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Consumers shouldn’t be the only ones empowered by these updates. As marketers, this is where we lean in and learn how these shifts will impact our brands and strategize ways to hold space in these changing digital environments.
Key updates to iOS 18 and how we adapt
AI-powered email summaries
One of iOS 18’s most impactful updates has hit a common app for most users: Apple Mail. Apple Mail can now generate AI-powered email summaries, giving users a brief overview of message content without opening the email.
Why it matters: Marketers now need to be aware of how their content will be ‘read’ by AI – not just consumers. Lengthy messages, rambling themes or dense imagery will likely lead to buried content.
How we adapt:
- Keep key content clear and concise, avoiding competing messages and overwhelming blocks of copy that may skew content summaries.
- Limit large blocks of creative imagery where possible, ensuring content is ‘readable’ to bots.
- Prioritize live text and accessibility beyond just the standard user experience – design under the assumption that some users and all bots won’t see any creative.
- Collaborate with clients to establish more reliable metrics for tracking program performance, as open-rates will likely be impacted as users opt to just read summaries.
AI-powered inbox categorization
Apple has refreshed their approach to content categorization, also across the user experience in their Apple Mail application. This new format mimics Gmail’s most recent update – automatically ‘bucketing’ users’ content into key categories based on bots’ assessment of the contents’ themes and trends in users’ past engagements.
Why it matters: Marketers need to be aware that their content will be allocated into either "Primary," "Transactions," "Updates" and "Promotions" and should adjust strategies with the goal of "Primary" inboxes in mind.
How we adapt:
- Write with a conversation to "peers" in mind – keeping content conversational will help to show users and AI-auditors a level of authenticity.
- Avoid excessive use of "sales" language – terms like sale, free and the like will further flag systems to allocate content to the ‘Promotions’ category.
- Prioritize engagement from users, as this is the most straight-forward way to get your content into the ‘Primary’ inbox. Consider each piece’s value and the placement of key CTAs.
Tracking limitations and security enhancements
Apple has continued to enhance their Mail Privacy Protection and Link Tracking Protection systems with users’ privacy in mind – further limiting what marketers can track across a users’ experiences online.
Why it matters: Marketers should adapt their reporting strategies to focus on the metrics we can see. Additional consideration should be directed towards enhancing ecosystems to add additional opportunities for first-person data collection – sourcing new opportunities to assess performance.
How we adapt:
- Focus reporting on engagement-based metrics, like click-through-rate – leaning into where users are most actionable.
- Consider event-based automations, for example setting emails to deploy based on a user’s engagement with a key CTA, instead of time-based triggers to further utilize the metrics we do consistently have.
- Explore opportunities for users to provide additional information as they move through their treatment journeys, like preference centers, quizzes and surveys.
Logo display expansion
Apple has expanded on current BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) offerings – now letting brands definitively set the logo that will appear with emails in platform.
Why it matters: Marketers can expand their ability to control and create consistency for brands in inboxes – keeping logos updated consistently across ecosystems over time.
How we adapt:
- Work with your client and deployment teams to upload the appropriate logo for each program.
- Establish a schedule to iteratively check that sender name, logo and subject lines are aligned and up-to-date for the best impact across brand.
From first swipe to strategy: you can crack the code
Apple’s privacy and personalization-first focus hasn’t just enhanced the user experience – it offers brands the opportunity to prioritize authenticity across programs on a whole new level. By focusing efforts on the development of thoughtful conversations and offerings, marketing teams can continue to engage users with key messaging and content.
Fostering stronger consumer relationships, with an understanding and awareness of the technology influencing their ever-changing digital experiences, will help marketers break through the noise and continue to provide the right messages at the moments that matter most.
Want to learn more about the potential impact of iOS 18 across your digital content? Reach out to the FCB Health New York team to learn more!
Resources:
Apple Newsroom: Introducing Apple Intelligence for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Apple Support: About BIMI support in Apple Mail
Apple Privacy Features Overview
Cordial: iOS 18 Impact on Email Marketers – How to Safeguard Engagement & Demand
CXL: How iOS 18 Will Impact Email Marketing – What You Need to Know
Oracle: Apple iOS 18 – The Most Important Changes for Marketers
Litmus: AI-Generated Email Summaries – What Marketers Need to Know
AdExchanger: Apple Is Quietly Replacing SKAdNetwork and PCM
YouTube: Apple WWDC 2024 Keynote
