Will AI Be a Substitute for Email Marketers? Our Experiment with Email Generation

Can AI take over the whole email creation process? Does it match human creativity in crafting a full-fledged campaign? And are email marketers at risk of losing their jobs to artificial intelligence?

Since AI is revolutionizing email marketing, my team and I decided to put this emerging technology to the ultimate test. Many email builders and ESPs today are bundled with tools to generate visuals and email copy, yet can AI handle email design from start to finish with minimal human input? Let’s find out!

How We Generated Emails with AI

We set out to create AI-generated emails using 2 approaches:

1. Generate an email based solely on a description.
2. Use an existing website as the foundation for email content.

For this experiment we used Blocks editor which features an email generator, but you can use any other AI email generator you’re familiar with (and share the name of the tool with us)!

Description-only Emails

This approach relies on a description that helps shape the email’s final look.

We decided to create a promotional email for a fictional spa products brand. On our first try, the prompt was rather vague and included only some of the essentials.

A couple of sentences weren’t enough, and it clearly shows in the final result. This AI-generated email is far from perfect and doesn’t offer much aside from the basic structure.

On our next try we came up with a much more informative description. Details included a clean and spacious layout, a promo code, and a product grid with relevant images.

Here’s the prompt that laid the groundwork for our email.

And here’s the AI-generated email tailored to these specifications.

Thanks to a number of details, this email looks much more lively than the first. Both the design and email copy show a huge improvement over the predecessor. Still, it retains the overall generic structure and requires a human touch to make it feel truly genuine.

The end result heavily relies on the information provided: the more precise and detailed it is, the better your email will be. Here is the list of essentials that can be included in the prompt:

• Campaign type and topic: the main theme and purpose of an email.
• Visuals and layout: desired imagery types, their contents, and elements arrangement.
• Email copy: information about the tone of voice and specific wordings.
• Interactive elements: for example, buttons, promo codes, or calls-to-action.
• Particular block types: for instance, product showcases or news snippets.
• Palette: from accent colors for individual elements to the overall color scheme.
• Any other details that might be important for a particular email.

Emails Based on an Existing Website

For this method, the prompt must include the URL link alongside all the required campaign information and may also feature such details as:

• Website style: the overall look and feel, logos, and taglines.
• Links to specific sections: for example, a catalog, a certain product page, or a blog post.
• Social media: links to the social media pages and their respective icons.

First, we used the EmailSoldiers Agency website (emailsoldiers.com) as our test subject to generate a welcome email campaign.

 

The prompt was detailed and described the design elements, tone of voice, and email structure.

Here’s the campaign that the AI generator created based on the provided data.

The email mostly sticks to the description, and the AI generator managed to correctly grab the agency logo. However, it couldn’t replicate the website’s look and feel correctly. Overall, we got a serviceable template that requires significant manual edits.

Let’s give it one more try. Our next test subject is the website for Mailchimp (mailchimp.com), a marketing automation platform.

 

Here, we changed the description a bit, emphasizing the requirement to stick to the website’s design.

This time, the result was more advanced: an AI generator managed to not only grab the logo, but also the color palette (it even chose the right colors for the social network icons). Though it couldn’t fully grasp the more intricate details like the tone of voice, this email sticks much closer to the website design.

Overall, AI is indeed capable of creating full-fledged emails. For both the description-based and website-based methods, the result was standardized yet reasonably solid campaigns. But of course, they still require manual fine-tuning and can’t compete with professionally designed email messages.

Do AI-generated Emails Actually Work?

AI-generated emails may look good in the editor, but how do they render properly in an actual inbox? We tested these emails using the Selzy email marketing platform.

Here’s what we set out to check:

• Are all elements (images, buttons, etc.) displaying as they should?
• Does the layout hold its structure?
• How do campaigns look in different email clients?

First in line was the description-based campaign. We imported the email into the ESP and then went straight to sending it without making any changes. The email came through looking exactly as intended.

Next, we tried AI-generated email based on the website. Again, no changes were made to the email after importing, but this time we sent it to a different email client and tried both the desktop and mobile versions.

As before, the desktop version showed excellent performance.

And here’s the mobile version of the same email. It automatically switches to a single-column layout, which is fine, though a two-column format would have looked much better. This, of course, can be adjusted manually in the editor, but our goal here was to showcase the email in its unedited state.

In general, the outcome was satisfactory: layouts didn’t break, visuals displayed correctly, and all key elements were intact across different platforms and devices.

This experiment proved that AI can deliver emails that render well under the same conditions as traditionally designed ones (though this applies only to emails with relatively simple and clear structure).

Should You Even Try Out AI Email Generation?

As of now, AI-powered email generation is in the early stages of development. Still, it has already positioned itself as an exciting innovation and a promising tool that can produce impressive results.

When AI Email Generation Might Be Helpful

Certain types of emails are particularly well-suited to AI-powered email generation. For instance, AI can be a great fit if you’re looking to create something simple without relying heavily on dedicated designers or copywriters:

• Basic promotions and announcements. When the goal is to create a straight-forward campaign with a modest design, AI can help put together a clear and effective message.
• Transactional & recurring emails. AI is a fine choice for generating routine content, such as order confirmations or appointment reminders.
• Layout templates. AI can quickly generate a basis for your campaign. It is capable of producing well-structured emails with properly arranged placeholder text and images: all that’s left is to include your own content.

It should be noted that AI, being a rather recent technology, is prone to mistakes. In every case, proofreading remains an absolute must, especially when it comes to important information.

When AI Email Generation May Fall Short

Like any innovative technology, AI email generation isn’t without its challenges. While it can handle less complicated tasks, AI may struggle with generating more complex emails, such as:

• Advanced & individualized emails. Campaigns that involve dynamic product recommendations or highly personalized messaging need a level of precision that AI can’t fully handle on its own.
• Emails with creative-heavy designs. For design-intensive campaigns, AI can only provide a starting framework, but the email will still need substantial input from design experts.
• Campaigns featuring industry-specific language. Some emails require very specific language and tone of voice that meet strict industry or brand standards. In such cases, AI won’t be enough: this often calls for oversight from professional copywriters.

So, Are Email Marketers Safe After All?

AI has a long way to go before it can match the strategic and creative brilliance of the human mind. While it’s impressive in many ways, AI can’t create truly out-of-the-box campaigns, handle audience segmentation, or set up multi-stage marketing strategies.

So, for now, you may rest easy: email marketers are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

That said, AI email generation can still be an effective assistant that’s ready to boost your marketing efforts. Here are some of the organizations that can make excellent use of AI:

• Small businesses. With limited resources and a need for efficiency, small businesses can take advantage of AI email generation to create simple yet visually pleasing emails for promotions or announcements.
• Startups. These often operate on tight budgets and can use AI to quickly generate transactional or recurring emails, freeing up team members for other tasks.
• Email marketing newcomers. AI email generation is user-friendly, which makes it accessible to marketers with minimal experience. Even beginners can create appealing and well-structured emails without advanced design or copywriting skills.
• Marketing teams seeking efficiency. Big companies can use AI to save time and create the foundational structure of emails that are ready for customization with brand content.

And what are your thoughts about AI? Do you believe that it will take over our workplaces in the future? Or maybe you’re enthusiastic about the new technology that makes the job easier? Let me know!

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash