Over the past year, email marketers have been steadily dipping their toes into the AI pool. Getting used to AI prompts. Making friends with generative AI. Speeding up research. The proof is this– 45% of teams already use AI in email marketing, and 21% more are planning to.
By 2025, marketers expect to rely on AI not just for writing or research but to transform text-based content into multimedia and automate workflows.
But not everyone is confident in AI. Some marketers hang back, concerned about accuracy, copyright issues, and legal considerations of AI adoption. Others stress about the complexity and are unsure how to measure AI’s impact.
Whatever tribe of marketer you fit in, whether you use or don’t use AI in email marketing, get comfortable with the fact that AI is coming to your recipients’ email inboxes.
Yes, major email providers like Gmail, Apple, and Yahoo are rolling out AI features that will summarize emails.
So, what’s the deal with AI-generated email summaries? Should email marketers change the way they design and write emails due to this?
Let’s find out.
What Are AI Email Summaries Anyway?
In the latest Email Mavlers’ infographic on Email marketing trends 2025, experts predict some groundbreaking developments in email marketing.
According to it, in 2025, popular inbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft will exercise more control over the inbox experience. Not because they set out to make life miserable for senders.
The goal is to make the inbox more convenient and less cluttered for their users.
Hence, AI email summaries are obviously beneficial for email subscribers. Seeing how prevalent Gmail and Yahoo are among consumers, it is no surprise that senders must also navigate through this update.
But what exactly is the AI email summary that experts can’t stop discussing?
AI-generated email summaries are automatically generated, condensed versions of email content appearing in users’ email inboxes. It gives them the gist without reading long email threads.
Now, while users of major email providers will see a summary created by AI, there are differences in how AI functions across these inboxes.
Gmail
- Google introduced a new “Summarize this email” feature in Gmail powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro.
- Available on the latest Google Pixel devices and high-end Samsung models like the Galaxy S24 series, Z Fold 6, and Z Flip 6.
- In the Gmail app, you’ll find a “Summarize this email” button at the top of your messages. Tapping it gives you a summary on demand.
- They can rate summaries with thumbs up/down.
- AI summaries, not a standard feature, pop up based on how you’ve set up your Gmail. You will see summaries for Gmail’s “Smart Replies” or the “Priority Inbox” features.
Apple
- Apple brings AI features to its Mail app with the release of iOS 18. Instead of the initial lines of an email, users will see a short AI-driven summary in their inbox.
- Available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, and macOS 15.1 and above. Although limited to newer devices, experts think it will be 2026 before it is widely used.
- These AI summaries replace the preview text under your email’s subject line. So users can decide if an email is worth opening.
- Users can manually trigger a summary by tapping the summarize button after opening an email.
- These summaries are displayed above the email content and disappear after a while.
Yahoo Mail
- Yahoo is adding AI to its desktop version of Yahoo Mail to AI-summarize emails. Mobile is coming later.
- AI scans the content of emails and generates a one-line summary or a bulleted list of key points and suggested actions. When you open an email, you’ll see a bullet-point list summarizing the contents at the top.
- It’s not automatic. Users have to choose to turn the feature on.
- The feature is housed under the Priority Inbox tab.
How Can Your Emails Adapt To AI-Generated Email Summaries
AI email summaries create experiences like Google summarizes search results above source links. Users are expected to go big on them thanks to their ability to manage crowded inboxes.
However, for email marketers, this brings new challenges.
AI email summaries cause them to lose control over preview text and, in some cases, subject lines. Meaning marketers can not count on them to provide context of emails to their subscribers.
Worse yet, AI makes mistakes. Sometimes comical, sometimes problematic mistakes. AI summaries for email are no exception. Tests have raised questions about the accuracy and adequacy of AI-generated outlines.
Though, this should not shock us. Email content carries nuances in language, cultural references, and contextual clues that even humans struggle with. Let alone an AI algorithm.
But rather than throwing up our hands, we need to adapt our approach for the success of your email marketing. Email content and design is one of the critical pieces in that regard.
Here’s how email marketers must rethink how to approach email design and content. That way, you help inbox providers summarize your email appropriately.
- Do not rely solely on images to deliver critical messages.
Those gorgeous images you’ve invested in? AI doesn’t see them. Whether it’s a tiny icon or a full-width banner, visual elements don’t influence AI summaries. AI mostly does not process these visual elements. Visuals don’t directly change what the AI includes in the summary. Text do. That means:
- The text must carry your core message. Images should only support, not lead.
- Critical information in images needs a text counterpart for AI to process and generate an accurate summary.
- Prioritize content, content, and content. You see, AI pulls information from only the written text to generate summaries. Thus, skimmable, clear, and concise HTML text that delivers your key message always goes a long way in showing the key message to the recipient.
- You should not rely on preview text as it is on its way out. Ensure your subject lines are strong, informative, and stand independently. But keep writing good preview text anyway; many will still see your regular preview text.
- The things you do for accessibility also ring true for better AI summaries of your emails.
- Placing key information in the top part of emails caters to AI summarization. So does using clear, jargon-free language. It helps AI to understand the email better.
- Use heading, sub-heading, bullet points, and bold text to indicate a hierarchy that directs AI effectively.
Bottom Line
Apple, Google, and Yahoo have already rolled out AI email summaries in their inbox applications. It fundamentally changes how your messages reach your audience. Email marketers have no choice but to craft messages that connect with two distinct audiences: your human subscribers and the AI algorithms.