Email marketing continues to evolve, and while 2025 is bound to bring new challenges, the groundwork laid in 2024 has already reshaped strategies. Let’s explore the major shifts that marketers must prepare for in the coming year.
1. Yahoo and Google’s new deliverability standards
In an industry often lacking unified standards, Yahoo and Google jointly implemented stricter email deliverability rules in 2024. These requirements, which took effect earlier this year, include:
- Authentication standards – Brands must fully authenticate emails, including publishing DMARC records with at least a “none” (p=none) policy, which doesn’t enforce any filtering actions.
- Unsubscribe functionality – Marketers need to include list-unsubscribe headers to enable native unsubscribe links within inboxes.
- Quick unsubscribe processing – Unsubscribe requests must be processed within 48 hours.
- Spam complaint rates – Google’s guidelines recommend keeping spam complaints under 0.1% and prohibit sustained rates above 0.3%.
Impact on 2025
- Microsoft may follow Suit – Microsoft is likely to implement similar standards, which would significantly affect B2B marketers.
- Stricter DMARC policies – The current p=none requirement may soon shift to more aggressive policies, like p=quarantine or p=reject, possibly announced in 2025 for enforcement in 2026.
2. The decline of preview text
Preview text has long been a crucial tool for marketers to enhance subject lines, but this feature is increasingly under threat.
2024 changes:
- Google’s automatic extraction – AI now analyzes emails in the Promotions tab, pulling out visuals, discount codes, and expiration dates to replace preview text. While this improves visibility, it also disrupts attribution and delivers inconsistent results.
- AI summaries by Apple – Apple’s AI-generated email summaries may misrepresent content, further reducing marketers’ control over messaging.
- Yahoo’s adoption – Yahoo employs both AI summaries and Automatic Extraction but also alters links to include affiliate tags, potentially impacting revenue attribution.
Impact on 2025
- Wider adoption of AI summaries – As AI-capable phones grow more popular, these changes will affect more users, likely by 2026.
- Strategic adjustments – Marketers will need to:
- Focus on standalone subject lines instead of relying on preview text.
- Implement schema markup in emails to counter Automatic Extraction, though this may conflict with brand aesthetics.
- Experiment with sender name extensions to convey more information upfront.
3. BIMI expansion and fragmentation
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) enables businesses to display their logos next to sender names, boosting visibility and trust.
2024 updates:
- Google’s expanded support – Gmail now accepts both Common Mark Certificates (CMCs) and the stricter Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs).
- Apple’s BIMI support – Through its Branded Mail feature in Apple Business Connect, Apple allows BIMI without requiring any certificates.
Impact on 2025
- Increased adoption – These changes make BIMI easier to implement, likely leading to widespread adoption.
- Competitive pressure – Brands not using BIMI may see declining open rates by 2026 as trust and visibility shift to certified senders. Marketers should seize the opportunity in 2025 to enable BIMI across platforms.
4. Google’s Hide My Email feature
Following Apple’s launch of Hide My Email in 2021, which lets users mask their real email addresses with relay accounts, Google is preparing to roll out a similar feature.
Impact on 2025
- Minimal effect on Opt-ins – This tool appeals to privacy-conscious users, who are less likely to engage with marketing emails anyway.
- Reinforce permission practices – Brands that prioritize explicit opt-ins and avoid automatically subscribing buyers should see little impact.
5. Apple mail tabs
Apple Mail introduced a tabbed interface in late 2024, aligning with Gmail and Yahoo’s approach. While reminiscent of Gmail’s 2013 tabbed layout, marketers’ fears are likely overstated.
Impact on 2025
- No visible impact on opens – Thanks to Mail Privacy Protection, tracking open rates will remain unreliable.
- Future risks with categorization – Apple may follow Yahoo and Google’s lead by enforcing schema and altering links in promotional emails. Brands must monitor updates to gauge any changes in Apple’s approach.
Final thoughts
As email marketing continues to evolve in 2025, marketers need to adapt to stricter deliverability standards, the diminishing importance of preview text, and emerging AI-driven inbox features. Leveraging BIMI and preparing for AI-enhanced email sorting will be critical to staying competitive. By embracing these trends and making proactive adjustments, brands can future-proof their strategies for the ever-changing email landscape.
Source: MarketingProfs
