Litmus Finds Strategy Outranks AI Skills for Email Teams
35% of companies prioritize AI skills while 31% focus on email campaign strategy according to Litmus data reported by MarTech.
According to MarTech, Litmus data in The State of Email 2026 shows 35% of companies prioritize AI skills when hiring email marketing teams.
AI as Tool, Not Strategy
AI functions as a tool that supports automation, personalization, analytics, testing, and customer journeys. It drafts campaign copy, suggests subject lines, generates content variations, and reveals patterns. Companies seek marketers who apply AI to these areas rather than treat it as standalone strategy.
Campaign Strategy Remains Top Hiring Priority
Nearly a third (31%) of teams prioritize email campaign strategy and planning according to MarTech. This exceeds priorities for marketing automation and workflow development at 27%, data analysis and reporting at 24%, and personalization and dynamic content creation at 20%. The figures indicate demand for judgment on which subject line territories to explore, which audiences to target, and how to measure outcomes.
Automation and Workflow Development
27% of teams prioritize marketing automation and workflow development skills. Marketers in these roles build automated programs, map customer behavior, identify triggers, and plan messaging sequences. Automation requires decisions on customer intent, timing, logic, hierarchy, and motivation that platforms cannot determine independently.
Data Analysis and Reporting Focus
24% of teams prioritize data analysis and reporting. Email marketers must interpret what occurred in campaigns, why it occurred, what it means, and what follows next. This expands the role beyond isolated metrics such as open rates and click rates.
According to MarTech, the combination of these priorities shows companies value marketers who connect AI output to business objectives, journey stages, and brand context rather than those who only generate assets quickly.
