If email marketing feels like a time-sink with little return: endless drafting, poor engagement, and clunky tools, you’re not alone. I’ve seen so many small businesses and marketers struggle to stay consistent or make it worthwhile.
That’s where AI email tools come in.
These platforms help automate email marketing by writing subject lines, personalising content, and even choosing the best time to send, saving you hours while boosting results.
In this guide, I’ll discuss the best email marketing AI tools available today, who they’re best for, and exactly what features to look for so you can finally get more done with less effort.
What Are The Best AI Email Marketing Tools?
The right AI email marketing tool depends on your growth stage and how hands-on you want to be. For small businesses ready to scale with more sophisticated automation, ActiveCampaign is a strong choice. Its AI-driven features—like predictive content and subject line optimisation—can significantly lift engagement. It’s powerful but requires some learning, so it’s best suited to those ready to invest time in setup.
If you prefer a faster, simpler setup without giving up smart automation, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is ideal. It’s intuitive, affordable, and includes features like AI send-time optimisation, making it a great fit for startups or small teams new to email marketing.
For e-commerce, Klaviyo and Omnisend stand out. Both offer AI tools tailored to online retail, including predictive analytics and product recommendations. Klaviyo is particularly advanced, though it takes more time to master. Omnisend is quicker to get going but still delivers powerful results.
If your focus is cold outreach and lead generation, Instantly is worth considering. It uses AI to maximise deliverability and automate follow-ups, which is essential when prospecting at scale.
In the end, the best tool balances ease of use with the right level of AI power for your business size, goals, and marketing experience.
Best Email Marketing AI Tools at a Glance
| Tool | Best For | Pricing (from) | Free Plan | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | Small businesses ready to scale with multi-channel automation and advanced personalisation | £13/month | ❌ (14-day trial) | Visit Active Campaign |
| Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) | Startups and small businesses wanting simple, affordable automation across email, SMS, and WhatsApp | £5.42/month | ✅ (300 emails/day) | Visit Brevo |
| SeventhSense | B2B marketers and sales teams needing smarter send-time optimisation | Approx. £56/month | ❌ (trial available) | Visit SeventhSense |
| Optimove | Mid-sized to enterprise businesses focused on retention and multi-channel personalisation | Custom pricing | ❌ (demo available) | Visit Optimove |
| Salesloft Cadence | Sales teams automating outreach across email, calls, and LinkedIn | Custom pricing | ❌ (demo available) | Visit Salesloft |
| Mailchimp | Small businesses and solo marketers wanting an easy all-in-one tool | £10.91/month | ✅ (up to 500 contacts) | Visit Mailchimp |
| HubSpot | Growing businesses needing integrated marketing, sales, and CRM | £18/month | ✅ (basic CRM + email) | Visit HubSpot |
| Rasa.io | Businesses focused on hyper-personalised, natural-sounding email content | £35/month | ❌ (trial available) | Visit Rasa.io |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Shopify users wanting hands-free email marketing with minimal setup | Free with Shopify | ✅ (built-in Shopify users) | Visit Kit |
| Mailmodo | Marketers wanting interactive, app-like email experiences | Approx. £72/month | ✅ (up to 10,000 emails/month) | Visit Mailmodo |
| Twilio | Businesses wanting highly customisable multichannel automation | £14/month | ✅ (limited usage) | Visit Twilio |
| GetResponse | Small to mid-sized businesses wanting easy AI email automation | £10/month | ❌ (14-day trial) | Visit GetResponse |
| Omnisend | E-commerce businesses seeking seamless email + SMS automation | £15/month | ✅ (up to 500 emails) | Visit Omnisend |
| Klaviyo | E-commerce brands wanting deep data-driven email and SMS automation | £20/month | ✅ (up to 250 contacts) | Visit Klaviyo |
| Instantly | Sales teams focused on cold outreach email automation | £15/month | ❌ (trial available) | Visit Instantly |
The Best AI Email Tools for Small Businesses
ActiveCampaign
Best for: Small businesses looking to scale with advanced automation and multi-channel personalisation
Standout AI Feature: Real-time AI-generated subject lines and predictive content suggestions
Quick Take: ActiveCampaign is built for marketers who want more than basic email blasts. When I tested it, its automation builder really impressed me. It turned a rough campaign outline into a full sequence in minutes. The AI tools go beyond gimmicks, helping you dynamically tailor subject lines and content based on user behaviour. It’s a platform that rewards marketers ready to dive deeper into customer journeys.
