Why am I seeing a large uptick in Outlook clicks that appear to be bots?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 3 May 2025
Updated 17 Aug 2025
7 min read
Many email senders are currently experiencing a significant and puzzling increase in clicks originating from Outlook.com and Hotmail domains. This surge often sees clicks jumping from hundreds to tens of thousands within a short period for a single campaign. The odd thing is, these don't appear to be human interactions, but rather automated (bot) clicks.
I've personally observed this trend with clients who have consistent sending habits, content, and audience sizes, yet suddenly their click metrics are wildly inflated. My initial checks on IP and domain reputations, along with testing the sending infrastructure, often show everything operating normally. This leads to the concern of whether this influx of bot clicks is a warning sign of an impending deliverability problem or simply a change in how email providers are scanning emails.
It’s a common scenario, and you're definitely not alone if you're seeing this. While it can skew your reporting, understanding the underlying reasons and how to properly assess the impact is key to maintaining a healthy email program.
The nature of Outlook bot clicks
The primary reason for a large uptick in Outlook clicks that appear to be bots stems from how email clients, particularly Microsoft's Outlook and Hotmail services, are enhancing their security measures. These email providers employ automated systems (bots) to pre-scan incoming emails for malicious content, phishing attempts, and general spam. When an email arrives, these bots click on all links within the message to verify their safety before the email is delivered to the recipient's inbox or filtered to their junk folder.
This proactive scanning helps protect users from dangerous links. If a link leads to a known harmful site, or if the click behavior triggers suspicious flags, the email might be blocked or routed to spam. This is a common practice across major inbox providers, but it appears Microsoft has significantly increased the intensity or scope of these scans in recent months, leading to the observed surge in bot clicks for many senders. It’s a necessary security measure in today's threat landscape.
The key takeaway here is that these aren't necessarily indicators of a problem with your sending practices or reputation. Rather, they reflect a broader industry trend towards more aggressive link scanning and email security. It means your emails are being scrutinized, which is a good thing for recipient safety, but a challenging one for accurate campaign performance measurement.
Understanding bot click purpose
Email bot clicks (also known as non-human interactions) are typically generated by automated programs employed by email service providers or security vendors. Their main objective is to detect malicious content, phishing attempts, and spam within emails before they reach the end-user. This pre-scanning helps safeguard recipients and maintains the integrity of the email ecosystem by identifying and filtering out potentially harmful messages.
Distinguishing real clicks from bot clicks can be tricky, especially when you don't retain IP address data for reporting, as many senders choose not to for privacy or data management reasons. However, several patterns can help you identify if a significant portion of your Outlook clicks are indeed bot-generated.
Look for an unusually high click-to-open rate (CTOR) that doesn't align with your historical performance or other engagement metrics. Bot clicks often occur in rapid succession, sometimes within seconds of the email being delivered to the inbox, and they might click every link in the email, including those that are typically ignored by human recipients. The geographical location might also be a clue, with many bot clicks originating from data centers or cloud provider IP ranges, rather than typical user locations.
Another common indicator is a high number of clicks on hidden or unconventional links within your email, such as tracking pixels or unsubscribe links that are usually less frequently clicked by engaged users. These patterns suggest automated scrutiny rather than genuine user interest. You may also see an increase in bot click activity from specific Amazon EC2 IPs.
Real user clicks
Timing: Clicks occur over a longer period, reflecting when users open and engage.
Patterns: Users typically click specific links that are most relevant to them, often avoiding unsubscribe links or tracking pixels.
Location: Clicks originate from diverse geographical locations and consumer IP addresses.
Follow-through: Clicks are often followed by further engagement on the landing page, like sign-ups or purchases.
Bot generated clicks
Timing: Clicks occur almost immediately after delivery, often within seconds or minutes.
Patterns: All links, including hidden tracking pixels, are clicked rapidly and often multiple times.
Location: Many clicks come from data centers or cloud-hosting providers, typically concentrated in specific geographic regions.
Follow-through: No subsequent engagement or conversions occur after the click.
