AI Bulk Email Sender & Validator

Professional email automation with AI-powered composition, advanced validation, and multi-provider support.

Send personalized bulk emails at scale with AI technology and comprehensive email validation. This Apify Actor combines 200+ AI models, advanced email validation, and support for major email providers in one integrated solution.

Legal and Ethical Use

This Actor must be used only for legitimate business purposes and in compliance with applicable laws and platform policies.

Important Guidelines

1. Permission Requirements: Only send emails to recipients who have explicitly opted in and granted permission. Sending unsolicited emails may violate anti-spam laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act (USA), GDPR (Europe), CASL (Canada), and similar regulations in other jurisdictions.

2. Unsubscribe Links: We strongly recommend including unsubscribe links in all email campaigns. This:

   • Fulfills legal requirements under CAN-SPAM and similar regulations
   • Improves sender reputation and deliverability
   • Prevents complaints and blocks
   • Demonstrates compliance with email marketing best practices

3. Sender Reputation: Maintain your sender reputation by:

   • Using consistent sender addresses verified with your email provider
   • Monitoring bounce rates and unsubscribe rates
   • Respecting rate limits and provider guidelines
   • Avoiding triggering spam filters through best practices

4. Data Protection: Protect recipient data in accordance with:

   • GDPR (for EU residents)
   • CCPA (for California residents)
   • PIPEDA (for Canadian residents)
   • Applicable data protection laws in your jurisdiction

5. Platform Compliance: This service runs on the Apify platform. All usage must comply with Apify's Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits:

   • Spam and unsolicited bulk emails
   • Campaigns that violate applicable laws
   • Phishing, deception, or fraud
   • Harassment or abuse

Violations of these policies may result in account suspension and legal action. Use this Actor responsibly and ethically.

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How It Works

This Actor operates in a straightforward pipeline:

1. Input Reception: Receives your configuration and recipient list
2. Email Validation: Validates recipient addresses at the specified level (format, DNS, or SMTP)
3. AI Composition (Optional): Generates email content using AI if enabled
4. Template Processing: Substitutes recipient-specific variables into email content
5. Batch Sending: Sends emails via your chosen provider with rate limiting
6. Result Logging: Outputs comprehensive results for each email

The entire process respects rate limits, provider constraints, and validation caching for optimal performance.

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Input Specification

The Actor accepts a comprehensive JSON configuration object. All required fields must be provided.

Input Schema Overview

{
    "title": "AI Bulk Email Sender Input",
    "type": "object",
    "schemaVersion": 1,
    "properties": {
        "emailProvider": "string (required)",
        "providerConfig": "object (required)",
        "fromEmail": "string (required)",
        "recipients": "array (required)",
        "validateEmails": "boolean",
        "validationLevel": "string",
        "useAiComposer": "boolean",
        "subject": "string",
        "htmlBody": "string",
        "textBody": "string"
    }
}

Required Fields

emailProvider

Type: String
Allowed Values: "smtp", "sendgrid", "resend", "ses", "mailgun"
Default: "smtp"

Specifies which email service provider to use for sending.

{
    "emailProvider": "sendgrid"
}

providerConfig

Type: Object
Required: Yes

Provider-specific configuration. Structure varies by provider.

SMTP Configuration:

{
    "providerConfig": {
        "smtpHost": "smtp.gmail.com",
        "smtpPort": 587,
        "smtpUser": "your-email@gmail.com",
        "smtpPassword": "your-app-password"
    }
}

SendGrid Configuration:

{
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "SG.your-sendgrid-api-key"
    }
}

Resend Configuration:

{
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "re_your-resend-api-key"
    }
}

AWS SES Configuration:

{
    "providerConfig": {
        "accessKeyId": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE",
        "secretAccessKey": "wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY",
        "region": "us-east-1"
    }
}

Mailgun Configuration:

{
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "key-1234567890abcdef",
        "domain": "mg.yourdomain.com"
    }
}

fromEmail

Type: String
Pattern: Valid email address
Required: Yes

The sender's email address. This address must be verified with your chosen email provider.

