Overview
Lookalikes allow you to discover new people and companies that share the same characteristics of your existing customers — so you can find prospects whose profiles mirror your biggest successes. Instead of manually hunting for new targets, trust what already works, and use Apollo AI with lookalikes to boost your list building and improve your response rates.
Check out these example use cases for lookalikes:
Expand your ideal customer profile
| Scenario | Imagine you have a list of top-performing customers, like those who generate the highest lifetime value. These types of companies often make up your ideal customer profile (ICP). |
|---|---|
| Action | Paste your top-performers into the lookalikes filter, and Apollo AI finds companies that share the same firmographic traits as your best customers. |
| Result | Quickly build a high-quality prospect list that mirrors your existing successes, driving higher conversion rates from the very first touch. |
Replicate a big win across your target region
| Scenario | Imagine you just closed a high-value deal at one of your flagship accounts in a specific region — APAC. |
|---|---|
| Action | Enter the high-value contact into the lookalikes filter to search for firms with matching firmographic traits. Next, set the location filter to the APAC region to narrow the results to that geography. |
| Result | Instantly build a targeted list of APAC prospects that look like your big win, letting you replicate your success and accelerate pipeline in the region. |
Prioritize retention and mitigate churn risk
| Scenario | Imagine you've identified a cohort of customers at high risk of churn or who already churned. |
|---|---|
| Action | Feed that cohort into the lookalikes filter to generate a list of similar accounts. Then cross-reference with engagement filters like buying intent or website visitors to prioritize retention outreach. |
| Result | Anticipate where churn may spread and proactively re-engage at-risk accounts, protecting recurring revenue. |
Wondering what else you can do with AI on Apollo? Check out Apollo AI Overview for a rundown of how AI can boost your outreach efficiency and turbocharge your prospecting.
Check out the following sections to use lookalikes on Apollo.
Use Lookalikes
You can use lookalikes to find similar people or companies.
People lookalikes is currently in beta. The feature and functionality may change as Apollo develops this tool.
You can use people lookalikes as a search filter when prospecting on Apollo. Just select one or more people, and Apollo shows similar prospects.
To use people lookalikes:
- Launch Apollo and click People.
- Click Show filters, then select the people lookalikes filter.
- Search for and select up to three people, and Apollo AI combs the database to find you similar prospects.
The people lookalikes filter doesn't include every person in the Apollo database. If you're having trouble finding a specific person, try adding their company to the end of your search — like "Tim Zheng Apollo."
You have now used people lookalikes on Apollo.
There are four ways to surface lookalike companies on Apollo:
- Find lookalikes for a single account
- Find lookalikes in a search
- Find lookalikes with the Apollo Chrome extension
- Find lookalikes with workflows
Find lookalikes for a single account
To find lookalikes for a specific account:
- Launch Apollo and open a saved account.
- Scroll to the lookalike companies widget.
- Apollo AI shows companies that match the account's size, industry, technologies, and growth signals.
Learn more about how to use lookalikes on a single account.
Find lookalikes in a search
To prospect with lookalikes when searching:
- Launch Apollo and click Companies, then select Saved or Net new.
- Click Show filters > More filters, then select the lookalikes filter.
- Enter and select one or more companies.
You can select up to 5 companies at once with the lookalikes filter.
- Apollo AI shows lookalike companies that match the companies you selected.
Pro-tip: Layer on other firmographic or intent-based search filters like location, revenue, buying intent, or web visitors to hone in on the perfect prospects.
Learn more about how to use the lookalikes filter when prospecting.
Find lookalikes with the Apollo Chrome extension
With the Apollo Chrome extension installed, you can prospect directly from corporate websites.
To find lookalikes with the extension:
- Click Apollo while on a corporate website to open the extension.
- Scroll to the Similar companies widget to view similar companies.
- Click + beside a similar company to save it.
- Click ☰+ to add a saved company to a list.
You have now used the Apollo Chrome extension to find lookalikes.
Learn more about how to prospect with the Apollo Chrome extension.
Find lookalikes with workflows
You can use workflows to automatically finds lookalike companies you have had success with, then add those companies to a list.
To find lookalikes using workflows:
- Launch Apollo and click Workflows > Create workflow.
- Click Explore all templates, and select the target lookalikes based on past success template.
- Enter one or more companies with which you've had success.
- Click Create.
- Next, select a list to add the accounts to.
- When finished, click Launch workflow.
- Each week, Apollo automatically finds new companies that are similar and adds them to the selected list.
You have now used workflows to find lookalikes companies.
Learn more about how to use workflows to automate prospecting.
Next Steps
Looking for more prospecting pointers? Here are a few resources to keep the momentum going:
| Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile | Define your ideal customer profile to sharpen your target audience and boost response rates. When you know who to target, you can tailor your outreach more effectively. |
|---|---|
| Search Filters Overview | Experiment with search filters on Apollo to zero in on the prospects that match your criteria. |
| View and Edit Accounts | Use lookalikes on known accounts to uncover similar prospects right from the account page. |
| Apollo Chrome Extension Overview | Learn how to prospect directly from any corporate website using the Apollo Chrome extension for instant lookalike discovery. |
| Workflows Overview | Automate your lookalike searches and prospecting tasks by setting up workflows that run on your schedule. |
| Apollo AI Overview | Get to know Apollo AI and see how AI can help you work smarter with world-class prospecting tools. |