Podcasts

Personalization at Scale: How Mailchimp’s Michelle Taite is Redefining Email & AI

Mar 6, 2025
Mar 7, 2025
 • 
 min read

Michelle reveals how Mailchimp’s 65 billion daily machine learning predictions power one-to-one marketing at scale, turning campaigns into customer rituals that fuel lasting loyalty.

“The reality is that data is changing constantly, so utilizing AI to provide insights based on that data—that's where the differentiation will come in.” - Michelle Taite

Marketing is no longer just about grabbing attention—it’s about earning trust, driving personalization, and delivering real value at scale. With AI redefining customer journeys, brands that master predictive insights and hyper-personalization will dominate the future. Michelle Taite, Global CMO of Intuit Mailchimp, reveals how Mailchimp is leading this evolution—leveraging AI-driven marketing automation, behavioral insights, and bold creative activations to turn engagement into long-term growth. From breaking down AI’s role in shaping marketing’s next era to unveiling the psychology behind loyalty, Michelle shares a clear roadmap for marketers looking to stay ahead.

Michelle Taite is the Global CMO of Intuit Mailchimp, where she leads the company’s marketing strategy across brand, product, and customer engagement. With a career spanning product design, consumer insights, and marketing innovation, she has held key leadership roles at Unilever, New Balance, and QuickBooks. Michelle has a deep passion for helping businesses grow, using AI, data-driven storytelling, and creative brand activations to drive outsized impact. Under her leadership, Mailchimp continues to evolve as the world’s #1 email and marketing automation platform, helping brands move beyond mass marketing into hyper-personalized, high-impact engagement.

Tune into the latest episode or read the transcript below to learn more. Here are some top takeaways: 

AI Is the Secret Weapon for Customer Growth

Mailchimp is powering  65 billion machine learning predictions daily, analyzing 500,000 attributes per business and 160,000 per consumer to fuel AI-driven marketing strategies. This level of insight empowers brands to anticipate buyer intent, personalize outreach, and optimize timing for higher conversions. But AI isn’t about replacing human creativity—it’s about working smarter to craft hyper-personalized, revenue-driving experiences that feel seamless, not intrusive.

The Future of Customer Engagement Is In Your Inbox

Consumers no longer search for products—they expect brands to find them first. Email and SMS have evolved beyond transactional messaging into discovery engines, where consumers engage with brands that anticipate their needs before they even ask. For marketers, this shift requires moving from interruption-based campaigns to seamlessly integrated, value-driven touchpoints that naturally fit into consumers’ daily lives.

Building Trust Through Brand, Personalization, and Community

Mailchimp’s approach to customer engagement is built on three pillars: soulful subjectivity, sincere personalization, and shared courage​. They embrace a bold, differentiated brand identity, prioritize authentic, data-driven personalization, and take creative risks that foster meaningful connections with customers. Their “Email is Dead” activation, for example, turned a common industry question into an immersive exhibit celebrating email’s enduring power, reinforcing both brand trust and customer loyalty.

The New Marketing Playbook: AI, Creativity, and Data-Driven Growth

The most impactful marketers are those who balance data-driven insights with creative execution​. Mailchimp’s research identified three types of marketers: baseline marketers, performance marketers, and revenue leaders, with the latter driving the highest growth by fully leveraging predictive analytics and AI. Success in today’s landscape requires brands to combine analytical precision with emotionally resonant storytelling to create compelling, results-driven campaigns.

Loyalty Is Built on Rituals, Not Just Transactions

Sustained growth isn’t just about attracting new customers—it’s about becoming part of their routine. The most successful brands sell products and embed themselves into consumers’ daily lives. Whether it’s a morning coffee ritual, a go-to fitness brand, or a subscription service that arrives like clockwork, brands that create habit-forming experiences see 30% higher repeat purchase rates. Loyalty isn’t a program—it’s a behavior

Tune in to The Speed of Culture Podcast as Michelle Taite, Global CMO of Intuit Mailchimp, breaks down the future of AI-driven marketing, hyper-personalization, and brand loyalty.