'Email is at an inflection point': new study finds only 13% of emails sent worldwide were actually written by humans

By Craig Hale published 4 hours ago

Customer email interaction is changing drastically, report warns

Fewer than half of the emails currently being sent are making it past spam filters to the inbox
The most common error is that they're being market as phishing, scam, malware or botnets
Marketers need to change their strategies and metrics to suit a new era of email

New Hostinger research exclusively shared with TechRadar Pro has claimed only 13% of global email traffic is actually human-written - with the remaining
87% of emails generated by automated systems.

The trend marks a major shift for email-based communication, which has gone from being a person-to-person tool to a largely automated marketing tool.

But it also reveals a growing issue for communicators, with not even half (44%) of emails actually reaching inboxes (for Hostinger customers in January 2026, at least), and the rest being flagged as suspicious, unsafe or malicious.

Most emails are no longer human-written

Hostinger found the most common reason why emails were being blocked was because they were being marked as phishing, scam, malware or botnets (34%).

"Keeping the channel relevant requires responsibility at every level," Engineering Manager Edgaras Luko?evi?ius wrote. "Inbox providers need to
equip users with better tools to cut through noise and protect their focus."

Of the different categories of emails received by Hostinger inboxes, only personal email providers and low-volume senders predominated as human-written. The rest, including business tools, SaaS, marketing, social networks and more, were mostly automated.

Luko?evi?ius added that senders need to be "far more intentional" about how they send messages to "stay relevant in crowded inboxes." Senders are currently battling with declining deliverability due to spam filters as well as poor engagement rates due to the sheer noise.

Hostinger's report also notes that traditional email metrics, like opens and clicks, are becoming less meaningful as engagement patterns evolve.

"The data suggests email is at an inflection point," Hostinger concludes, noting that companies need to totally reassess their email strategies to match the AI-driven, automated world of communications.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/email-is-at-an-inflection-point-new-study-finds-o nly-13-percent-of-emails-sent-worldwide-were-actually-written-by-humans

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--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

Mike Powell wrote to All <=-

'Email is at an inflection point': new study finds only 13% of emails
sent worldwide were actually written by humans

Email is going to end up like NNTP, I'm afraid.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)

Mike Powell wrote to All <=-

'Email is at an inflection point': new study finds only 13% of emails sent worldwide were actually written by humans

Email is going to end up like NNTP, I'm afraid.

That would be sad but, yes, I think so.

I wonder if the number of "non-human" includes things like email lists that
are for automated weather postings and other things one might intentionally subscribe to that are not "human generated" emails?

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * True Multitasking = 3 PCs and a chair with wheels!
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

New Hostinger research exclusively shared with TechRadar Pro has claimed only

>13% of global email traffic is actually human-written - with the remaining
>87% of emails generated by automated systems.

Those numbers are probably a little misleading if you don't stop to
think about it.. All my (your?) online billing notices/reminders from
banks, credit cards, electricity and other bills are generated by
machine and that's fine. The only down side is you can't reply to
it if you have some reason to question it..

---
* SLMR Rob * Damn... My twit filter won't let me send my replies...
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

>13% of global email traffic is actually human-written - with the remaining
>87% of emails generated by automated systems.

Those numbers are probably a little misleading if you don't stop to
think about it.. All my (your?) online billing notices/reminders from
banks, credit cards, electricity and other bills are generated by
machine and that's fine. The only down side is you can't reply to
it if you have some reason to question it..

I was wondering about that also, if those emails were included as
"non-human."

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * I got everything but the part after "Now listen closely."
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

Email is going to end up like NNTP, I'm afraid.

That would be sad but, yes, I think so.

I wonder if the number of "non-human" includes things like email lists that are for automated weather postings and other things one might intentionally subscribe to that are not "human generated" emails?

