You’ll be noticing the summariser above email inboxes summarising the content in the list of emails below. This means it’s going to be harder for you to get the attention of your ‘marketing contacts’ receiving your emails.
This means the open rate should no longer be the primary measure of email campaign success. The real goal will need to be visibility within the AI summary.
To reach your customers and prospects, you’ll need to provide clear, structured information to their AI Mail Assistants.
With Apple Intelligence, Gemini, or a third-party inbox agent, most of your subscribers aren't like to be reading your emails anymore. They will be seeing a 3-line summary generated by AI when they jump in and out of their inbox. If your email is a "fluff-heavy," or rinse and repeat, the summary is likely to be: "Marketing promotion from [Brand] regarding a seasonal sale." This is like to result in your email being archived, deleted or simply ignored.
To keep getting your emails opened and read, you need a new strategy. You’ll need to write for the AI machine so itrecommends your email to the person receiving it.
Here are our 5 top tips to do just this:
1. The "Top-Loaded" Hierarchy
AI summarisers are programmed to prioritise the beginning of a document. If your "hook" or "offer" is buried under a beautiful hero image and three paragraphs of "hope you're having a great week," the AI will miss the point.
- The Rule: Include your most important info the first 100 characters. In essence, you need your messaging to be more direct - less fluff.
Example:
Kia ora [first name]
We’re upgrading our NZ servers on March 12th. You’ll get 2x speed, but you need to click 'Verify' below to keep your custom domain active.
2. Write "Scannable" Copy for the AI Machine
AI agents love structured data. When an AI scans your email, it looks for "entities" (names, dates, prices, and actions).
- Use Bold Text: Don't just bold for emphasis; bold for the summary.
- Instead of: "We are having a really big sale this weekend."
- Try: "40% Off Storewide starts Saturday, 9 AM."
- Bullet Points are AI Gold: If you have three key benefits, use a list. AI agents are hardcoded to pull list items into their summaries.
3. Use "Invisibly Important" Code: Schema Markup
This is the "secret sauce".6. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data is a snippet of code hidden in your email's HTML. It doesn't change how the email looks to the person receivingit, but it tells AI exactly what the email is.
By adding JSON-LD code, you can tell an AI:
- "This is a Discount Code."
- "This is a Parcel Tracking update."
- "This is a Calendar Invite."
When AI sees this, it generates a "High Value" summary chip in the user’s inbox, often bypassing the "Promotions" tab entirely.
4. Human-to-Human (The "Plain Text" Edge)
Because AI-generated marketing imagery is now so perfect that it feels "fake," there is a massive trend toward High-Authority Plain Text.
An email that looks like a personal note from a founder, no images, no banners, just text and a link, is prioritised by AI as "Personal Correspondence." It signals that the content is unique and human-generated, which can increase the "Trust Score" the AI assigns to your sender profile.
5. Your 2026 Email Checklist
- Does the first sentence contain the "Action Item"?
- Are dates and prices clearly bolded?
- Did you use Schema markup for your main offer?
- Does it pass the "AI Summary Test"? Ask your own AI tool to "Summarise this draft in 10 words."
Get your emails opened
At Virtual Marketers, we live and breathe AI and digital marketing trends and practices and would love to support you with your email marketing with a focus on AI.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help.
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