Are AI summaries replacing email pre-headers, or is it just Apple Mail?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 9 Sep 2025
Updated 29 Sep 2025
8 min read
The world of email marketing is constantly evolving, and the introduction of AI-generated summaries is the latest significant shift. We have been observing how Apple Intelligence in Apple Mail specifically is impacting how recipients first encounter your messages, particularly concerning the once-sacrosanct pre-header. This change raises an important question for everyone involved in email: Is Apple Mail the only one replacing pre-headers with AI summaries, or are other platforms like Gmail following suit? Understanding this distinction is crucial for adapting your email strategy effectively.
While AI continues to impact email deliverability and filtering mechanisms, the direct replacement of pre-header text in the inbox view is primarily a feature of Apple Mail on devices supporting Apple Intelligence. Other email clients may use AI for different summarization purposes, but they generally haven't adopted this specific behavior of overwriting the marketer-defined pre-header text in the main inbox list view. This distinction means marketers need a nuanced approach to how they craft their emails for different audiences and platforms.
The shift away from traditional pre-headers means marketers are losing a key piece of real estate they once controlled. Previously, the pre-header (or preview text) was a valuable space to provide a concise, engaging summary that complemented the subject line, enticing recipients to open the email. Now, with Apple Mail's AI-generated summaries, the content displayed can be unpredictable, shaped by the AI's interpretation of the email's body. This necessitates a re-evaluation of how we approach email content from the subject line all the way through the email body, to ensure the AI's summary is as favorable as possible.
The emergence of AI summaries and their client-specific implementations
Apple's adoption of AI summaries in Mail is a game-changer for marketers. With iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, the traditional pre-header text that marketers carefully crafted is now being replaced by a dynamically generated summary. This summary aims to provide users with a quick overview of the email's content, tailored by the AI. This means the first impression of your email in an Apple Mail inbox is no longer entirely within your control.
However, it's important to note that this behavior is largely specific to Apple Mail. Other major email clients, like Gmail, have introduced AI summarization features, but their implementation differs. Gmail, for instance, has been observed to use AI for summarizing email *conversations* within a thread, or to offer summaries in specific contexts, but it generally doesn't replace the pre-header text in the main inbox list, especially not in promotional or updates tabs. This distinction is vital, as it means your strategy must account for variations across clients.
The impact of Apple Intelligence on email engagement and deliverability goes beyond just the pre-header. It reflects a broader trend of AI playing a more active role in how users interact with their inboxes. While the AI-generated summary in Apple Mail appears as a temporary preview and disappears once the email is opened, its influence on the initial decision to open or ignore an email is undeniable. This change underscores the need for a robust email strategy that prioritizes clear, valuable, and engaging content from the very first word.
Adapting to the new email preview landscape
For email marketers, this shift means re-evaluating long-standing best practices. We have traditionally relied on the subject line and pre-header working in tandem to grab attention. Now, with Apple Mail's AI summaries, the emphasis on the subject line becomes even more critical, as it's the only fully controlled textual element visible before the email is opened. The email's core message must be clear and compelling enough to be accurately summarized by an AI, ensuring the generated preview text is still enticing.
Key impact of Apple Mail's AI summaries
Reduced control: Marketers lose direct control over the secondary preview text in Apple Mail inboxes.
Enhanced subject line importance: The subject line becomes the primary controlled text to drive opens.
Content relevance: The initial content of the email body needs to be highly relevant to guide the AI's summary.
Beyond the pre-header, the broader use of AI assistants and Mail Privacy Protection means a fundamental shift in how email campaigns are tracked and measured. Marketers are encouraged to look beyond traditional open rates and focus on metrics that truly reflect engagement, such as clicks, conversions, and direct responses. This holistic approach ensures that campaign effectiveness is accurately assessed, regardless of how an email's preview is generated.
The evolution of email clients signals that AI will continue to impact spam filtering and inbox placement. Therefore, maintaining a strong sender reputation and ensuring proper email authentication (like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) remains paramount. These foundational elements ensure your emails even have a chance to reach the inbox, where AI will then interpret their content.
Strategic adjustments for marketers
With AI taking over the pre-header in some contexts, marketers should pivot their focus to crafting highly effective subject lines. A compelling subject line is now more critical than ever, as it's the most reliable hook to encourage an open. It must convey the email's value and urgency without relying on the complementary pre-header text that may no longer be displayed.
Traditional pre-headers
Controlled: Marketers manually craft this text to complement the subject line.
Predictable: What you write is what recipients see, helping set expectations.
Static: Remains the same for all recipients across a campaign.
AI-generated summaries
Dynamic: Summaries are generated on the fly, potentially differing for each user.
Contextual: AI attempts to highlight the most relevant information.
