not legal advice.
Revexa builds Leo, a buying-signal agent and one of the tools below. Leo's facts come from Revexa; the rest links to each vendor. Tools are listed alphabetically.
Is using an AI SDR legal in the EU?
Yes, in our reading: no EU law bans sales outreach because an AI wrote or sent it. The same rules apply, in three layers:
- GDPR covers the data. A name and a work address are personal data. You decide whom to contact and why, so you are the controller (Article 4(7)); a tool that processes leads on your behalf is a processor (Article 4(8)). Recital 47 says direct marketing "may be regarded as carried out for a legitimate interest". More in GDPR and B2B email.
- ePrivacy covers the channel. Whether you may send at all is national law. Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain require consent for marketing email even to companies; Sweden, France and the UK do not (cold email laws by country). A German appeal court has treated LinkedIn messages the same way (UWG §7).
- The AI Act covers the AI system, and mostly binds the vendor (below).
A tool cannot make an unlawful send lawful. If it also identifies website visitors, that is a separate consent question (visitor identification in Europe).
Nine controls to demand, with the law behind each
| Control | What to ask the vendor | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Data processing agreement | Your instructions, confidentiality, security, sub-processors, help with requests, deletion at the end | GDPR Art. 28(3) |
| Sub-processor list | Names and locations, notice before changes, a chance to object | Art. 28(2) and 28(4) |
| Data location and transfers | Storage and processing locations, and the transfer tool outside the EEA: an adequacy decision (e.g. the EU-US Data Privacy Framework) or standard contractual clauses (SCCs) | Art. 44, 45 and 46; Decision (EU) 2023/1795 |
| One suppression list for every channel | A block list checked before every email and LinkedIn message, in every campaign | Art. 21(2) and 21(3) |
| Objection that stops at once | An unsubscribe link or address in every email, and "stop" replies caught | Art. 21(3); ePrivacy Directive Art. 13(4) |
| Review before sending | Approval per message, at least for new markets | Art. 24(1), measures to ensure compliance (review is one, in our reading) |
| Where each contact came from | A source per contact, so the first message can name it and the right to object | Art. 14(2)(f), 14(3)(b) and 21(4) |
| Retention | A deletion period for contacts who never reply, and deletion or return at contract end | Art. 5(1)(e); Art. 28(3)(g) |
| Country rules | A way to exclude countries that require consent, such as Germany | ePrivacy Art. 13 as each country implements it, e.g. UWG §7(2) no. 2 |
Opt-outs get enforced: Sweden's regulator IMY fined H&M SEK 350,000 in 2023 for not stopping direct marketing "without undue delay" after people objected, and for lacking "sufficient systems and routines" to make objecting easy (a consumer case; IMY, our translation).
What the EU AI Act says
The AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), as amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 July 2026), calls the vendor the "provider" and a company "using an AI system under its authority" the "deployer" (Article 3(3) and (4)).
- Saying it is an AI (Article 50(1), from 2 August 2026). Providers must design systems "intended to interact directly with natural persons" so that people are informed they are interacting with an AI system, "unless this is obvious". Our reading: it matters most when the agent replies on its own, less when a person approves and sends each message.
- Machine-readable marking (Article 50(2)). Providers of systems that generate synthetic text must mark outputs "in a machine-readable format", except for "an assistive function for standard editing". Systems on the market before 2 August 2026 have until 2 December 2026 (Article 111(4)).
- Deep fakes (Article 50(4)). Deployers must disclose AI image, audio or video "constituting a deep fake". Our reading: an AI video or cloned voice note that passes as real is covered; plain email is not, since the text rule covers only text "published with the purpose of informing the public on matters of public interest".
- AI literacy (Article 4). Since 2 February 2025, deployers must take measures for their staff's AI literacy; since 27 July 2026, "to support the development of AI literacy", without having to "guarantee any specific level".
- Not high-risk, in our reading. Annex III lists eight high-risk areas, from biometrics and employment to credit scoring and law enforcement. Sales outreach is not among them, so the oversight rules for high-risk systems (Articles 14 and 26) do not attach.
