Apple Mail replaces your preheader with an AI summary
How do I optimise emails for Apple Intelligence summaries?
Global · Apple
In one sentence
Apple can show its own summary of your email where the preheader used to win attention — many people never open.
Emailrules interpretation
Apple Intelligence rewrites a short summary of the message in the inbox. That text is not your preheader and not under your full control. Lead with clear subject + first lines that survive summarisation; do not bury the offer three paragraphs down.
Why it matters. was already broken for many Apple users. Now even the preview slot can be machine-written. Subject and structure matter more.
Dotted words open definitions. See how email actually works.
What to do
Your move — not a lecture
This one needs you
No platform does this for you. One concrete move, then you are done.
Nothing. No previews what Apple's summariser will make of your email, so you cannot test this before you send.
Your part: The first 200 characters of real text, one clear call to action, and not shipping image-only emails.
What to do first
Open your last campaign and read the first 200 characters of actual live text. If that is "View in browser" and a discount code, that is what Apple is summarising to your list.
Who this applies to
Everyone, and disproportionately so given Apple is 64.66 percent of measured .
Checklist
- 01Put real, live text in the first 100 to 200 characters. That is what the summariser reads.
- 02Stop shipping image-only emails. Testing by Twilio and Inbox Monster found the summary is then generated from the subject line alone, and alt text is ignored entirely.
- 03Keep to one clear call to action. Emails with three or more produce summaries described in that testing as close to gibberish.
- 04Use semantic HTML headings and paragraphs rather than styled divs.
That’s enough to act. The exact wording, the enforcement record and every primary source sit under Proof & sources, for counsel, bosses, or AI tools that need a citation. Not legal advice.
Proof
Exact position, enforcement, sources
For records and people who will check you. Skip if Monday’s move is already clear.
Source fact
Apple Mail generates a summary and shows it in place of the preheader in the message list, on by default since iOS 18.3. Validity's June 2026 consumer research found 55 percent of people now make decisions from the summary alone without reading the email. Apple publishes no guidance for senders.
What happens if you do not
Not a rule. It is an unlegislated change in how your message reaches a human, which is arguably worse, because nothing tells you when it goes wrong.
Sources
- Twilio and Inbox Monster, Mailbox provider AI and Apple IntelligencePublished 18 Mar 2025Read primary source
- Validity, Consumers let AI curate their inboxes while marketers struggle to keep upPublished 1 Jun 2026Read primary source
History of this page
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Take this with you
GET https://emailrules.today/rules/apple-intelligence-email-summaries?format=json
Same URL, same answer, every field including the ones behind the Proof tab. An Accept: application/json header on the plain URL does the same thing. All the endpoints.