SPF Archives | YNOT Mail

08 Jul 2026

Outlook’s Upgraded Mail Merge Feature Raises Questions for Email Marketers on Compliance

Microsoft has added Advanced Mail Merge to the Microsoft 365 roadmap for Outlook on the web and new Outlook for Windows, targeting a June 2026 preview and rollout. The upgrade delivers true per-recipient addressing and richer personalization, making it a better fit for individualized business communications like donor letters or client updates. However, email marketers should understand that Outlook mail merge lacks the compliance infrastructure—unsubscribe...

06 Jul 2026

Microsoft SMTP AUTH confusion is a warning to inventory every system that sends email

by Dave Murphy

in Featured Posts

Comments

Microsoft is deprecating Basic Authentication for SMTP AUTH in Exchange Online, with Basic Auth being disabled by default for existing tenants at the end of December 2026 and permanent removal announced in the second half of 2027. This affects numerous email-sending systems beyond marketing campaigns, including transactional emails, form notifications, and legacy applications that could break silently, impacting deliverability and sender reputation....

05 Jul 2026

Agentic AI Is Reshaping the Inbox: What Email Marketers Must Do Now

by Dave Murphy

in Email Marketing Help, Featured Posts

Comments

Agentic AI — where AI acts on behalf of users rather than just answering questions — is moving from concept to live product, as demonstrated by Amazon's Alexa+ Agentic Ads unveiled at Cannes Lions. This shift is already beginning to reshape how subscribers interact with email, as inbox AI features in Gmail, Apple Mail, and other clients increasingly summarize, filter, and act on messages before...