

AI-powered tools can make lead generation more efficient, saving time while boosting results.
In this post, we’ll share 11 AI prompts you can use to simplify your lead-generation process and connect with the right prospects.
AI highlights
AI speeds up and improves lead generation. It automates time-consuming tasks like research, lead scoring, and outreach so you can focus on connecting with the right people.
Here are 11 top use cases and tools:
Use Case | Description | Recommended Tools |
Identify your target audience | Analyze customer profiles and key characteristics to help create your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). | |
Identify leads who match your ICP | Filter and identify leads that fit your ICP based on data like industries, locations, and job titles. | ChatGPT |
Qualify leads with automated lead scoring | Automate lead scoring to rank leads by engagement and alignment with your ICP. | |
Leverage predictive analytics | Analyze historical lead data to identify patterns and prioritize leads most likely to convert. | ChatGPT |
Craft personalized LinkedIn messages | Create tailored, engaging LinkedIn messages that feel personal. | |
Create an email for initial sales outreach | Craft effective emails for sales outreach to optimize engagement and response rates. | Lavender |
Research competitors to uncover common points | Analyze competitor reviews, FAQs, and social media activity to uncover trends. | ChatGPT |
Get inspiration for your lead-generation marketing campaigns | Use generative AI to brainstorm content ideas, like eBooks, that are aligned with your audience’s pain points. | ChatGPT |
Engage with your leads on social media posts | Craft thoughtful, tailored comments on leads’ posts, fostering engagement and building relationships. | |
Develop your lead nurturing strategy | Create personalized strategies with relevant follow-ups and value-driven content to guide leads through the sales funnel. | ChatGPT |
Conduct sentiment analysis | Evaluate data to gauge how leads feel about your brand, helping refine communication strategies. | Salesforce Einstein, HubSpot, Crystal, or ChatGPT |
1. Identify your target audience
Understanding who your ideal customers are is the foundation of successful lead-generation strategies.
If you’re unsure where to start, we recommend using PhantomBuster’s Advanced AI Enricher.
This tool analyzes your existing customer profiles and summarizes their key characteristics, helping you create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) that aligns with your goals so you can easily identify potential leads.
Here’s an example of a prompt:
Analyze the given customer profiles and provide a detailed summary of their characteristics to help us create an Ideal Customer Profile.

2. Identify leads who match your ICP
Once you’ve nailed down your ICP, the next step is identifying the leads that fit it.
All you need is ChatGPT and a prospecting list (Excel or CSV file) with the right data—company names, industries, employee count, locations, and, if possible, contact details like job titles or emails.
Upload your file and let ChatGPT filter through it to find the companies and individuals that match your criteria.
Try using a prompt like this:
Analyze this Excel file and identify leads that match my ICP:
- Industry: B2B SaaS
- Company size: 50-200 employees
- Location: North America
Provide a filtered list with company names, decision-maker titles, and any contact details available.

3. Qualify leads with automated lead scoring
Lead scoring is a practical way to determine which prospects deserve your attention and enhance lead qualification.
It's easier to convert leads if you rank them based on their engagement and how closely they match your ICP. This saves time and makes your lead-generation efforts more effective.
With PhantomBuster’s AI LinkedIn Profile Enricher, you can set up an automated lead-qualification system to rank your leads based on their conversion likelihood.
Here’s a prompt you can use:
Based on the profile details in each account, create a lead score for each that represents the likelihood of each profile buying a [Company Name] subscription. Follow the rules below:
1. All scores must be from 1 to 5, meaning most likely to buy.
2. [Job Titles] should score higher.
3. People who like tools like [Competitor] should get extra points.
4. People who comment on [Topics] should score extra points.


4. Leverage predictive analytics
Predictive analytics helps you figure out which leads are most likely to convert, allowing you to focus on better sales prospecting.
Start with historical data—like leads who converted in the past, email engagement, website visits, or demo requests. This gives you the context you need to spot patterns and sales opportunities.
Prepare an Excel or CSV file with columns such as “Lead Name,” “Job Title,” and “Conversion Status.” Then, use ChatGPT to generate predictions effortlessly.
Here’s a sample prompt:
Analyze this Excel file with historical lead data.
Find patterns and predict which leads are most likely to convert based on past trends like engagement activity, job titles, and company size.
Provide a ranked list with reasons for each score.

This gives your team a clear priority list so you know exactly where to spend your energy.
5. Craft personalized LinkedIn messages
Personalized LinkedIn messages are key to building meaningful connections, but writing them manually can be time-consuming.
With PhantomBuster's AI LinkedIn Message Writer, you can automate the process while keeping it highly tailored.
It uses the context you provide, along with data from LinkedIn profiles, to craft messages that feel personal. You can set tone, length, and structure rules to ensure the messages meet your goals.
Here’s an example:
Write a LinkedIn connection message based on the LinkedIn profile data fed to you, the below context, format and content:
Context:
- LinkedIn connection messages must be limited to 280 characters,
- My name is <your first name>, and I work as a <your job title> at <your company name>,
- I am looking to connect with interesting and experienced professionals to expand my network and stay in touch with them,
- I do not possess similar experience and skills to them,
- I am not looking to offer them any services or recruit them.
Format of your message:
- must contain less than 280 characters,
- must be written in English,
Content of your message:
- must quote one or two data points from the profile,
- must be written in a fun, casual way,
- must not use the word "fellow".
Here is an example of a good connection message:
"Hey Ben! Impressed by your experience leading sales teams at GoodProduct Inc. Would love to connect and learn more about your expertise in business development and SaaS. No sales pitch, just a curious recruiter expanding his network!"
The message must be shorter than 280 characters. If the message is longer than 280 characters, rewrite it to be shorter than 280 characters.

