# Why did Autopilot stop adding contacts?

> An AI SDR sequence stopped sourcing new contacts; the five reasons Autopilot pauses itself, how to tell which one applies, and what to do about each.

**Autopilot pauses itself for one of five reasons: credits ran out, the sequence was switched off, the contact allowance is used up, the search you rely on is not available on your plan, or the search has no matches left. The last one is the most common and the least obvious.**

_Status: Reviewed – written against Reply's product documentation on 2026-09-21, not yet confirmed against the running product._

## Quick fix

1. Check your credit balance. Autopilot sources contacts using credits and stops when they run out.
2. Check the sequence is still active – a paused or deactivated sequence does not source.
3. Check your contact allowance for the current billing period.
4. Open the search behind the sequence and look at how many matches remain. A search that has returned everyone it can match is the usual answer.
5. Broaden the search, or attach a different contact source, and confirm contacts start arriving again.

Didn't work? [Contact Reply support](https://support.reply.io/); the team can check your account directly.

## Symptom

An AI SDR sequence that was adding contacts by itself has stopped. Existing contacts continue through their steps, but no new people arrive. There may be no error anywhere; the sequence goes quiet.

## The five reasons Autopilot pauses

These are the only reasons. If none of them applies, the problem is elsewhere: most likely the sequence itself rather than its sourcing.

| Reason | How to recognize it |
| --- | --- |
| **The search has no matches left** | The search still looks valid, and the contact count stopped well below what you asked for. Nothing is broken – every matching person has already been added |
| **Credits ran out** | Your credit balance is at or near zero. Sourcing consumes credits per contact |
| **The contact allowance is used up** | You have reached the number of contacts your plan allows for this billing period |
| **The sequence was switched off** | The sequence is paused, deactivated or archived |
| **The search type is not available on your plan** | The sequence relies on a search your plan does not include |

## If it never added anyone in the first place

This page is about sourcing that was working and stopped. A contact source that has **never** delivered
anyone fails for a different set of reasons, most of which produce no error at all. See
[Why did a lead source add no contacts?](/troubleshooting/lead-source-added-no-contacts/).

One reason spans both pages: every AI SDR contact source draws on the same monthly allowance of sourced
contacts, shared across Autopilot, web search and the buying-intent signals together. When part of it
remains but less than you asked for, the request is quietly reduced to what is left rather than refused, so
a source can deliver a strange, small number without reporting anything.

## Diagnostic checklist

1. **Look at the number Autopilot actually reached**, not the number you asked for. Stopping at an odd figure (364 of a requested 4,000) is the signature of a search running out, not of a fault.
2. **Check credits before anything else.** It is the fastest to confirm and it stops sourcing immediately and silently.
3. **Check the contact allowance for the period.** It resets on your billing date, not on the first of the month.
4. **Check the sequence's own state.** A deactivated sequence stops sourcing before anything else is evaluated.
5. **Open the contact source** and re-run the search manually. If it returns nothing new, the audience is exhausted and that is your answer.

## Resolution

### The search ran out of matches

Widen it. Remove the narrowest filter first (usually a location, a headcount band, or a long list of excluded industries) and check the estimated audience before saving. If you need volume, attach an additional contact source rather than stretching one search.

Be aware that exclusions do not always behave the way the filter name suggests: excluding an industry may not exclude every related sub-industry. Check a sample of what arrives rather than trusting the exclusion alone.

### Credits ran out

Top up, or reduce what each contact costs. Sourcing a contact, finding an email address and finding a phone number are billed separately, so a sequence configured to find phone numbers consumes markedly faster.

### The contact allowance is used up

Nothing new is sourced until the allowance resets on your billing date. Contacts already in the sequence continue normally.

### The sequence was switched off

Reactivate it. Sourcing resumes on the next cycle rather than immediately.

### The search type is not available on your plan

The sequence keeps its configuration but cannot source. Either change the contact source to one your plan includes, or upgrade.

## Verification

After changing the source or topping up credits, allow one sourcing cycle and check the contact count again. Confirm the new arrivals actually match what you intended; a widened search is the simplest way to let the wrong people in.

## Prevention

- Check the estimated audience when you build a search. A narrow search will exhaust quickly no matter how long you leave it running.
- Watch the credit balance rather than the sequence. Sourcing stops silently.
- Attach more than one contact source to a long-running sequence so one exhausted search does not stop everything.
- Sample what arrives weekly. Exclusions are the filter most likely to behave differently from what you expect.

## FAQ

### Autopilot stopped at an odd number. Is something wrong?

Almost always no. It means the search returned everyone it could match. The number looks arbitrary because it reflects the audience, not your target.

### Do contacts already in the sequence keep going?

Yes. Pausing affects sourcing only. Contacts already added continue through their steps.

### Will Autopilot restart on its own?

It resumes once the blocking condition clears; credits topped up, allowance reset, sequence reactivated. A search that has run out does not resolve itself; you have to change it.

## Still stuck? Contact Reply support

If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your
account directly. Open the [Reply Help Center](https://support.reply.io/) and send
the team a message.

To get an answer faster, include:

- how many contacts Autopilot added and how many you expected
- the contact source and its filters
- your credit balance and where you are in the billing period
- roughly when it stopped, and your timezone

Don't send passwords, API keys, or access tokens.

## Related

- [Why was a contact not enrolled?](/troubleshooting/contact-was-not-enrolled/) – when contacts arrive but do not start
- [Limits](/reference/limits/) – allowances and what consumes credits
- [Why is a campaign not running?](/troubleshooting/campaign-is-not-running/)

## Build with Reply

- REST API: [Sequences](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) – read a sequence's state and contact count
- MCP: [docs.reply.io/mcp](https://docs.reply.io/mcp/overview) – check credits and sourcing from an assistant