That said, it’s more complex than entry-level tools like Brevo or Mailmodo. If you’re new to automation, expect a learning curve, but one that pays off with far greater personalisation and targeting power.
Pricing: From £13/month | Free plan: ❌ (Free trial: 14 days)
- Smart AI content suggestions save serious time on writing
- Segmentation and tagging are the best I’ve seen for small business-level platforms
- Can feel overwhelming if you’re new to automation
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Best for: Startups and small businesses seeking simple, affordable automation across email, SMS, and WhatsApp
Standout AI Feature: Aura AI generates subject lines, writes content, and optimises send times automatically
Quick Take: Brevo is a solid choice to get campaigns out the door quickly, without a steep learning curve. When I tested it, I had a live campaign, complete with AI-generated subject lines and personalised content, within half an hour. It’s built for speed and simplicity, making it ideal for teams with limited time or technical expertise.
While it lacks the deeper automation and multi-branch logic of platforms like ActiveCampaign, it covers all the essentials with far less friction. For small businesses starting out or scaling on a budget, it’s an efficient, simple and easy to use entry point into AI-powered marketing.
Pricing: From £5.42/month | Free plan: ✅ (300 emails/day)
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder with AI content suggestions
- Predictive send time boosts open rates with zero effort
- No phone support on the free plan
SeventhSense
Best for: B2B marketers and sales teams using HubSpot or Marketo who want to maximise engagement through precision timing
Standout AI Feature: Behavioural AI that fine-tunes send times for each contact based on their individual engagement patterns
Quick Take: SeventhSense isn’t a full marketing platform; it’s a performance enhancer. I integrated it with HubSpot and saw a clear lift in open rates without changing a word of the content. Its AI focuses solely on timing, learning when each contact will most likely engage and delivering accordingly.
It won’t replace your email tool, and it’s not built for visual campaign creation. But if you’re running serious outbound programmes and want to squeeze more value from every send, it’s an intelligent, set-and-forget addition to your stack.
Pricing: From approx. £56/month | Free plan: ❌ (Free trial available)
- Boosts engagement by sending emails when contacts are most likely to open
- Works seamlessly with HubSpot and Marketo
- Not a full email platform, needs to be layered onto existing tools
Optimove
Best for: Mid-sized to enterprise businesses focused on retention marketing and multi-channel personalisation
Standout AI Feature: Self-optimising orchestration that selects the best message, timing, and channel for each customer automatically
Quick Take: Optimove isn’t built for casual campaigns; it’s for marketers running at scale who want to drive retention with precision. When I tested it, the AI’s ability to decide what to send, when, and where, across email, SMS, push and more, felt like handing over the reins to a data scientist.
It’s powerful, but it comes with a learning curve. You’ll need solid customer data and a team that knows how to work with it. That said, it delivers personalisation for businesses with high-frequency marketing needs at a level that lighter platforms like Brevo or Mailmodo simply can’t match.
Pricing: Custom pricing (typically higher tier) | Free plan: ❌ (Demo available)
- Campaigns adapt automatically based on customer behaviour
- Strong focus on retention and lifetime value
- Steep learning curve and not ideal for smaller teams
Salesloft Cadence
Best for: Sales-driven teams automating outreach across email, calls, and LinkedIn
Standout AI Feature: AI-powered cadence builder that suggests optimal messaging, timing, and next steps to move leads forward
Quick Take: Salesloft is purpose-built for outbound sales, not just email marketing. I used it during a B2B campaign and found the AI cadence recommendations impressively accurate; they streamlined follow-ups and helped maintain momentum with prospects. It’s less about creative campaigns and more about conversion-focused sequences.
