Bot Filtering Is Changing Your Email Data (Don’t Panic)

If your open rates suddenly dropped from 35% to 10% overnight… you’re not alone.

Email platforms, including Mailchimp and Constant Contact, are rolling out enhanced bot filtering that removes “fake” opens and clicks. These bot engagements can be caused by security software, firewalls, Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), and other automated systems. For years, we’ve heard that open rates are becoming less trustworthy, but now we’re seeing just how much bots have been inflating our data.

Here’s what tourism marketers need to know:

Your open rates will probably drop… a lot.

With bot filtering on, opens and clicks from security programs have been excluded from your data. Meaning, you’re likely going to see a significant decrease in open rates and potentially click rates as well. Don’t panic! This is to be expected. Instead of getting down on ourselves about the new reality of our email analytics, let’s look on the bright side! Does it really matter if we have a 40% open rate if none of these people are converting? Not really. At least now, when we see that 10-20% open rate, we know those are real people who are actually interested in seeing your content. That’s a win!

Your reports are getting cleaner, not worse.

This isn’t just an email platform issue; it’s industry-wide.

We know that Apple’s MPP, Gmail image prefetching, and corporate firewalls have been auto-opening and auto-clicking emails for years. So, depending on your audience, bot activity may have been heavily skewing your data more than others. For DMOs sending to media contacts, planners, or school systems, bots have likely been inflating your clicks for quite some time. Again, this is just something to keep in mind as you’re reviewing your new and “improved” email results.

It’s time to stop obsessing over opens, for real.

This update reinforces something we’ve been telling clients for years:

Open rate is not your success metric.

Instead, focus on things like:

• Conversions (bookings, ticket purchases, guide downloads)
• Website sessions from email
• Click-through rates
• Unsubscribes

If your winter getaway email drove hotel package bookings, that’s what matters, not how many opens you got. Focus on real conversions!

Something to look out for: A/B testing & automations may behave differently.

This is an area to watch. Bot activity being removed could potentially cause:

• Subject line tests to show different winners
• Click-based automations may trigger more accurately
• Engagement-based segments (“has opened in the last 30 days”) may shrink

Your “highly engaged” segment might suddenly look less highly engaged, but that’s okay. It’s more honest data!

The big picture:

These new systems use detection like digital fingerprinting, IP intelligence, and behavioral analysis to filter bot activity without removing real human engagement. Meaning, you can make more accurate campaign benchmarking, have clearer ROIs, and more confidence in what actually drives travel for your destination.

If your email results look worse this month, take a breath. Your audience didn’t disappear… your data just got more honest.