A role-based email address belongs to a function or team rather than a person: info@, sales@, support@, admin@, hello@, contact@.
Why cold email avoids them
- Nobody in particular reads them: a shared inbox, a ticketing system or a filter rule handles them.
- More complaints: several people see each email, and any one of them can mark it as spam.
- Some are monitored for abuse:
abuse@andpostmaster@exist to receive complaints. - Weaker personalisation: you can't write to a role the way you write to a person.
When they're acceptable
For very small businesses where info@ is read by the owner, and when no personal address can be found. Send in small numbers and write as you would to the owner.
Finding them
Email verifiers flag role-based addresses. Check a list with the free email validator, and look for a named person at the company instead.