If you’re choosing between this and broader marketing tools like Brevo or ActiveCampaign, Salesloft is the clear pick for sales teams who want structure, speed, and data-backed outreach.
Pricing: Custom pricing (typically mid-to-high tier) | Free plan: ❌ (Demo available)
- Seamlessly blends email with other sales channels in one flow
- AI helps optimise touchpoints without needing a marketing background
- More sales-focused—less suited for newsletter or campaign-style emails
MailChimp
Best for: Small businesses and solo marketers after an intuitive, all-in-one email tool they can scale with
Standout AI Feature: Creative Assistant that auto-generates branded designs and content suggestions
Quick Take: Mailchimp remains one of the easiest platforms to start. When I tested it, I had a polished, branded campaign ready to go in under an hour, and no tutorials were needed. Its AI handles subject lines and visuals well, making it ideal for quick, professional campaigns.
While it doesn’t offer the automation depth of tools like ActiveCampaign, that simplicity is the point. For smaller teams who want to move fast without sacrificing quality, Mailchimp is still a strong contender.
Pricing: From £10.91/month | Free plan: ✅ (Up to 500 contacts)
- Super easy to set up and use—even with no prior experience
- Great free plan with automation and AI tools included
- Limited flexibility for complex automation flows
HubSpot
Best for: Growing businesses seeking an integrated platform combining marketing, sales, and CRM
Standout AI Feature: AI-powered subject lines and email content tailored by contact behaviour and lifecycle stage
Quick Take: HubSpot offers a polished, powerful solution that remains approachable. I appreciated how seamlessly it connects email campaigns with CRM data, enabling precise targeting without switching between multiple tools. Though at a higher price point, it delivers more strategic depth than platforms like Brevo or Mailchimp. For businesses already using HubSpot CRM, its marketing automation feels like a natural, efficient extension.
Pricing: From £18/month (Marketing Starter) | Free plan: ✅ (Basic CRM + email)
- Seamless integration with CRM and sales workflows
- AI tools feel thoughtful rather than gimmicky
- Pricing climbs fast if you need advanced automation features
Rasa.io
Best for: Businesses prioritising hyper-personalised, natural-sounding email content
Standout AI Feature: AI content engine that learns your brand voice to craft tailored email copy for each audience segment
Quick Take: Rasa impressed me by delivering genuinely human-sounding copy. Its AI doesn’t just tweak subject lines, it writes full emails that feel authentic and personalised. It offers a valuable time-saving boost for founders or marketers juggling multiple priorities. While it’s not a full marketing platform like HubSpot or Mailchimp, Rasa excels at solving one key challenge: producing consistently high-quality, engaging email copy.
Pricing: From £35/month | Free plan: ❌ (Free trial available)
- Natural, on-brand AI-generated email content
- Helps speed up content-heavy campaign workflows
- Limited automation features, best used alongside other tools
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Best for: Shopify users seeking effortless, hands-free email marketing with minimal setup
Standout AI Feature: AI-driven virtual assistant that recommends campaigns, sends emails, updates ads, and automates follow-ups
Quick Take: Kit acts more like a practical marketing assistant than a full-featured platform. When I connected it to Shopify, it quickly suggested relevant campaigns, generated simple content, and reminded me to follow up with customers, all through an easy chat-style interface. While it lacks the depth and flexibility of tools like Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign, Kit’s strength lies in its simplicity and automation. For Shopify store owners wanting effective marketing without complexity, it’s an excellent choice.