{
    "fromEmail": "sender@example.com"
}

fromName

Type: String
Default: Not set

The display name for the sender (optional).

{
    "fromName": "John Doe"
}

recipients

Type: Array of Objects
Required: Yes
Max Items: 10,000

List of email recipients with optional personalization data.

{
    "recipients": [
        {
            "email": "john@company.com",
            "name": "John Doe",
            "customFields": {
                "company": "Acme Corp",
                "position": "CEO",
                "product": "Enterprise Suite"
            }
        },
        {
            "email": "jane@startup.com",
            "name": "Jane Smith",
            "customFields": {
                "company": "TechStart Inc",
                "position": "Founder",
                "product": "Starter Plan"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Each recipient object contains:

• email (required): Valid email address
• name (optional): Recipient's name for personalization
• customFields (optional): Object with custom variables for template substitution

validateEmails

Type: Boolean
Default: true

Whether to validate email addresses before sending. Highly recommended.

validationLevel

Type: String
Allowed Values: "format", "dns", "smtp"
Default: "dns"

Specifies email validation depth:

• "format": Only checks RFC 5322 format (fastest, ~95% accuracy)
• "dns": Validates format and checks DNS/MX records (recommended, ~99% accuracy)
• "smtp": Performs SMTP connection check (most accurate but slow, may trigger spam filters)

{
    "validationLevel": "dns"
}

enableTemplateVariables

Type: Boolean
Default: true

Enables replacing {{variable}} placeholders with recipient data.

Optional AI Fields

useAiComposer

Type: Boolean
Default: false

Enable AI-powered email composition. When enabled, the Actor generates email content based on your prompt and context.

aiMode

Type: String
Allowed Values: "openrouter", "byok"
Default: "openrouter"

Selects the AI integration mode:

• "openrouter": Use OpenRouter (200+ models, zero setup)
• "byok": Bring Your Own Key (direct API access)

openrouterModel

Type: String
Default: "openai/gpt-4o-mini"

AI model to use when aiMode is "openrouter". Recommended models:

• "openai/gpt-4o-mini" - Fast, affordable
• "openai/gpt-4o" - Better quality
• "anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet" - Superior writing
• "google/gemini-flash-1.5" - Fast and capable

aiPrompt

Type: String

Instructions for the AI to generate email content.

{
    "aiPrompt": "Write a professional follow-up email thanking them for attending our product demo. Mention key benefits and ask for their thoughts."
}

aiContext

Type: String

Background information for the AI about your company, product, or campaign context.

{
    "aiContext": "We are a SaaS company offering project management tools. Our product helps teams collaborate better, manage projects efficiently, and improve productivity by 40%."
}

personalizePerRecipient

Type: Boolean
Default: false

Generate unique email content for each recipient using their customFields. Increases AI costs but produces highly personalized emails.

Email Content Fields

subject

Type: String

Email subject line. Supports template variables if enableTemplateVariables is true.

{
    "subject": "Hello {{name}}, follow-up on your {{product}} interest"
}

htmlBody

Type: String

HTML email content. Supports template variables.

{
    "htmlBody": "<h1>Hi {{name}},</h1><p>Thank you for your interest in {{product}} at {{company}}.</p>"
}

textBody

Type: String

Plain text email content as fallback. Supports template variables.

{
    "textBody": "Hi {{name}},\n\nThank you for your interest in {{product}} at {{company}}."
}

Performance and Cache Fields

validationCacheEnabled

Type: Boolean
Default: true

Enable validation result caching. Dramatically speeds up repeated campaigns with overlapping recipients.

validationCacheTTL

Type: Integer
Default: 24
Range: 1-168 hours

How long to cache validation results (in hours).

batchSize

Type: Integer
Default: 10
Range: 1-100

Number of emails to process per batch before applying delay. Affects rate limiting and provider compliance.

delayBetweenBatches

Type: Integer
Default: 1000
Range: 0-60000 milliseconds

Delay between batches in milliseconds. Prevents rate limiting and respects provider constraints.

dryRun

Type: Boolean
Default: false

Test mode: validates and composes emails without actually sending. Useful for testing configurations.

