Anyone can now send a hundred "personal" notes a day, so AI-written cold pitches are a growing share of the mail people get. Inbox Hero publishes its own daily count of AI-written emails and AI cold pitches on the live scam report (detection started October 26, 2026, and runs on part of the mail it checks). Updated November 10, 2026.
Signs an email was written by AI
- Praise that could fit anyone. "I came across your company and was really impressed by the work your team is doing" says nothing about what your team actually does.
- No detail only you would know. No mention of a real project, a shared contact or something you wrote. The personal part is your name and your company name, filled in.
- A stock structure. Compliment, then "we help companies like yours", then a request for 15 minutes next week. The same skeleton shows up from many senders.
- Even, polished sentences. Every sentence is about the same length, with no typos, no shorthand and no voice. On its own this proves nothing; together with the signs above it adds up.
- Follow-ups that repeat the pitch. "Just bumping this to the top of your inbox" a few days later, from someone you have never replied to.
- A first message from a stranger. If you have never written to the sender, the odds that it is a templated campaign go up.
Why no single sign is proof
People use AI to fix grammar, translate or tidy a draft, and some people simply write in a polished style. Detectors estimate, they do not know, and short notes are too short to judge at all. So weigh the signs together, and give people you already know the benefit of the doubt.
AI-written is not the same as a scam
An AI-written email is usually just a sales pitch. A scam is something else: a fake sender, a link that goes somewhere other than it shows, an attachment that is really a program, or a request for money, a password or a code. Check those separately with the steps in how to verify an email sender. Scammers use AI too, which is why AI phishing no longer has the typos that used to give it away.
How Inbox Hero scores AI-written email
| What Inbox Hero does | |
|---|---|
| Where you see it | A small mark such as "92% AI" on the email when you open it |
| How it judges | An AI reads the text and estimates how much was written by a model; short notes get no score |
| What it moves | Nothing: mail from people stays in your inbox either way |
| Your control | On by default, and you can turn it off in Settings |
| Alongside it | Scam checks on every new email, with clear scams moved to a Fraud folder |
Inbox Hero works in the background on Gmail and Google Workspace, and connects iCloud, Yahoo, AOL and other IMAP mail with an app password. It is free for 14 days with no card, then 27¢ a day ($99 a year), $27 a quarter or $10 a month.
What to do with AI-written cold pitches
- Skip them without guilt. A templated pitch sent to hundreds of people does not need a reply.
- Reply only when the offer is relevant, and ask one specific question. A real person can answer it; a sequence usually cannot.
- Unsubscribe or block repeat senders who keep following up after you have ignored them.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if an email was written by AI?
Look for a pattern rather than one sign: praise that could fit any company, no detail only you would know, a stock structure of compliment, offer and a 15-minute ask, very even polished sentences, and follow-ups that repeat the same pitch. A first email from a stranger that fits all of these was very likely written or polished by AI. A tool such as Inbox Hero shows a likelihood score on each email.
Are AI email detectors accurate?
No detector is certain. They estimate how much of a text looks machine-written, short notes are too short to judge, and people who write in a polished style can score high. Treat a score as a hint about how an email was written, not as proof, and never as a reason to distrust someone you know.
Does an AI-written email mean it is a scam?
No. Plenty of real people and companies use AI to help them write. Scams are judged on other signs: who really sent the email, where its links go, what its attachments are and whether it asks for money, a password or a code.
Can Inbox Hero hide AI-written emails?
Inbox Hero shows how likely each email was written by AI when you open it, for example 92% AI, so a mass-templated pitch is easy to spot and skip. It never moves a person's email because of the score. The score is on by default and you can turn it off in Settings.
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