Unpredictable: Marketers have limited influence over the exact wording or focus.
Furthermore, the beginning of your email's body content becomes incredibly important. Since the AI pulls its summary from the email's content, ensure the initial sentences are highly relevant and representative of your email's main message. This practice increases the likelihood that the AI will generate a summary that accurately reflects your intent and encourages opens.
Regular testing and monitoring are more crucial than ever. With these changes, monitoring your email performance across different clients, especially Apple Mail, will provide valuable insights into how your campaigns are perceived. Utilizing tools that provide comprehensive email deliverability data can help you quickly identify and adapt to new behaviors. For instance, using a DMARC monitoring platform like Suped allows you to track email authentication and identify potential issues that could affect inbox placement, ensuring your emails reach their destination for AI processing.
Balancing AI-driven changes with traditional practices
The distinction between how different email clients handle AI summarization is key. While Apple Mail on devices with Apple Intelligence is actively replacing pre-headers, Gmail's AI integration has generally focused on summarizing conversations or providing AI assistance in other areas, not overwriting the critical preview text in the inbox list itself. This means that for a significant portion of your audience, traditional pre-headers still matter.
Client
Pre-header behavior
AI summarization context
Apple Mail
Replaced by AI summaries on devices with Apple Intelligence (iOS 18+).
Generates concise summaries of the email content in the inbox preview.
Gmail
Generally displays marketer-defined pre-headers, especially in non-primary tabs.
Summarizes email conversations, offers drafting assistance, and other AI-powered tools.
This dual reality means marketers must prioritize quality content and strong authentication across the board. Whether an AI is summarizing your email or a traditional pre-header is showing, the underlying principles of good email marketing remain constant. We need to focus on clear value propositions, relevant content, and a trustworthy sender identity through protocols like DMARC. Monitoring your DMARC reports with Suped can provide the visibility needed to ensure consistent deliverability and trust, regardless of evolving client behaviors.
Ultimately, the shift with Apple Mail highlights a broader trend: the increasing role of AI in mediating user interaction with email. As email clients continue to innovate, marketers must stay agile and informed, constantly optimizing their strategies to ensure their messages are not just delivered, but also understood and engaged with, whether by human eyes or artificial intelligence.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Craft compelling subject lines that stand alone, as they are the most reliable hook.
Ensure the initial sentences of your email body are highly relevant and engaging.
Regularly test how your emails appear across various clients, including Apple Mail and Gmail.
Prioritize email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for improved deliverability and trust.
Focus on engagement metrics beyond open rates, such as clicks and conversions.
Common pitfalls
Over-reliance on pre-header text for conveying critical information in Apple Mail.
Assuming all email clients will adopt AI summary features in the same way.
Neglecting to optimize initial email body content, leading to poor AI summaries.
Failing to adapt campaign measurement strategies to account for AI and privacy changes.
Ignoring DMARC reports, which are crucial for maintaining domain reputation.
Expert tips
Consider hidden pre-header text primarily for non-Apple Mail clients, while optimizing for AI in Apple Mail.
Use A/B testing on subject lines to maximize impact in environments with AI summaries.
Review AI-generated summaries in Apple Mail to understand how content is interpreted.
Embrace personalization that goes beyond superficial elements to provide true value.
Continuously monitor industry updates on AI in email clients to stay ahead.
Marketer view
Apple Mail primarily uses AI to generate summaries that replace the pre-header text, and these summaries disappear once the email is opened.
2025-05-20 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Gmail's AI summaries appear for conversation threads in Google Workspace, but they typically show above the thread and do not replace the current pre-header content in the inbox list.
2025-05-21 - Email Geeks
Key takeaways for email marketers
The introduction of AI summaries by Apple Mail marks a pivotal moment in email marketing. While it's primarily an Apple-specific phenomenon for now, the broader trend suggests that AI will continue to reshape how emails are presented and consumed. Marketers must adapt by focusing on strong subject lines and compelling, AI-friendly content, ensuring their message is clear and effective from the outset.
Maintaining robust email authentication, such as DMARC, remains a fundamental best practice, providing the bedrock of trust that allows your emails to reach the inbox in the first place. With platforms like Suped, you can monitor your DMARC reports, gaining invaluable insights into your email deliverability and ensuring your messages are always authenticated and trustworthy. This vigilance is crucial for navigating the evolving email landscape effectively.
Gmail, have introduced AI summarization features, but their implementation differs. Gmail, for instance, has been observed to use AI for summarizing email *conversations* within a thread, or to offer summaries in specific contexts, but it generally doesn't replace the pre-header text in the main inbox list, especially not in promotional or updates tabs. This distinction is vital, as it means your strategy must account for variations across clients.
: The initial content of the email body needs to be highly relevant to guide the AI's summary.
