AI in email marketing: How it works (and why it’s worth using)

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If you’ve worked in email marketing long enough, you’ve probably gotten used to doing a lot of repetitive things: writing versions of the same email, rewriting subject lines, fiddling with send times, guessing which product to highlight. Then doing it all again next week.

None of this is hard, exactly. But it’s tedious. And it adds up.

This is where AI comes in. With a few practical tools it can save you a lot of time — and get you better results while it’s at it.

So let’s look at how AI is being used in email marketing today, what Omnisend does with it specifically, and what kind of impact it can actually have.

What AI in email marketing actually means

AI in email marketing doesn’t mean replacing marketers. It just means letting machines handle the mechanical stuff — writing those subject lines, segmenting audiences, figuring out when to hit “send,” etc.

You’re still in charge of the message, the offer, the branding, and everything that requires a human touch. But you don’t need to manually build segments for every single campaign or spend your afternoon wondering if “15% OFF” or “Save more today” is the more engaging subject line.

The machines can do that part. You still decide what’s worth saying.

So, what can you actually do with AI in Omnisend?

Here’s what that looks like in practice, using Omnisend’s built-in AI tools:

1. Write emails faster

Sometimes just getting started is the hard part. And Omnisend’s email generator creates campaign drafts based on a short prompt. It uses your store’s branding — logo, fonts, colors — and gives you a usable version you can tweak.

You can tweak it, delete sections, rewrite things. But you’re not starting from scratch. And for most marketers, that’s the hardest part anyway.

Realistically, you’re saving 5–10 hours per month here if you send campaigns regularly. Possibly more if you tend to overthink every line.

2. Subject lines you don’t have to think over

Omnisend’s AI subject line generator gives you multiple, tested options. You can preview tone, length, and A/B test them to see what actually works.

In one case study using a similar tool, a sales team saved 14 hours per person per month (!!). Open rates also went up — because those subject lines written don’t get tired, bored, or fall back on clichés like “Don’t miss out!”. At least usually they don’t.

So you get back your time and better click-throughs. Not bad for something most of us usually wing.

3. Smarter segmentation

Instead of guessing who your “engaged customers” are, Omnisend uses RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) analysis and behavioral data to do it for you.

It sorts your audience into useful groups — like recent buyers, frequent spenders, VIPs, or people who haven’t engaged in a while — and updates them automatically. 

For example, you can build a reactivation series that only targets customers flagged as “at risk.” Or you can offer loyalty perks to the top 5% of your VIP segment — without having to run manual filters each time.

4. Predict the future (sort of)

Omnisend’s churn prediction and high-value customer finder tools let you spot people who are about to leave — or who are most likely to buy again.

The idea isn’t to play fortune-teller. It’s to prioritize. If someone’s been slipping away, send a win-back email with an incentive. If someone’s just made their third order this month, show them something they’ll actually want next.

This level of targeting isn’t just simply convenient — it also improves retention, conversion, and customer satisfaction all at once.

What kind of impact does it actually have?

Small businesses using AI tools for email marketing are seeing real, measurable results.

According to a recent study:

• 41% of SMBs using AI apply it specifically to email marketing
• 60% of those say AI makes them more time-efficient
• 33% save over 40 minutes per week on marketing tasks
  

Sure, that may not sound revolutionary — but those 40 minutes add up. Over a month, that’s nearly three hours you can put toward strategy instead of repetitive production.

One study reported that marketers using AI writing tools saved over 100 hours per month, just on campaign copy. Another noted that an AI Gmail automation tool saved a startup 40+ hours a month just on follow-up emails.

Even tools focused solely on optimization — like send-time scheduling — were shown to save 10–15 hours monthly.

In short: the more repetitive your workflow, the more time AI saves. And it’s the kind of time savings that go toward the least rewarding parts of your work — editing subject lines, formatting templates, rechecking your segments — the stuff that burns your energy FAST.

But do customers like AI?

Of course, not everyone loves the idea of AI. In a recent Omnisend study, 66% of shoppers said they don’t want AI making decisions for them. They like getting personalized suggestions, but they still want to feel in control.

Also, more than half said they’re wary of how companies handle their data. And a chunk of people said AI’s biggest problem is when it feels too aggressive — too many upsells, too much tracking.

So the takeaway is simple: use AI to help your customers — not to overwhelm or track them. Give them better product recommendations, faster responses, and clearer emails. Just don’t let it get pushy.

What else can you do?

Let’s say you’ve already got your emails generated, your subject lines tested, and your segments cleaned up. What next?

Well, Omnisend’s AI also helps with:

• Campaign boosters: Automatically resending emails with a new subject line to people who didn’t open the first one
• Language translation: Writing copy in multiple languages — helpful for global brands who don’t want to localize everything manually
• Analytics and reports: Automatically pulling campaign performance data so you don’t have to spend your Friday building a dashboard

All of these add up to… less work. Hmm…

Final thoughts

AI isn’t going to run your email marketing for you. And it shouldn’t.

But what it can do is help you skip the repetitive stuff, write faster, get clearer answers, and spend more time on strategy — not formatting.

If you’re using Omnisend, you already have access to most of this. You don’t need to install anything, or integrate third-party tools, or hire an analyst. You just… use what you need, ignore what you don’t, and see how much time you get back.

If you’re still spending hours a week fiddling with subject lines and manually sorting segments, there’s a better way.

Start using AI. Then go do something better with the hours you save.