Many marketers make the mistake of treating AI as a strategy. It’s not. AI is a tool, an accelerator, and, in some cases, a useful assistant. It can help you work faster, support ideation, and summarize data. AI tools can draft campaign copy, suggest subject lines, generate content variations, and reveal unexpected patterns. That helps explain why AI is now the most in-demand skill for email marketing teams. At least, that’s what Litmus reports in The State of Email 2026 . Over a third (35%) of companies prioritize AI skills when hiring for their teams. But this takeaway doesn’t tell the full story. Nearly a third (31%) of teams prioritize email campaign strategy and planning, followed by marketing automation and workflow development (27%), data analysis and reporting (24%), and personalization and dynamic content creation (20%). These priorities show companies aren’t simply looking for people who can use AI. They want email marketers who can make AI useful. AI doesn’t remove the need for strategic thinking.…