Mailchimp says AI-powered emails deliver 21% higher conversions

Emails created using generative AI recorded 21% higher conversion rates and 19% higher order rates during the 2025 holiday shopping season, according to new Intuit Mailchimp data.

The findings come from Mailchimp's Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report, developed with Datalily, which analysed more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages sent globally between Halloween and New Year's Eve.

The Australian results suggest a commercial opportunity for retailers preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, although the analysis does not establish that AI alone caused the performance uplift.

Personalisation also made a difference. During the Black Friday–Cyber Monday weekend, Australian emails using dynamic content generated 3% higher average order value than those without it.

Globally, SMS delivered up to six times the order rate and three times the revenue per message of email at peak, although email generated more revenue overall.

“Peak season is an opportunity to deepen customer connections,” Mailchimp senior vice president of product and engineering Jack Tam said.
“The businesses that thrive use their own customer data to understand when people are ready to act, which messages matter, and where to focus next.”

The report also found that first-time buyers accounted for 68.6% of email orders and 73.4% of SMS orders in Australia during the Black Friday–Cyber Monday period.