LinkedIn 
Instagram 
X (Twitter) 
Youtube 
Let me guess, you hate it when you receive an email from a robot pretending to be a human.
We all do.
It’s because they’re impersonal. They have generic intros and subject lines. Some try TOO HARD to look real. Others don’t try at all.
You can always tell you’re getting an auto-generated sales email. Maybe the first line has your name in some funky format. Like, no one calls you Ted because you go by your middle name, Gandalf. Or the subject line mentions something about you that’s obviously scraped from LinkedIn.
Most of us won’t even open that email. Straight to trash.
And still – GTM teams are sending thousands of AI-generated emails each day.
Something must be working, then? There’s gotta be a “right” way to do this… right?
The answer is yes. As long as you follow a few simple tips, you can save time and energy using AI for email marketing and still make your outreach personal, conversational, and engaging.
In this post, we’re going to show you how to get those emails written and sent so you can get replies.
For real.
Key Takeaways
- AI is a powerful tool but it’s unpredictable and imperfect, so treat every AI-generated email as a very rough draft to work with.
- You have to personalize your emails with authenticity and context, so ground your email in relevant, verifiable information.
- Clarity wins over cleverness every time, which means you need to keep your emails short, easy to skim, and outcome driven.
What’s wrong with AI-generated emails?
Lots. But the key thing we hear is that although you may pull a client or prospect in by pretending to be a human, when they realize that the author of an email is a robot, they become not only disinterested but actually repulsed.
Famed robotics professor Masahiro Mori came up with an explanation for why humans experience feelings of repulsion when facing artificial constructs – he called his theory the uncanny valley.
This term is often used to describe computer-generated images of people. As robots take on more human-like characteristics, we experience positive feelings. But as those characteristics begin to reveal subtle imperfections, we become uneasy. Our feelings dip into a negative valley.
This is now happening with AI-generated emails.
One sure sign your email was written by an AI is that it’s just too perfect. Humans aren’t perfect. And we mostly don’t expect each other to be.
As soon as someone gets that feeling like an email is too clean and it must come from a robot, they’ll disengage. And they may never want to interact with “you” again.
This post will give you tactics to increase open rates, deliverability, and engagement by leveraging AI without degrading the quality of your emails.
What Makes a Great AI-Assisted Sales Email?
- It doesn’t look like it was written by AI.
People are savvy, and they learn fast. They’ve learned by now to spot the telltale signs of an AI-assisted email, and they’re checking out.
- A great email should have short, clear sentences like this one.
This is how humans communicate, so your emails should reflect that. Write like a human. Sound like a human. And lo and behold, humans will want to interact with you.
- It’s personal without pretending.
You don’t want to act like you’ve been friends with your prospect since grade school. And you don’t want to show them you’ve been stalking their social media to get an “in.” It’s gross and creepy. Don’t be gross and creepy (keep scrolling to see examples of this).
- It’s outcome-driven.
Remember, people are savvy. They know you want something. So tell them up front what you want, and what they’ll get in return. Trying to bury the lede by making friends or long-winded conversation is only going to get your email shut down fast.
- It’s easy to scan.
Again, no long-winded emails. People are busy, and they don’t want to read your book about your product. They want to know who, when, what, where, and, most importantly, why. Why should they? Tell them in a short, sweet, easy-to-understand message. Aim for copy that your prospect can skim quickly and that gives clear instructions.
5 Dont’s That Kill Your Emails
Before we get into how you can make the perfect AI-assisted email, you want to avoid some serious engagement killers that will lose you clients long before you can hope to get them.
Here’s what else you should not do:
1. Don’t Use Generic Openers
You know the ones. They say, “Hope this email finds you well.” Yea. Instant delete. Those subject lines are just as bad as (Hello, $FirstName!).
You can easily mention the role they have in their company, something specific about their job, and how they’re facing a problem you can solve. You’ll get a much better reaction. This shows your prospect that you know who you’re talking to and that your email is at least somewhat relevant to their role.
Example: “I love your team’s new ad campaign on the New York Subway. As Head of Marketing for Evil Corp, you’re likely struggling to accurately determine the marketing attribution rates from this latest campaign. Here’s how we help solve this problem…”
2. Don’t Overdo it on The Volume
If you’re not already triggering the human BS-meter then you still run the risk of upsetting another AI. Here’s what happens when you send too many emails and piss off Gmail’s spam filter:
You never want to wake up to this screen.
Sadly, AI-generated emails have made it even easier for teams to exceed quota limits. We expect email providers to crack down even harder on spam. So if you’re not throttling your outbounds, well, you should be.
