The year 2024 marked a turning point for email marketing, with notable shifts in the landscape, including updated requirements from Yahoogle and groundbreaking AI innovations. But what does 2025 have in store? Will we see a continuation of these trends or entirely new developments? Dive in to explore the possibilities and prepare for the future of email marketing.
Last year, Gmail and Yahoo introduced their 2024 updated sender requirements. One of the main components of these requirements was email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC). Many marketers have taken steps to adopt these standards to comply with these requirements. However, the adoption of stricter DMARC policies has remained low, leaving many domains exposed to spoofing and phishing attacks.
With more ISPs expected to follow Yahoo and Google, the push for stricter email authentication measures is set to grow in 2025. After all, the end game is to create a safe and reliable email ecosystem. If you haven’t already, now is the time to have your DMARC in enforced mode – p= quarantine or p= reject. Enabling DMARC reporting can also provide valuable insights into your domain’s traffic and authentication results. Proactive measures like these not only protect the domain but also improve deliverability and build trust with ISPs, allowing legitimate senders to thrive.
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is an industry-standard that allows senders to display their brand logos alongside authenticated messages. BIMI has gained significant traction in recent years, with major mailbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, and others recognizing its value in strengthening email authentication and enhancing user trust. In 2024, Gmail expanded BIMI adoption by supporting Common Mark Certificates, making it easier for marketers to implement BIMI without obtaining a trademarked logo. Apple has also extended its Apple Business Connect to verified marketers without a physical location, demonstrating the industry’s commitment to enabling visual branding in users’ inboxes.
Looking ahead, BIMI adoption is expected to grow significantly as more ISPs support the standard and businesses work to enhance visibility and build trust in users’ inboxes.
In the past two years, we witnessed the introduction of AI-powered features like Google Gemini and Apple Intelligence, which are set to reshape inbox management and create a smarter user experience.
This shift in technology will influence how users perceive and engage with emails. Features like AI-generated summaries introduced by Apple are taking precedence over traditional preheaders marketers have worked hard to create, diminishing the need for users to open emails. The “Priority Messages” section also aims to prioritize emails that are considered important by pulling them to the top of the app. This means emails that don’t meet the “priority” criteria might be overlooked, impacting user engagement. Gmail also introduced the “summarize this email” function, allowing users to generate concise overviews of emails and threads.
With the growing anticipation of more AI integration, achieving success in 2025 will call for brands to rethink and refine their strategies. Crafting compelling subject lines and delivering well-crafted emails will become necessary to optimize email visibility and capture both the AI’s and users’ attention.
Since the introduction of Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) back in 2021, we’ve seen more and more marketers questioning the reliability of open rates as a key indicator of campaign performance. The rise of AI-powered features may also influence the accuracy of the open rate as an engagement metric since these features can potentially affect how emails are displayed and read in subscribers’ inboxes.
While open rates remain useful for diagnosing deliverability issues, their relevance as a success metric is diminishing. As AI advancements continue to evolve in 2025 to enhance user experience and strengthen privacy, marketers should focus on more actionable metrics to measure success, such as click-through rate, conversion rates, on-site behaviors, etc. Shifting the focus to these metrics will provide great insight into the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and drive more informed decision-making to improve relevance.
The role of AI in email marketing has evolved over the years. From basic automation and segmentation to crafting engaging subject lines, creating dynamic content and delivering hyper-personalized emails.
AI’s ability to generate email copies, custom images, videos, and other design elements will motivate more marketers to learn how the technology works, enabling them to create relevant and visually appealing messages that engage the audience on a deeper level. AI is also revolutionizing marketing automation with personalized journeys and tailored messages driven by real-time insights.
Leveraging AI in email marketing can provide a competitive edge in a fast-changing landscape. However, AI also poses challenges that marketers need to navigate carefully. Since AI relies heavily on user data to function effectively, brands must pay more attention to privacy laws and regulations. Being transparent with customers about how their data is being used, ensuring strong data security measures, and staying informed about privacy laws and regulations is key to ensuring ethical data practices. Marketers will also need to maintain human oversight and input for emotional connections that align with their brand and values.
Staying current with trends can feel overwhelming. However, the key to great email marketing will remain the same: segmenting your audience effectively, sending relevant and engaging content your customers care about, and following best practices to maintain strong deliverability. Marketers also have the opportunity to gain a market edge by investing wisely in AI tools that align with their brand’s needs and values. These tools can help fine-tune messaging based on data-driven insights, improving personalization and connections.
In conclusion, 2025 is poised to be a year of transformation for email marketing. By embracing new technologies, adhering to evolving standards, and focusing on meaningful engagement, marketers can navigate this dynamic landscape and drive success in the year ahead. The future of email marketing is here—and it’s full of possibilities for those ready to innovate and adapt.
Hiba Khaleel is a deliverability analyst on the Inboxable team. Hiba brings her years of experience in client management and data-driven solutions to her current role, where she helps her clients achieve email marketing success. Her passion is optimizing deliverability rates for maximum impact. Hiba specializes in monitoring and optimizing email campaigns, authentication protocols, data analysis and mitigating risks related to email deliverability. She enjoys spending her free time on long walks and road trips with her family.