Beta: Creating and Editing Emails with the AI Email Builder

Beta feature: Availability and functionality may vary during the beta period. If you’re interested, email product@contactmonkey.com

Overview

AI Email Builder helps you create and edit employee communications emails using a conversational prompt. Describe what you want, and the builder will generate a professional, mobile-friendly layout with accessibility best practices in mind.

What you can do with AI Email Builder

• Create new emails from a prompt (for example, “Create an email announcing benefits enrollment.”)
• Iterate with natural language edits (for example, “Add a section for upcoming events.”)
• Make targeted design changes (for example, “Make the header background navy.”)
• Generate helpful placeholders when you do not provide content (text, images, and CTA buttons)

How it works (at a high level)

When you submit a prompt, AI Email Builder:

1. Interprets your request (including exact counts and constraints you specify).
2. Builds or edits the layout directly in the email editor.
3. Applies technical-safety rules to reduce common issues (including designs that can break when emails are forwarded).
4. Applies responsive layout best practices (uses single-column for long-form content, and uses multi-column when it improves scanability and still stacks cleanly on mobile).
5. Enforces accessibility best practices like descriptive alt text and readable tap targets.
6. Summarizes what changed so you can review and adjust.

Getting started

Requirement: AI Email Builder requires co-editing to be enabled for your organization.

Important: AI Email Builder can only be enabled for your entire organization (all users). It cannot be enabled or disabled for individual users.

1. Open the email editor.
2. Open AI Email Builder using the sparkle ✨ icon on the left hand side.
3. Describe the email you want.
   • Tip: You can submit your prompt without clicking Send.
     • Mac: Shift + Return
     • Windows: Shift + Enter
4. Review the generated layout and copy.
   • Make sure to replace any placeholder images and update any links to the correct destinations.
5. Ask for changes until it is ready.

Writing prompts that work well

Use clear, specific instructions. Include:

• Audience (all employees, managers, specific region)
• Purpose (announcement, newsletter, invitation)
• Key sections you want included
• Exact counts (for example, “3 employee spotlights”)
• Important dates and deadlines

Prompt examples

• “Create a company announcement email about our new remote work policy effective March 1. Include a summary, 3 key changes, and a button linking to the full policy.”
• “Draft a monthly employee newsletter with: CEO note, 3 team highlights, upcoming events, and a 3-column footer with contact info.”
• “Add an image and a button below it encouraging employees to complete the annual security training.”

Editing with AI (and how selection works)

You can make general requests or update a specific part of your email.

• General edits (no selection needed):
  • “Add a hero section at the top.”
  • “Add a benefits reminder section.”
• Targeted edits (best when an element is selected):
  • Select a section, block, image, or button in the editor, then say:
    • “Change this background color to #0B1F3B.”
    • “Make this heading shorter.”
    • “Replace this button text with ‘Review the policy’.”

Accessibility, mobile, and forwarding-safe standards (built in)

AI Email Builder is designed to help your emails be easy to read and interact with on any device, and to reduce common formatting issues across email clients.

It will:

• Add descriptive alt text to images.
• Keep buttons finger-friendly (at least 44×44px).
• Use clear heading structure (H1 → H2 → H3).
• Encourage descriptive link text (avoid “click here”).
• Use mobile-friendly layouts, including multi-column sections when they improve scanability and still stack cleanly on smaller screens.
• Avoid patterns that often cause issues when an email is forwarded (for example, overlay text on images).

Brand consistency

Brand automation may not be available in the initial beta.

In the meantime, you can:

• Include brand requirements in your prompt (colors, fonts, button style, spacing).
• Ask the AI to apply a specific palette (for example, “Use our primary color #0052CC for buttons.”)
• Review final styles before sending.

Tips and best practices

• Start broad, then iterate: first ask for the structure, then refine wording and visuals.
• Provide must-keep copy exactly as written when accuracy matters.
• Call out constraints explicitly (dates, number of sections, required links).
• For multi-column sections (spotlights, stats, footers), ask for the layout you want.

Troubleshooting

The output is close, but not right

• Ask for a targeted change: “Keep the structure, but rewrite the intro to be more concise.”

I need something inserted in a specific place

• Reference the location: “Add this section below the ‘Upcoming Events’ heading.”

The email does not match our brand

• Provide explicit styles in your prompt (hex colors, font names), then ask the AI to apply them consistently.

Frequently asked questions

Does AI Email Builder replace the drag-and-drop editor?

No. It works alongside the editor so you can generate, edit, and fine-tune as needed.

Can I use it for external marketing emails?

AI Email Builder is optimized for internal employee communications.

What model powers AI Email Builder?

The current implementation uses Haiku.