Impact on your email program
While a sudden increase in Outlook bot clicks can be alarming, it's important to differentiate between distorted metrics and actual deliverability problems. In most cases, these bot clicks do not negatively impact your sender reputation or your ability to reach the inbox. They are simply an artifact of modern email security protocols.
The primary issue they cause is the distortion of your email marketing metrics. Your click-through rates (CTRs) might appear artificially high, making it difficult to gauge true campaign performance and audience engagement. This can lead to misinformed decisions about content effectiveness, A/B testing, and overall campaign strategy. For example, a campaign might show a stellar CTR, but if a large percentage is from bots, your actual human engagement could be much lower.
However, if you also notice a corresponding decline in other key metrics, such as conversions, replies, or even a sudden spike in spam complaints, then the bot clicks might be masking a deeper underlying deliverability issue. It's crucial to look beyond just the raw click numbers and analyze the broader context of your email program's performance. For example, if your open rates are also spiking, it could be automatic opens and clicks from Microsoft 365.
Generally, if your domain and IP reputation remains stable and you're not seeing other negative indicators, these bot clicks are likely a benign side effect of enhanced security, rather than a precursor to a blocklist (or blacklist) listing.
Metric
Before Bot Clicks
After Bot Clicks (Observed)
Sent emails
50,000
50,000
Outlook Clicks
1,000
70,000
Total Clicks
10,000
80,000
CTR
2%
16%
Mitigating and managing bot clicks
Since bot clicks are largely a function of inbox provider security and not a direct reflection of your email program's health, focusing on mitigation strategies involves adjusting your reporting and focusing on other key metrics. You can't necessarily "stop" these clicks, but you can learn to work around them.
First, explore if your email service provider (ESP) offers any bot filtering capabilities. Some ESPs have built-in algorithms to identify and remove known bot clicks from your reporting, giving you a cleaner view of human engagement. If not, you might need to implement your own segmentation or analysis, perhaps by looking for specific patterns (e.g., clicks occurring within the first few seconds of delivery, clicks from suspicious IP ranges if you track them). However, as many senders like me choose not to store IP data for privacy, this can be challenging.
Second, shift your focus to metrics that are less susceptible to bot manipulation. Conversion rates, replies, and actual revenue generated are much stronger indicators of campaign success than raw click numbers. These metrics reflect genuine human interaction and interest. Additionally, ensure your email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are robust. While not directly preventing bot clicks, strong authentication builds trust with email providers, helping ensure your legitimate emails land in the inbox despite the increased scanning.
The increase in Outlook bot clicks is a clear sign that email security is evolving. While it complicates metric analysis, it doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with your deliverability. By understanding the nature of these clicks, adapting your reporting strategies, and focusing on deeper engagement metrics, you can maintain an effective email program. Ultimately, strong email authentication and consistent, high-quality content remain your best tools for ensuring long-term inbox placement.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Actively monitor other key engagement metrics, like conversions and replies, to get a true picture of human interaction with your emails.
Segment your audience based on engagement, focusing on active recipients rather than overall click-through rates.
Ensure your email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured and enforced, building trust with email providers.
Common pitfalls
Overreacting to inflated click rates and making drastic changes to your email strategy based on misleading data.
Ignoring the problem, which can lead to misinterpretations of campaign performance and hinder optimization efforts.
Failing to adapt your reporting to account for bot activity, resulting in a skewed understanding of your audience's actual engagement.
Expert tips
Regularly review your email client data to identify patterns specific to certain providers and adjust your analysis accordingly.
Consider engaging with email deliverability experts or communities to stay informed about the latest trends in bot activity and email security.
Focus on the long-term health of your sender reputation by maintaining a clean list and sending relevant content.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they observed a massive uptick in clicks from Outlook.com MX domains for a bi-weekly sender, where total Outlook clicks jumped from around 1,000 to 70,000 for a 50,000 distribution list, indicating clear bot activity.
April 19, 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that metadata about where clicks originate, such as IP addresses, is typically what to examine, noting that similar issues have been widely reported over the past few months.