3. Don’t Overhype or Overpromise
You’ve heard the expression, “Don’t believe the hype?”
There’s a reason for that.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and you don’t want prospective clients thinking that about you.
Don’t say that you can “Revolutionize your entire sales process!”
Instead, be clear about what your product can do, and show how it will help them.
The problem with AI-generated emails is that they don’t actually know what your product can or cannot do. So they tend to over-state or embellish your capabilities. This means you’ll have an easier time generating copy, but you’re constantly having to check it for accuracy.
If you care about delivering accurate product statements, check out our guide on preventing AI Hallucinations.
4. Don’t Fake Personalization
Please start talking about experiences you’ve had with the client, or posts you’ve seen them create, if they never happened.
Don’t say: “I saw your post on LinkedIn today!” If no post exists.
They’ll sense you’re fake and they’ll cut you off.
Make sure you only reference real data. And even then, don’t cross the line into creepy personalization territory, like this guy:
5. Don’t Send an Email without Proofreading
Check. Double Check. And check again.
If you don’t proofread your emails, you’ll end up with (Insert name here) in your subject line.
It won’t get opened, but it will be laughed at.
AI-generated text may LOOK perfect, but it’s still prone to errors. These could be personalization errors, inaccuracies, or straight up broken outputs. So, never send an email without reviewing and double-checking for errors, robotic tones, and impersonal content.
Reminder: DO NOT copy/paste AI-generated output.
We cannot stress this enough. You should always rewrite the text. If you’re dumping AI-generated text into emails, you’re taking human oversight out of the loop. it’s going to be too obvious.
Copying and pasting whatever AI creates for you doesn’t just make you sound like a robot. It makes you a robot.
5 Do’s for Email Marketing with AI
Okay, so let’s start with the dos. Use these tips for every sales email you write with AI.
1. Make Every Prompt Unique
When you use an AI writing tool, be as specific as you can about the desired outcome. The more vague you are, the more general the AI response is going to be.
Ask the tool for exactly what you want, with clear instructions. How long do you want the email to be? Is this email to a client or a prospect? Have you had contact with the person before (warm) or is this the first time you’re reaching out (cold)? What do you want from the client? What are you offering in return? Did they have a prior experience with your company?
Yes, be that specific.
Prompt Example: “Write a 3-sentence cold email for a VP of RevOps in SaaS who’s struggling with pipeline visibility. This user previously engaged with our webinar, so we’d love to invite them in for a live demo.”
2. Personalize with Context
If this is a warm lead, make sure to give your AI tool the context it needs to keep this communication personal. You can paste LinkedIn snippets from previous conversations. You might include copies of past emails. Let the tool know what kind of relationship you have with the client.
If the lead is cold, you can share public information with the AI tool, like the LinkedIn bio of the person. Make sure to ask for relevant context. For example, if the LinkedIn bio makes it clear the person needs your help, mention that.
Don’t want to end up in spam prison? You’ll want to avoid generic email openers like these ^^
3. Make it Sound Like YOU, Not a Bot Pretending to be You
When you write your prompts, suggestions, and requests into the AI tool, write like you speak. Then, ask the tool to match your tone.
Don’t just say “Respond in a professional tone.” That’ll make you sound just like everyone else using the same instruction in their prompts.
Asking the model to mimic your writing style can help enhance the human-like qualities of your own tone of voice. You can even drop in past emails you’ve written yourself and ask it to copy that style and tone.
Example: “Make it casual and confident, like how I talk to my peers. Reference this email I provided to match my tone.”
4. Use ONE Clear CTA
Remember, you want to keep it short and sweet. So don’t ask your client to follow three links. And don’t ask five different questions in a single email.
Be clear on your Call to Action and have a single link to follow to fulfill your request.
If you want something from a prospect, it’s in your, and their, best interest to keep the action frictionless. Make it easy for them to complete your desired action by ending your email with specificity.
5. Edit the AI-Generated Output. Always.
Okay, so you told AI what to do. It creates your email. It did 80% of the work for you.
That’s right. 80%.
You’re not done yet.
You must proofread anything AI creates that you plan to send to a client or prospective client. That includes your sales emails.
Always consider these AI outputs rough drafts. Now it’s time to edit. Make sure the email sounds like you, that it makes sense, that it’s simple, and that it asks for what you want with a single link.
In the end, AI won’t replace a great sales rep. What it will do is help your sales reps level up.
With the right prompts, a human touch, and a clear message, you’ll send more emails that get replies.