You get tailored LinkedIn messages crafted for each lead in your list.

6. Create an email for initial sales outreach
A strong first email is key to starting conversations with prospects.
Lavender is a great tool for this—it helps you write clear, engaging emails and scores them for effectiveness so you can improve before hitting send.
With real-time suggestions and analytics, you can craft messages that stand out and drive responses.
Here’s a prompt example:
Write an email to a VP of sales, initiating a conversation. It should be no more than 50 words and use happy, casual tones.

Lavender scored this email a 90, highlighting its clarity and engaging tone while suggesting small tweaks like using shorter paragraphs.
It’s a great way to ensure your emails are polished and ready to send.
7. Research competitors to uncover common points
Understanding what customers are asking about your competitors can help you identify gaps, address common concerns, and position your brand more effectively.
For example, you can analyze competitors' social media posts and look for comments, intent data, reviews, or FAQs to uncover trends.
Here’s how to approach this:
Gather data from competitor's posts on LinkedIn, forums, or review platforms. Export this data into a spreadsheet with columns like “Comment,” “Topic,” and “Sentiment.”
Use ChatGPT or a similar AI tool to analyze the data and uncover patterns.
Here’s a prompt example:
Analyze the social media comments in this spreadsheet.
Identify common questions people have about [Competitor Brand] and provide a summary of recurring themes.
Suggest how [Your Brand] could address these questions in an upcoming Q&A session.

This approach gives you actionable insights into your audience’s pain points and helps you refine your messaging.
8. Get inspiration for your lead-generation marketing campaigns
Generative AI tools help you get fresh ideas for your content marketing strategy and provide lead magnets tailored to your target audience.
Whether you need topics for eBooks or concepts for outbound campaigns, AI ensures your content speaks directly to potential leads.
Here’s a prompt you can use in ChatGPT:
Suggest five creative ideas for lead magnets tailored to [Your Target Audience].
Focus on addressing [Specific Pain Points] and include formats like eBooks, templates, or checklists that would be valuable for [Industry].

This approach aligns your marketing campaigns with your audience’s needs, increasing engagement and driving more leads.
9. Engage with your leads on social media posts
Commenting on your leads’ LinkedIn posts is a simple way to start conversations.
PhantomBuster’s AI LinkedIn Post Responder helps you create thoughtful, personalized comments that feel natural and aligned with your goals.
It uses the recipient’s LinkedIn profile data and the context of their post to craft the perfect response.
Here’s an example of what you can ask it to do:
Write a compelling, personalized LinkedIn comment for the first provided post based on the LinkedIn profile data, the content of the post fed to you, and the below instructions:
1. Act as me - <your first name>, <your job title> at <your company name>.
2. Consider the recipient's LinkedIn profile data for context and tailoring the comment effectively.
3. Apply the designated tone and goal:
- Goal: <your specific goal>
- Tone: <specific tone of the message>

This makes staying engaged with your leads easy without spending hours crafting the perfect comment.
10. Develop your lead nurturing strategy
To nurture leads effectively, focus on building relationships by addressing their needs and pain points.
AI tools like ChatGPT can offer ideas for crafting follow-up strategies, ensuring your sales efforts and outreach stay relevant.
Here’s a prompt to get started:
Create a lead nurturing strategy for [Target Audience].
Address their key pain points and needs, and suggest examples of emails, follow-ups, and value-driven content to guide them toward making a decision.

This keeps your communication focused on delivering value and progressing leads through the sales funnel.
11. Conduct sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis helps you understand how leads feel about your brand, allowing you to tailor communication and prioritize engaged prospects.
Tools like Salesforce Einstein, HubSpot, or Crystal use machine learning and NLP to analyze text data, categorizing sentiment as positive, neutral, or negative.
They then add these insights directly to your dataset.

If you prefer using ChatGPT, try this prompt:
Analyze the sentiment of these comments.
Categorize each as positive, neutral, or negative, and summarize key themes driving positive engagement.
Best practices to use AI for lead generation
Using AI for lead generation works best when you’re clear and strategic.
💡 Here are a few tips from our AI Prompt Guide:
Be specific: Clearly define your goal, whether it’s qualifying leads or crafting outreach messages.
Give context: Leverage sales intelligence to include audience details, industry challenges, or pain points to make AI responses more targeted.
Write clear prompts: Break instructions into steps and specify tone, format, and goals.
Test and tweak: Try different prompts, refine them, and pick the best outputs.
Stay human: Use AI for efficiency, but keep your communications authentic and personal.

AI prompts for lead generation FAQ
Can AI effectively boost the lead generation process?
AI can streamline your sales and marketing efforts by automating time-consuming tasks like research, outreach, and lead qualification.
It provides lead intelligence, insights, and personalization at scale, making connecting with the right prospects easier.
Benefits of using AI to find potential customers
AI saves time and increases productivity by automating data analysis, extracting high-quality leads, enriching leads with detailed insights, and personalizing outreach. It also helps uncover patterns and prioritize high-value prospects.
What are the key use cases of AI lead-generation tools?
Generative AI tools can:
Identify and enrich leads with contact details.
Score leads based on engagement.
Predict lead conversion using analytics.
Automate outreach with personalized messages.
Analyze sentiment in communications to gauge interest.