Pricing: Free with Shopify | Free plan: ✅ (Built-in for Shopify users)
- Incredibly easy to use, works through chat prompts
- Great for busy shop owners with little marketing time
- Limited design and automation options compared to more advanced tools
Mailmodo
Best for: Marketers aiming to deliver interactive, app-like experiences directly within emails
Standout AI Feature: AI-powered campaign assistant that builds AMP (interactive) emails with optimised content and layout suggestions
Quick Take: Mailmodo transforms emails into mini landing pages, enhancing engagement without forcing recipients to leave their inboxes. During my test, I embedded a survey directly into an email with no click-through required, and the AI assistant streamlined the design and copywriting process. Compared to traditional tools like Mailchimp or Brevo, Mailmodo feels more innovative and experimental, making it an excellent choice for marketers focused on driving higher response rates through interactivity.
Pricing: From approx. £72/month | Free plan: ✅ (Up to 10,000 emails/month)
- Lets users complete actions (like forms or bookings) within the email
- AI helps build interactive campaigns faster
- AMP support can be inconsistent across email clients
Twilio
Best for: Businesses seeking highly customisable email automation with robust multichannel integration
Standout AI Feature: AI-driven customer engagement insights that optimise timing and content across email and SMS
Quick Take: Twilio is a powerful platform for those comfortable with technical setups. It excels when you need deep integration between email, SMS, and other channels, allowing precise control over automation workflows. Unlike more straightforward and easy-to-use options like ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp, Twilio demands more developer input but rewards with unmatched customisation and scalability. If your business requires tailored, complex automation and you have the resources to configure it, Twilio is a top choice.
Pricing: From £14/month | Free plan: Yes (limited usage)
- Deep multichannel automation combining email, SMS, and voice
- Advanced AI insights for personalising customer journeys
- Requires technical skills; less suited to beginners
GetResponse
Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses seeking user-friendly AI-powered email marketing automation
Standout AI Feature: AI subject line generator that enhances open rates with data-driven, optimised suggestions
Quick Take: GetResponse offers a straightforward, efficient platform that lets you launch campaigns quickly and confidently. Its AI-driven insights simplify the process for marketers who want strong results without technical expertise. Compared to more complex platforms like Twilio, GetResponse provides a smoother, more accessible experience. Its visual automation builder is more advanced than Mailchimp’s basic workflows, making it a reliable choice for businesses that combine ease of use with effective AI support.
Pricing: From £10/month | Free plan: No (14-day trial)
- AI-powered subject line and content suggestions improve engagement
- Intuitive drag-and-drop automation builder
- Limited advanced segmentation compared to top-tier competitors
Omnisend
Best for: E-commerce businesses seeking seamless email and SMS marketing automation
Standout AI Feature: AI-powered product recommendations that personalise emails to increase conversion rates
Quick Take: Omnisend is designed with online retailers in mind, combining email and SMS into a single, efficient workflow. Its AI-driven product recommendations stand out as a powerful tool to boost sales effortlessly. Compared to broader platforms like GetResponse or the developer-focused Twilio, Omnisend offers ready-made automation with intelligent personalisation tailored for e-commerce. It’s an excellent choice for businesses wanting to scale sales with minimal manual input, supported by a clean, simple, easy-to-use visual automation builder.
Pricing: From £15/month | Free plan: Yes (up to 500 emails)
- Integrated AI product recommendations increase revenue potential
- Strong multichannel workflows including SMS and push notifications
- Limited advanced reporting for non-e-commerce users
Klaviyo
Best for: E-commerce brands seeking advanced, data-driven email and SMS automation
Standout AI Feature: Predictive analytics that anticipate customer behaviour to deliver highly personalised campaigns
Quick Take: Klaviyo is a robust platform tailored to marketers who prioritise data depth and precision. Its AI-powered predictive analytics excel at crafting targeted messages based on real-time customer behaviour, ensuring the right offer reaches the right person at the optimal moment. While Omnisend provides more turnkey e-commerce solutions, Klaviyo demands a steeper learning curve but rewards you with greater control and sophistication. It’s ideal for businesses ready to invest time in mastering detailed features to drive precise, results-oriented campaigns.
