• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 7, 2023

Email marketers have high hopes for artificial intelligence (AI). But not all are yet up to speed, judging by The Role of AI and Automation in Email Marketing Success, a study by Selzy. 

Overall, 33.7% are marketers said they are unfamiliar with AI in email marketing, while 38% are very familiar with it and 38.3 somewhat so.  

In addition, 63% said they would trust AI-generated emails but would double-check their work, while 12.3% said they are skeptical and 24.7 said they fully rely on AI-generated emails.  

Their confidence is not so pronounced when it comes to AI email analytics: 42.3% are unfamiliar with them, while 14.1% express concerns and 5.1% consider them to be rarely safe. Another 38.3% consider AI-powered email analytics to be safe.  

Moreover, the respondents report these negatives: 

• Organizations lack access to vital real-time data — 46%
• Workflow challenges is a critical barrier for practitioners — 43%
• Marketers no longer prioritize subject line personalization — 88.52%

Selzy surveyed 1,250 businesses. If is there a flaw, it is that all are users of the Selzy email marketing platform. Still, it could serve as a snapshot. The most popular AI features are:

• Automatic content and image generation — 39.7%
• Personalized content and newsletters — 33.9%
• Filtering contacts and databases — 13.2% 
• Determining optimal time to send emails — 13.2% 

On the positive side, 58.3% are confident that AI can improve email newsletters, and 33.3% are curious about the effectiveness of AI. And, 8.4% state that AI is not impactful for email improvement.  

In addition, 50.7% find AI more effective than traditional approaches in email marketing. But 29.9% are uncertain, while 10.4% don’t’ see any significant difference and 9% find AI as effective as traditional approaches.  

Selzy surveyed marketers at 1,250 businesses. If is there a flaw, it is that all are users of the Selzy email marketing platform. Still, it could serve as a snapshot. 

In general, companies are using AI for the following:

• Service operations optimization — 24%
• Creation of new AI-based products — 20% 
• Customer segmentation — 19% 
• Customer service analytics — 19% 
• Enhancement of products through AI — 19% 
• Customer acquisition and lead generation — 17%