- Fines. Up to EUR 15 million or 3% of worldwide annual turnover for breaching Article 50, whichever is higher; for SMEs and small mid-caps, whichever is lower (Article 99(4), (6) and (6a)).
We found no provision in the amended Act that requires consent for sales outreach; that comes from national ePrivacy law.
13 AI SDR tools compared on GDPR controls
| Tool | Seat | DPA published | Sub-processor list | Data location, per vendor | Opt-out and suppression, per vendor docs | Review before sending | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11x | US (11X AI, Inc.) | Not published; offered to EU customers | Not published; on request | AWS, region not published; data may go to the US | Read from your CRM; per channel by default | Per message, named approver or autonomous; no default stated | security, opt-outs, FAQ |
| AiSDR | US (AiSDR Inc.) | Not published; listed on team plans | Yes: 25, 24 in the US | US; EU-US Data Privacy Framework | "Stop" and "unsubscribe" replies suppressed; unsubscribe link off by default | No per-message approval | privacy, list, help |
| Amplemarket | US (Tagis, Inc.) | Yes, but controller-to-controller | Yes: 18, all US | US (Google Cloud); DPF and SCCs | Unsubscribe links; opt-outs added to the account exclusion list | Per lead; autonomous mode is opt-in per signal | GDPR, DPA, list |
| Apollo | US (ZenLeads Inc.) | Yes (10 Aug 2026) | Yes: 24, all US | US; SCCs and DPF | Opt-out link and one-click header; unsubscribes become Do Not Contact; optional EU-wide block | Manual or automatic email steps; no default stated | DPA, list, GDPR |
| Artisan | US (Artisan AI, Inc.) | Yes (17 May 2026) | Behind trust-center access; given to EU and UK customers | US; SCCs | Organization-wide do-not-contact list on by default; unsubscribe line optional | Autonomous by default; approval is a setting | DPA, terms, settings |
| Gojiberry | France (Superfruits SAS) | Not published; on request | Yes, with locations | AWS Paris; some sub-processors in the US (SCCs or DPF) | Unsubscribe link on by default; workspace blocklist stops emails, invitations and messages | Optional Review Mode; no default stated | list, GDPR, blocklist |
| Instantly | US (Foo Monk LLC) | Yes (10 Sep 2026) | Yes: 27, 25 in the US | US ("generally"); SCCs | Unsubscribe link and header optional; workspace blocklist; adding unsubscribes to it is a toggle | AI Sales Agent: approval on by default | DPA, list, blocklist |
| lemlist | France (Lempire SAS) | Yes (v1.4.2, undated) | Yes, inside the DPA | France (OVH); the DPA also lists US sub-processors under SCCs | Unsubscribe link required; a click unsubscribes account-wide; "Do not contact" covers all channels | Per lead at launch by default; per message with manual steps | DPA, storage, unsubscribes |
| Leo by Revexa | Sweden (Revexa) | Not published; accepted by every customer in the portal | Categories in the privacy policy; named list on request | EU database and hosting; backups and some processing outside the EEA (SCCs) | Stop line and unsubscribe header in every email; a stop in one channel blocks all | Per message, on by default | privacy, facts |
| Reply.io | US (ReplyApp Inc.) | Yes (3 Jul 2026) | Partly: the DPA names 7; full list on request | US "as a general rule" and other countries (Azure); SCCs | Opt-out text or link (can be left blank); opt-outs kept account-wide; blacklist includes LinkedIn URLs | Approval or automatic, chosen at launch; no default stated | DPA, GDPR, opt-out |
| Salesforge | EU (Salesforge OU; country not stated) | Not published; standard DPA e-signed on request | Names only, no locations | EU servers; transfers under adequacy decisions or SCCs | Unsubscribe header and opt-out link options; workspace do-not-contact list (email, domain, LinkedIn) | Agent Frank: review or autonomous; no default stated | privacy, DPA, list |
| Smartlead | Australia (521 Products Pty Ltd) | Yes (18 Sep 2026) | Yes: 29, with locations | EU and UK data "inside and outside" the EU and UK; SCCs | Unsubscribe covers future campaigns (can be overridden); block list for emails and domains | You write the sequence; AI reply drafts are sent by hand | DPA, list, unsubscribes |
| Valley | US (Think Fish Inc.) | Not published | Not published | US and other countries; transfer tool not stated | Workspace do-not-contact list keyed on LinkedIn URLs; sends on LinkedIn (connection requests and InMail), no email channel documented | Per lead, a per-campaign setting; no default stated; Valley recommends automatic sending | privacy, DNC, approvals, product |
"Not published" means we found no public page on the vendor's site; it may exist on request or inside the app. Review defaults: which AI SDRs let you approve every message. Prices: AI SDR tools compared and 11x vs Artisan vs AiSDR.