Pricing: From £20/month | Free plan: Yes (up to 250 contacts)
- Powerful AI-driven predictive analytics and segmentation
- Seamless integration with Shopify and other e-commerce platforms
- Can be overwhelming for beginners due to complexity
Instantly
Best for: Sales teams and small businesses focused on automating cold email outreach
Standout AI Feature: AI-driven deliverability optimisation to maximise inbox placement and response rates
Quick Take: Instantly acts as a smart assistant for cold outreach, designed to ensure your emails reach prospects’ inboxes reliably. It excels at automating lead generation campaigns, making it ideal for teams prioritising speed. It can grow with demand prospecting over nurturing existing customers. Unlike platforms like Klaviyo or Omnisend, which focus on customer retention and multi-channel marketing, Instantly simplifies cold emailing with AI that optimises timing, frequency, and follow-ups. This tool delivers strong, straightforward results if you aim to jumpstart conversations and generate new leads efficiently.
Pricing: From £15/month | Free plan: No (free trial available)
- Automated warm-up and deliverability tools improve campaign success
- Simple setup tailored to cold outreach
- Limited advanced automation for nurturing existing contacts
What Are AI Email Tools?
AI email marketing tools are advanced software platforms that leverage artificial intelligence to automate and optimise crucial aspects of your email campaigns—everything from content creation to send-time decisions, personalisation, and audience segmentation. For small business owners and marketers juggling multiple roles, these tools transform email marketing from a time-consuming task into a streamlined, data-driven process.
Unlike traditional email software that requires manual setup of campaigns and segmentation, AI-powered tools continuously analyse your audience’s behaviour and campaign data to make intelligent adjustments. For example, they generate compelling subject lines designed to boost open rates, identify the optimal time to send emails to each recipient, and tailor content dynamically based on individual preferences and past interactions. This results in more relevant, engaging emails that connect with your audience without the need for constant oversight.
For small to mid-sized businesses aiming to grow without expanding their marketing teams, AI email tools provide a crucial edge. They reduce the guesswork and repetitive work of campaign management, allowing marketers to concentrate on strategic priorities. In essence, these tools bring sophisticated marketing capabilities that scale with your business, making personalised, effective email communication both achievable and efficient.
Benefits of Using AI Email Tools
AI email marketing offers key advantages that small businesses and marketers find especially valuable:
- Saves time: Automates repetitive tasks like writing subject lines, personalising content, and optimising send times, freeing marketers to focus on strategy instead of manual work.
- Boosts engagement: Predicts the optimal time to send emails for each recipient, increasing open and click-through rates through smarter timing.
- Enables smarter targeting: Personalises emails based on customer behaviour and preferences, making campaigns more relevant and effective for each contact.
- Improves automation: Continuously learns from customer actions to adjust and optimise campaign flows in real time, reducing the need for manual intervention.
- Accessible for small businesses: Delivers advanced marketing capabilities without requiring large teams or technical expertise.
- Real-world impact: From my experience, AI tools make it easier to run effective, personalised campaigns that save time and produce better results.
What to Look for in an AI Email Tool?
Choosing the right AI email tool can feel overwhelming given the range of features available. Here are the key factors to prioritise for your business needs:
- Ease of Use: The best tools offer intuitive, simple and easy to use interfaces with drag-and-drop builders, so you can launch campaigns quickly without technical frustration, even if you’re not tech-savvy.
- Personalisation Capabilities: Look for platforms that tailor emails to individual contacts based on their behaviour or preferences. Personalised emails feel more relevant to recipients, significantly boosting engagement and conversion rates.
- Automation Flows: Ensure the tool can create automated sequences triggered by user actions, such as clicks or website visits. Smart automation delivers the right message immediately, saving you time and effort.
- Smart Send-Time Optimisation: The ability to send emails when each contact is most likely to open them, rather than at fixed times, can noticeably improve open rates with minimal setup.
- AI Content Generation: Features that automatically draft subject lines and email copy accelerate campaign creation, letting you focus on strategy and creativity instead of starting from scratch.
- Integrations: Your tool must connect seamlessly with your CRM, e-commerce platform, or other marketing software you use. Smooth integrations ensure consistent data flow and efficient workflows.
