How We Use AI in Email Marketing
AI isn't just a tool we use at MKTG Rhythm—it’s woven into how we think, work, and create. In this post, we’re pulling back the curtain on how our team uses AI to move faster, work smarter, and build more human-centered marketing. From content creation and campaign QA to data analysis and design, you’ll see real examples of how we combine automation with empathy to create more meaningful customer experiences. If you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to use AI in modern marketing, this is it.
At MKTG Rhythm, we’re big believers that the most human brands are the ones who win! But we also know that the right tools can amplify creativity and allow us to add value in ways that only humans can.
In our work, AI isn’t just a trend we’re watching from the sidelines; it’s deeply embedded in our strategy, our processes, and our team culture. AI has been a cornerstone for many of our processes and workflows since 2020 (yeah, that's before ChatGPT).
But when we talk about AI in marketing, things get really vague really fast, so we wanted to unpack some of the ways we use it.
Interested in diving deeper? Take a listen to this episode of the Social Pros podcast to hear how data, empathy, and AI come together to create more human-centered marketing.
Here are some of the core ways our team uses AI:
Table of Contents
1. Speeding Up Content Creation, Without Losing the Human Touch
AI helps us get from “idea” to “impact” faster. Whether we’re drafting campaign concepts, subject lines, or full sequences, we use AI to help us do some of the early heavy lifting. AI helps us go from 0 to 1, then our strategists and copywriters layer in subject-matter expertise, brand voice, and nuance. Taking us from 1 to 2.
🔁 Example: We want a piece of content for one of our coffee clients, AI helps us brainstorm ideas and do some preliminary research. AI helps us create the first draft, "10 Books Every Coffee Lover Needs to Read", then we have our client's subject matter expert validate it and add their unique perspective. What could have taken days now takes hours, and we still get that human touch that we are looking for!
2. Building Tools into our Workflow
We want to test every link in every email. But it takes our team so much time.
We’re constantly building small utilities, scripts, and checks into our process that catch issues before they ever reach a subscriber’s inbox. From broken links to spelling slip-ups, we build CustomGPT modules into the bones of our process to keep quality high and manual lift low.
🧐 Example: One of our favorite AI “micro-tools” is a script that crawls every outgoing email and flags missing UTM parameters, broken links, or incorrect product variants. Then it identifies if the link is an image, button, or hyperlink. It’s like QA on autopilot, and it helps us move faster without compromising on detail.
3. Turning Survey Responses into Strategic Gold
Surveys are a goldmine, but only if you can actually analyze and use the data. We use AI to analyze free-text responses at scale, surfacing patterns, pain points, and opportunities that would take hours (or days) to do manually.
📋 Example: After a post-purchase survey, we used AI to cluster thousands of open-ended responses. It revealed that a surprising number of customers were buying our client’s product as a gift. So we spun up a gifting sequence that became a top revenue driver in Q4.
4. Scaling Creative with AI-Powered Design Tools
We don’t just use AI for copy; we use it to supercharge visual storytelling. Our design team uses AI tools to prototype, iterate, and push creative boundaries faster than ever. It doesn’t replace design, it accelerates the magic part of it.
🎄 Example: For a holiday coffee campaign, we used AI to generate an animated email featuring the product bag nestled in a cozy snowscape, complete with flickering lights reminiscent of Christmas Vacation. What used to take a full production team and a week? Our team built it in an hour, with all the brand personality still intact.
5. Finding Hidden Wins in Data
We export performance data from platforms like Klaviyo and use AI to sift through it at scale, discovering trends we may not otherwise see. What framing is working, which segments are most responsive, and where small tweaks could drive big gains.
📈 Example: After exporting 6 months of flow performance data, we used AI to cluster underperforming emails by content type, subject line theme, and timing. Turns out, a handful of plain-text emails were quietly outperforming polished designs in our reorder flow, so we leaned in and lifted conversion by 22%.
General note:
For us, AI isn’t optional, it’s required.
We don’t hire anyone who’s not willing to engage with AI in some capacity. It would be like hiring an accountant who wants to be a purist and not use a calculator.
For us, it does not replace talent; it elevates it.
From strategy and content to design and automation, AI helps our team focus on what matters most: Impact, creativity, and connection.
If you’re anti-AI, it’s hard to fit into our team. It’s baked into how we operate.
AI isn’t a shortcut. It’s a force multiplier for thoughtful marketing. It lets us do more of what we love: creating content that connects, educates, and drives revenue, without losing the human warmth that makes it memorable.
Want to learn more about how AI and empathy can work together? Send us a message, and we’d be happy to show you what that looks like in your brand’s inbox.