What the table shows
- Contracts. Apollo, Artisan, Instantly, lemlist, Reply.io and Smartlead publish a processor DPA. Amplemarket's makes each party "an independent Controller"; 11x, AiSDR, Gojiberry and Salesforge offer one on request or on certain plans.
- Location. Most tools host in the US. Gojiberry, lemlist and Salesforge host in the EU but name transfers outside it: lemlist's help center says "No personal data is exported outside the EEA", while its DPA lists US sub-processors such as Intercom under SCCs.
- Opt-out defaults differ. 11x keeps opt-outs "channel-specific by default" and calls global "safer"; AiSDR switches unsubscribe links off by default and suppresses "stop" replies instead.
- Article 14 stays with you. Artisan's launch post promises "automated Article 14 disclosures on first contact", but its DPA makes the customer "fully responsible" for Article 13 and 14 notices.
- Self-assessment. Reply.io's GDPR help article says Reply "is not fully compliant with every legal obligation outlined in the regulation", citing its LinkedIn email finder extension.
How Leo handles it
- Contract. You are the controller and Revexa the processor. Every customer accepts the DPA in the portal before Leo processes leads, but its text is not published.
- Sub-processors and location. The privacy policy lists sub-processors by category, with a named list on request. Database and application hosting are in the EU, but encrypted backups sit with a US provider and some processing, such as language models and data enrichment, happens mainly outside the EEA under SCCs.
- Opt-outs. Every email ends with a stop line and carries an unsubscribe header, and a stop in one channel blocks the person in every channel.
- Review and countries. You approve every draft by default; autonomous mode is your choice, per channel. Leo blocks cold messages to leads in Germany automatically (UWG §7), and it is the only country blocked automatically: for Denmark, Norway and other consent countries, you decide when you review each draft in review mode.
- Retention. Lead correspondence: the campaign period plus 90 days. All data is deleted 30 days after the agreement ends unless you ask for an export.
Leo is the wrong choice if you need a published DPA and sub-processor list before you sign up, all processing inside the EEA, or software that enforces every country's consent rule for you.
Common questions
Which AI SDR tools are GDPR compliant?
None is compliant by itself, because you are the controller. Compare what vendors publish: of the 13 we checked, Apollo, Instantly, lemlist and Smartlead publish both a processor DPA and a full sub-processor list, and Valley publishes neither.
Is using an AI SDR legal in the EU?
Yes, if each send is: a lawful basis under GDPR (usually legitimate interest), a working opt-out, the data source named by the first message, and each country's ePrivacy rule. At least seven EU countries, including Germany and Denmark, require consent for marketing email even to companies.
Does the AI Act require me to label AI-written sales emails?
Not directly, in our reading. Article 50(1) puts the duty on the provider, for AI systems that interact directly with people, such as an agent that replies on its own. Plain email is outside the deep fake rule, but AI videos or cloned voices that pass as real must be disclosed.
What should an AI SDR do when someone opts out?
Stop at once and for good, in every channel. Under Article 21(3), personal data "shall no longer be processed" for direct marketing after an objection. Ask whether the block list covers every campaign and LinkedIn, not just email.
This is an informative overview, not legal advice.