Is Your Email’s Most Important Message Getting Left Out?

You know how ai is now summarizing emails for us? And then tells us what is in the email so you don't have to read the whole thing? Look at this data. We need this data to write an email that will convey what we want our readers to know.

I spend time getting an email to sound right, and I’m guessing you do, too. We work on the subject line, explain what we’re offering, and put a link near the bottom. But what happens when someone gets an AI summary of our message before reading the email itself?

Jay Schwedelson brought up research that made me rethink that order. Speaking about a BuzzStream and Aira study on his podcast, Do This, NOT That, he said, “AI summaries pull 87% of their content from the first half of an email.”

The original study gives us a more specific picture. Researchers analyzed 628 AI email summaries of outreach pitches to journalists. Looking at keyword matches, 87.1% came from the first half of the email for Google, compared with 82.5% for Apple and 65.4% for Microsoft. The second half still contributed, but the opening carried more weight.

For our business emails, I am using this data as a reason to get to the point sooner. What are we offering? Who is it for? Why would they care? What should they do next? If those answers are scattered through several paragraphs, I’d bring them together near the top.

A seminar invitation is a good example. I might open with: “Wondering how Social Security fits into your retirement? Join our free educational seminar November 18 at 6 p.m. Bring your questions and reserve your seat here.” The reader gets the purpose, benefit, date, and next step right away.

Our subject lines still deserve attention. It isn't about the headline in the image or the just the subject line anymore. The research found that subject lines could influence summaries, too. It also found that information inside graphics and attachments did little to shape them. I’d put essential details in the email’s actual text, even when they also appear in a beautiful image.

So here is what to ask yourself before you hit send: If someone only saw the opening of this email, would they understand why I sent it and what to do next?