Build a Smartlead lead list with Leadsets

To build a Smartlead lead list with Leadsets, connect Leadsets to your AI agent over MCP (https://mcp.leadsets.ai) or call the REST API. Then run a skill such as Build an outbound prospect list and export the verified contacts as CSV for Smartlead. The Push to Instantly or Smartlead and Pre-send campaign check skills segment catch-alls and flag risky contacts. Leadsets does not send email.

Smartlead is an email sequencing tool used to send outbound campaigns. Leadsets does not replace it. Leadsets finds the people, enriches them and verifies their work emails, then hands the list to Smartlead. The integrations page lists the connection as Skill + CSV: free skills that prepare the list, and a CSV file as the handoff.

What Leadsets does for a Smartlead lead list

Leadsets is a B2B data API and remote MCP server for AI agents. Through it, an agent or workflow can prepare everything that goes into a Smartlead campaign:

Find prospects with search_people and search_companies. Every result says why it matched.
Enrich and verify with enrich_person, which returns the current role, company and a verified work email when one exists. Emails from enrichment are already verified, with no second tool and no second bill.
Re-check an existing list with verify_email, which labels each address verified, catch-all, unknown or invalid with a confidence score.
Add context for personalisation with scrape_company and scrape_jobs (paid add-on in scrape units).

Four skills in the free library list Smartlead as a connection. The ones most relevant here are:

Push to Instantly or Smartlead: loads verified, segmented contacts into your email sequencer with custom fields (uses verify_email).
Pre-send campaign check: runs a final verification on a loaded campaign and pauses risky contacts before launch (uses verify_email).

Other skills often used upstream are Build an outbound prospect list, Clean a list before sending and Catch-all segmenter. All are in the full skills list.

How to connect it

The Leadsets site does not document any settings inside Smartlead. The setup below is the generic Leadsets setup from the docs. The documented handoff to Smartlead is a CSV file, which you load into Smartlead following Smartlead's own instructions.

1. Connect your agent to Leadsets over MCP. In Claude on the web or desktop, open Customize, Connectors, click + Add, then Add custom connector. Name it Leadsets and enter the MCP server URL https://mcp.leadsets.ai. Click Continue, choose Sign in now, click Add and sign in. This uses OAuth, so there is no key to paste. In a chat, click +, Connectors and switch Leadsets on. In Claude Code, run:

claude mcp add --transport http leadsets \
  https://mcp.leadsets.ai

In Cursor, add a server named leadsets with the URL https://mcp.leadsets.ai and an Authorization: Bearer ls_live_… header. Full steps are in Connect via MCP.

2. Or call the REST API. Create a free account, copy your key (it starts with ls_live_) and keep it server-side. Send requests to https://api.leadsets.ai/v1 with the key as a bearer token, for example POST /v1/people/search or POST /v1/emails/verify. TypeScript and Python SDKs are available (npm i @leadsets/sdk, pip install leadsets).

3. Check the connection. Ask your agent "What's my Leadsets usage?" If it calls get_usage and answers with your remaining balance, you are connected.

4. Add the skills. Download a skill folder and upload it in Claude under Settings, Skills, or clone the whole library with git clone github.com/leadsets/leadsets-skills. The skills are MIT licensed and work on the free key.

5. Export and hand off. Ask the agent to produce a CSV with the verified contacts (and catch-alls in a separate file if you want them), then load that file into Smartlead.

Example: a RevOps list for a Smartlead campaign

Maya Chen runs revenue operations at Northwind Analytics (northwind.co) and wants a first campaign in Smartlead. With Leadsets connected in Claude and the skills installed, she asks:

"Build a list of 100 heads of RevOps at US B2B SaaS companies with 50 to 200 people. Keep catch-alls separate and give me CSVs for Smartlead."

The Build an outbound prospect list skill checks remaining limits with get_usage, probes the filters with a one-record search_companies call, finds people with search_people, then runs enrich_person and verify_email. An illustrative run from the skill page looks like this: 132 matching people, 118 enriched, 96 verified, 14 catch-all and 8 with no email.

Maya loads the 96 verified contacts into Smartlead as the main campaign. She keeps the 14 catch-alls for a smaller, lower-volume send. Before launch she asks the agent to run the Pre-send campaign check on the list so any address that has turned risky is flagged first.

What to watch for

Limits. Paid plans are flat monthly prices with fair-use limits per rolling five hours and per week. On Solo ($29 a month) that is 1,000 enrichments and 500 search records per five hours, and 5,000 enrichments a week. Pro ($99 a month) allows 15,000 and 7,500 per five hours. Over a limit, the API returns 429 with a Retry-After time and the blocked call counts against nothing. See limits and costs and the pricing page.

Records. A record counts only when data comes back, so an empty search uses none. Every call still counts as a request. Standalone verify_email calls count toward the enrichment limit, so verifying a large existing Smartlead list draws on the same meter as enrichment. The free plan is 1,000 records once, and scraping is not on the free plan.

Verification statuses. Load addresses into Smartlead according to their label:

Verified: the mailbox accepts mail. Send.
Catch-all: the domain accepts everything, so no one can confirm the mailbox. Send at lower volume. See what a catch-all email is.
Unknown: the server gave no clear answer. Treat it as unconfirmed.
Invalid: bounces. Leadsets never serves these as contact emails.

Leadsets does not promise 100% accuracy, and uncertain results are never rounded up to valid.

What this integration does not do

It does not send email. Leadsets feeds Smartlead; sending, scheduling and replies happen in Smartlead.
No documented native connector. The site lists Skill + CSV for Smartlead and does not describe any settings inside Smartlead.
No phone numbers. Leadsets returns work emails, US personal emails on paid plans, roles and company data.
It does not handle compliance for your outreach. You are responsible for laws such as CAN-SPAM, GDPR and CASL, honouring unsubscribes and keeping your own suppression lists.

The same pattern works for other sequencers; see Leadsets with Instantly.

Questions and answers

How do I get a lead list into Smartlead from Leadsets?

Connect Leadsets to your agent over MCP at https://mcp.leadsets.ai or use the REST API, then build and verify the list with a skill such as Build an outbound prospect list. Export the result as CSV and load it into Smartlead. The Leadsets integrations page lists Smartlead as Skill + CSV.

Does Leadsets have a native Smartlead connector?

The Leadsets site lists the Smartlead connection as skills plus CSV, and it does not document a native connector or any settings inside Smartlead. The Push to Instantly or Smartlead skill loads verified, segmented contacts with custom fields, and CSV is the documented handoff.

Should I upload catch-all emails to Smartlead?

Leadsets suggests sending to catch-all addresses at lower volume rather than dropping them, and treating unknown addresses as unconfirmed. Keeping catch-alls in a separate list or campaign makes that easy. Invalid addresses are never served by Leadsets as contact emails.

Can Leadsets verify a list that is already in Smartlead?

Yes, if you export the addresses and pass them to verify_email, either one at a time or as a bulk async job on a paid plan. The Pre-send campaign check skill runs a final verification on a loaded campaign and pauses risky contacts before launch. Standalone verification counts toward the enrichment limit.

What does building a Smartlead list with Leadsets cost?

Leadsets has a free plan with 1,000 records one time and no card, then flat monthly plans: Solo $29, Pro $99, Team $399 and Max $999, with no credits. Records count only when data comes back. Smartlead is billed separately by Smartlead.

Do the Leadsets skills for Smartlead work on the free plan?

Yes. The free, MIT-licensed skills work on the free Leadsets key and its 1,000 one-time records. Skills that use scrape_company or scrape_jobs, such as Personalized first lines, need scrape units, which are an add-on on paid plans.

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