This isn't quite fodder for a Conspiracy echo, but I'm getting to prefer
email. My workplace is Teams-heavy, and there are a lot of issues with
how people use Teams. Maybe I'll find somewhere to rant about the perils
of an always-on mentality in the workplace.



... An easement is the abandonment of a stricture
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)

Mike Powell wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

As for not being conspiracy related... what if "they" want us to be struggling with an "always-on" work mentality to keep us distracted, or maybe to burn us out so we need meds/drugs to keep going? ;)

True, the more we're complaining about the user who doesn't respect
time zones, the less we're looking at Big Everything. :)



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Hello Rob!

** On Saturday 07.03.26 - 07:41, Rob Mccart wrote to MIKE POWELL:

13% of global email traffic is actually human-written - with the remaining
87% of emails generated by automated systems.

[...] All my (your?) online billing notices/reminders from
banks, credit cards, electricity and other bills are generated by
machine and that's fine. The only down side is you can't reply to
it if you have some reason to question it..

Even with no specific account number details, I don't like it when the banking ones say:

"A $5000 transfer has been made from your PLO"
"A $55.55 payment has been made from your credit card ending with 1234.

etc..

Basically, all your payment activity is recorded over the internet for anyone to study and analyse.
--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: My Westcoast Point (1:153/757.21)

13% of global email traffic is actually human-written - with the remaining >87% of emails generated by automated systems.

Those numbers are probably a little misleading if you don't stop to

>> think about it.. All my (your?) online billing notices/reminders from
>> banks, credit cards, electricity and other bills are generated by
>> machine.

I was wondering about that also, if those emails were included as

>"non-human."

I would expect so. I get quite a few of those messages and they
would seem to fit the profile of being generated by automated
systems since you can't reply to them.

We tend to think about automated eMails as being a bad thing
but a lot of them are just part of how many businesses interact
with us one-way.

Let's just say that if those reminders are not counted then I am
definitely not getting my share of non-human eMails.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * Modem sex begins with a handshake
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/107)

Email is going to end up like NNTP, I'm afraid.

That would be sad but, yes, I think so.

I wonder if the number of "non-human" includes things like email lists that are for automated weather postings and other things one might intentionally subscribe to that are not "human generated" emails?

This isn't quite fodder for a Conspiracy echo, but I'm getting to prefer email. My workplace is Teams-heavy, and there are a lot of issues with
how people use Teams. Maybe I'll find somewhere to rant about the perils
of an always-on mentality in the workplace.

I also preferred email over teams. For one, it was easier to have a paper trail and also to have a more detailed conversation where you felt like you
had more time to think about your response.

As for not being conspiracy related... what if "they" want us to be
struggling with an "always-on" work mentality to keep us distracted, or
maybe to burn us out so we need meds/drugs to keep going? ;)

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * Be reasonable......do it my way.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/107)

Those numbers are probably a little misleading if you don't stop to

>> think about it.. All my (your?) online billing notices/reminders from
>> banks, credit cards, electricity and other bills are generated by
>> machine.

I was wondering about that also, if those emails were included as

>"non-human."

I would expect so. I get quite a few of those messages and they
would seem to fit the profile of being generated by automated
systems since you can't reply to them.

We tend to think about automated eMails as being a bad thing
but a lot of them are just part of how many businesses interact
with us one-way.

I have been on an automated email list, for weather related things, since c1990. I was on one for earthquake alerts, too, from c1990 until it petered out sometime after 2016. They are/were 100% automated.

I think people currently relate "automated" or "computer generated" to "AI generated," which is quite likely but not nearly always the case.

Let's just say that if those reminders are not counted then I am
definitely not getting my share of non-human eMails.. B)

I think I am. Maybe humans are generating some of it. I have my spam
settings cranked up so it puts most of it in a spam fold, which normally
has as many (or more) unreads as my inbox does. Some of it does slip by, though, and it does appear to be (likely) computer generated political BS or advertising.

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * Rate yourself as a programmer on a scale of 0 to F.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/107)