Most inbound mail needs no reply. Surfacing the messages that do saves hours per week and prevents missed deadlines.
The metrics that matter#
- Authentication pass rate: share of mail passing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment. Healthy: 99% or higher.
- Spam complaint rate: Gmail enforces at 0.3%; stay under 0.1%.
- Hard bounce rate: under 2%; above 5% triggers platform reviews.
- Inbox placement: above 90% across major providers via seed tests.
- Engagement: click and reply rates by segment; opens are unreliable after Mail Privacy Protection.
Where to read them#
- Google Postmaster Tools for Gmail domain reputation, spam rate, and authentication.
- Microsoft SNDS and JMRP for Outlook.com IP reputation and complaints.
- Your ESP's delivery and bounce reports.
- DMARC aggregate reports for authentication by source.
Improving the numbers#
- Classify by action needed: reply, read, schedule, approve, ignore.
- Route newsletters and notifications out of the primary view.
- Flag messages from key contacts and threads you started.
- Generate a summary for long threads so triage is possible without opening them.
Frequently asked questions#
How does AI triage decide what is important?
Signals include sender relationship, whether you are in To or CC, question marks and deadlines in the body, and thread history.