AI-Written Emails Are Getting Caught as Spam More Often Than Human Ones

AP News is reporting that companies using AI to write outbound cold emails are seeing measurably worse results than those using human-written copy — more spam filter trips, lower open rates, and lower reply rates — according to new research from email deliverability firm Folderly.

The culprit appears to be pattern recognition on both sides of the inbox. AI-generated emails tend toward specific phrase structures, an overly formal register, and sentence rhythms that spam-detection algorithms and human recipients have both learned to flag. The more companies adopted AI email tools, the more training signal spam filters accumulated. It is a self-defeating loop: widespread adoption has made AI-generated email easier to identify and discard.

The findings hit hardest for sales teams that replaced SDR headcount with AI automation on the assumption of productivity gains. Those assumptions may not survive contact with updated deliverability benchmarks and falling engagement rates.

There is a lesson buried here about what happens when every company reaches for the same tool at the same time.

Read the full story at AP News