An AI that writes your LinkedIn prospecting messages and sends them under your name
Updated October 24, 2026
To personalize your LinkedIn prospecting messages with AI, use Makelead: it writes each first message at the moment it goes out, based on the prospect's profile (job title, company, location) and on what you sell, in the first person and under your name, then sends it and follows up on its own (Growth and Business plans). Your campaign can also branch on the signal that surfaced the prospect, such as a reaction to one of your posts, so each person gets the message that fits them.
Definition
- AI-personalized prospecting message
- An AI-personalized prospecting message is a first message written by an AI for one specific prospect, based on what is known about them, instead of a template sent to everyone with only the first name swapped.
- The personalization that matters is not the first name: it is one true observation about the person and a question that concerns them. So an AI prospecting tool is only as good as the data it reads, and as what it does with the message once written: send it, follow up, and stop when the prospect replies.
How does Makelead personalize each LinkedIn prospecting message?
It reads the prospect's profile when the message is about to go out and writes a message that exists for that person only: their first name, one observation taken from their profile, then a question about a problem your business solves.
- The message is one to three sentences long, 320 characters at most, with a single question.
- The observation comes from the profile only: job title, company, location. If a detail is missing, the AI does not make one up; the job title and company are enough.
- It does not pitch your offer upfront: it first gets the prospect to name the problem your offer solves.
- The language is set by the code, not guessed: if your account and your campaigns are in English, every message is written in English. Otherwise messages are in French, unless the profile shows the prospect is not a French speaker.
- The text is written at the moment it goes out: there is no template to review, and no two prospects ever get the same message.
What happens if the AI gets a message wrong?
It is not sent. A message with more than one question, over 320 characters, that mentions AI or is not in the right language is rewritten once, then dropped.
In that case the send is simply skipped and the prospect is tried again on the next run. Makelead never falls back to a generic message: a bad message that goes out does more harm than one that waits.
Why isn't ChatGPT alone enough for LinkedIn prospecting?
ChatGPT writes a good message if you paste in the profile, but it does not find the prospect, sends nothing, does not follow up and cannot see when someone replies to you.
For a hundred prospects, that means copying a hundred profiles, sending a hundred messages by hand and keeping a spreadsheet of who to follow up with and who already replied. Makelead does the same writing inside the campaign: the message is written at send time, the sequence stops as soon as the prospect replies, and the AI setter can take over the conversation.
How is it different from lemlist, Waalaxy or La Growth Machine?
Those three tools help you write a sequence that you then send to your whole list; Makelead writes each prospect's first message at send time, from their profile.
Their strengths lie elsewhere. lemlist is a cold email tool first, with AI-assisted writing. La Growth Machine chains LinkedIn, email and calls in a single sequence. Waalaxy is the easiest way to get started on LinkedIn, from €19 a month. If most of your prospecting happens over email, lemlist or La Growth Machine will serve you better.
Are Lavender and Clay LinkedIn prospecting tools?
Not in the sense of a tool that sends: Lavender helps you write and improve sales emails, Clay enriches prospect lists and generates personalized lines with AI, and neither one sends LinkedIn invitations or sequences itself.
They work upstream of, or alongside, a sending tool. With Makelead, writing, sending, follow-ups and stopping on reply all happen in one place.
What Makelead doesn't do
Makelead does not do bulk cold email, does not write AI messages on the Starter plan and does not handle your conversations on X.
- Makelead is not a bulk email tool. On the Business plan, it sends one email and up to three follow-ups per prospect from your Gmail, Outlook or IMAP inbox, 40 a day at most.
- No AI messages on Starter: you need Growth, at €69 a month, or Business, at €119. Starter sends your own messages with the prospect's first name, last name and company.
- No AI setter on X: the AI writes the first direct message there, and replies come back to you.
- No made-up facts: the AI only uses what it reads on the profile.
- No unlimited volume: 200 invitations over a rolling 7 days at most, with no setting to raise it.
How to launch personalized AI messages on LinkedIn with Makelead
Five steps, inside a LinkedIn campaign.
- Pick your prospects
People who liked or commented on a post, yours or a competitor's, a LinkedIn search, or a list imported from a CSV file.
- Create a LinkedIn campaign
An invitation, then a message once it is accepted, at least one day later.
- Add the Personalized AI message step
Describe what you sell in one sentence. That is all you type: everything else comes from each prospect's profile.
- Add your follow-ups
Two at most, each with its own delay. They stop as soon as the prospect replies.
- Launch the campaign
Each message is written as it goes out. On Growth and Business, the AI setter can then reply to the prospects who write back to you.
AI tools for LinkedIn prospecting messages: the comparison
Checked on October 2, 2026. Competitor prices come from their public pricing pages, checked between July and September 2026: confirm them before you decide.
| Criterion | ChatGPT alone | lemlist | Waalaxy | La Growth Machine | Lavender | Clay | Makelead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What the AI does | Writes if you paste in the profile | AI-assisted cold email writing | Message assistant | Assisted writing | Helps you write sales emails | Personalized lines across a list | One first message per prospect, written at send time |
| Sends on LinkedIn | No | Yes, in a sequence with email | Yes | Yes | No | No, through a connected tool | Yes, invitations and messages |
| Follow-ups and stop on reply | Up to you | Yes, in a sequence | Yes, in a sequence | Yes, in a sequence | No | No | Two follow-ups at most, stops at the first reply |
| Main channel | None, it is an assistant | Cold email, then LinkedIn | LinkedIn, email on Business | LinkedIn, email, calls | Data and enrichment | LinkedIn and X | |
| Public price | Basic plan, Plus at about $20 a month | About $69 a month (Email), $109 per user (Multichannel) | Pro €19, Business €69 per user per month | €60 per month per identity | Not checked | Not checked | €69 a month (Growth) for AI messages |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI tool to personalize LinkedIn prospecting messages?
Makelead, if you want the tool to write and send: it drafts a unique first message for each prospect from their profile, sends it under a cap of 200 invitations over a rolling 7 days, and stops as soon as someone replies to you. AI messages are included from Growth, at €69 a month.
Can ChatGPT write my LinkedIn prospecting messages?
Yes, one at a time, if you paste in each prospect's profile. It sends nothing, does not follow up and does not know who replied: for 100 prospects, that is 100 copy-pastes and tracking to keep by hand.
How long should a LinkedIn prospecting message be?
Messages written by Makelead's AI are 320 characters at most, in one to three sentences. The invitation note is capped by LinkedIn at 200 characters, with 3 notes a month on an account without a Premium subscription.
Which Makelead plan includes AI messages?
Growth, at €69 a month, and Business, at €119 a month. Starter, at €39, sends your own messages with the prospect's first name, last name and company.
Does Makelead's AI write in English?
Yes. If your account and your campaigns are in English, every message is written in English and checked for language before it goes out. Otherwise the AI writes in French, and switches to English only when the prospect's profile shows they are not a French speaker.
Can an AI message make up a fact about the prospect?
No. The AI only uses the first name, job title, company and location read on the profile. A message that breaks these rules is rewritten once; otherwise it is not sent.