- Pricing Scalability: Choose an affordable tool for your current business size but with flexible plans that grow alongside you. Avoid paying for features you don’t need or outgrowing your platform too quickly.
Focusing on these elements will help you select an AI email tool that fits your current needs while supporting your growth and marketing ambitions.
Email Marketing AI FAQs
Can AI do email marketing?
Yes, AI plays a crucial role in modern email marketing. It automates key tasks such as crafting compelling subject lines, generating personalised email content for each recipient, and optimising send times to maximise open and click rates. From my experience, AI saves marketers valuable time and enhances campaign effectiveness by making emails smarter and more relevant. AI works best with human insight and strategic creativity; it’s a powerful tool to support, not replace, your marketing expertise.
What is the AI tool for generating emails?
An AI tool for generating emails leverages artificial intelligence to automatically create email content, including subject lines and personalised messages tailored to your audience. These tools can also suggest tone, style, and clarity improvements, helping you produce professional, engaging emails more quickly. From my experience, they’re invaluable for overcoming writer’s block and ensuring consistent, high-quality communication, saving busy marketers significant time without sacrificing impact.
Can I use AI to automate emails?
Absolutely. AI can automate the entire email process, from generating personalised content to determining the optimal timing and audience based on user behaviour and engagement patterns. In my experience, this level of automation makes campaigns far more efficient and effective, ensuring your emails reach the right contacts at precisely the right moment without constant manual oversight.
Can email marketing be automated?
Yes, email marketing can, and should, be automated. Automation allows you to create email sequences that trigger automatically based on customer actions such as sign-ups, purchases, or website behaviour. From my experience, this not only saves valuable time but also delivers messages at moments when customers are most receptive, significantly improving engagement and campaign performance without ongoing manual input.
How to do email marketing with AI?
To do email marketing with AI, start by choosing an artificial intelligence tool to help create, personalise, and send your emails automatically. I think the key is letting AI generate subject lines, suggest content, and optimise send times based on customer behaviour. This way, you spend less time writing and more time reaching the right people with messages that feel personal and timely. Integrating AI-powered automation flows also helps keep your campaigns running smoothly without constant manual input.
How do I set up email marketing automation?
Start by choosing an email marketing platform that aligns with your goals and integrates smoothly with your contact list or CRM. Once connected, build automated workflows, pre-set sequences triggered by specific actions such as signing up, purchasing, or abandoning a cart. From my experience, using AI tools to personalise these emails makes a real difference: they help tailor the timing and content for each individual, improving engagement without added manual effort. Before launching, always test your flows to ensure everything runs as expected, then monitor performance closely to refine and improve results over time.
Is there a free AI tool to send emails?
Yes, several email platforms offer free plans that include basic AI features. Tools like Brevo and Mailchimp provide AI-powered subject line generation and content assistance even on entry-level tiers. These options benefit small businesses or early-stage marketers exploring AI-driven email marketing without committing to a paid plan. However, most free plans have limitations, such as daily email caps or restricted contact lists, so they’re best suited for low-volume campaigns or initial testing before scaling up.
Is there an AI that can send emails?
Yes, AI tools can send emails automatically, handling everything from content generation to send-time optimisation. These platforms use behavioural data to personalise messages, choose the best delivery time, and adapt real-time campaigns. From my experience, they’re a significant improvement [specific element] for businesses that want to make faster or easier outreach without compromising relevance. Instantly is ideal for cold outreach, while platforms like ActiveCampaign offer more advanced, multi-step automation across the entire customer journey.
What is the best AI for email writing?
The best AI tool for email writing depends on what you’re aiming to achieve. If you want emails that sound genuinely human and on-brand, I rate Rasa.io highly. It learns your voice and crafts personalised copy that doesn’t feel templated. For broader marketing automation, ActiveCampaign is a strong choice. Its AI helps generate subject lines and adapt content based on contact behaviour in real time. Both tools cut down writing time while boosting engagement, making them ideal for busy teams that need high-impact copy without the grind.