Complete Input Example

{
    "emailProvider": "sendgrid",
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "SG.your-api-key"
    },
    "fromEmail": "campaigns@example.com",
    "fromName": "Our Marketing Team",
    "replyTo": "support@example.com",
    "recipients": [
        {
            "email": "john@company.com",
            "name": "John Doe",
            "customFields": {
                "company": "Acme Corp",
                "position": "CEO"
            }
        },
        {
            "email": "jane@startup.com",
            "name": "Jane Smith",
            "customFields": {
                "company": "TechStart Inc",
                "position": "Founder"
            }
        }
    ],
    "useAiComposer": true,
    "aiMode": "openrouter",
    "openrouterModel": "anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet",
    "aiPrompt": "Write a professional follow-up thank you email after a product demo",
    "aiContext": "We are a SaaS company providing project management solutions. Our key benefits include team collaboration, timeline management, and productivity tracking.",
    "personalizePerRecipient": true,
    "validateEmails": true,
    "validationLevel": "dns",
    "enableTemplateVariables": true,
    "validationCacheEnabled": true,
    "validationCacheTTL": 24,
    "batchSize": 10,
    "delayBetweenBatches": 1000,
    "dryRun": false
}

---

Output Specification

The Actor outputs results to a dataset with comprehensive information about each recipient and their email processing status.

Output Dataset Schema

Each item in the output dataset represents the complete processing result for one recipient.

Output Object Structure

{
    "email": "string",
    "name": "string | null",
    "validationStatus": "string",
    "deliveryStatus": "string",
    "validationResult": "object | null",
    "messageId": "string | null",
    "composedSubject": "string | null",
    "composedHtmlBody": "string | null",
    "composedTextBody": "string | null",
    "sentAt": "string (ISO 8601) | null",
    "suggestedCorrection": "string | null",
    "error": "string | null",
    "batchNumber": "integer"
}

Output Fields Explained

email

Type: String

The recipient's email address.

name

Type: String or Null

The recipient's display name, if provided in input.

validationStatus

Type: String
Possible Values:

• "valid" - Email passed all validation checks
• "invalid_format" - Email format is invalid
• "typo_detected" - Possible typo detected (e.g., gmaill.com)
• "disposable" - Temporary/disposable email service
• "no_mx_records" - Domain has no MX records
• "mailbox_not_found" - SMTP validation indicates mailbox doesn't exist
• "greylisted" - Temporarily unavailable (retry later)
• "skipped" - Validation was skipped (dry run or validateEmails=false)

deliveryStatus

Type: String
Possible Values:

• "sent" - Email successfully sent via provider
• "skipped" - Email was not sent (validation failed or dry run)
• "failed" - Email sending failed
• "queued" - Email is queued for sending
• "bounced" - Email bounced (hard or soft)

validationResult

Type: Object or Null

Detailed validation information. Null if validation was not performed or failed.

{
    "validationResult": {
        "status": "valid",
        "formatValid": true,
        "dnsValid": true,
        "smtpValid": true,
        "mxRecords": [
            "alt2.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt4.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt3.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com"
        ],
        "details": {
            "regex": true,
            "typo": true,
            "disposable": true,
            "mx": true,
            "smtp": false
        }
    }
}

Sub-fields:

• status: Overall validation status
• formatValid: RFC 5322 format compliance
• dnsValid: DNS/MX record validation result
• smtpValid: SMTP connection result (if attempted)
• mxRecords: Array of MX records for the domain
• details: Granular validation details for each check

messageId

Type: String or Null

Unique message ID returned by the email provider. Used to track this specific email with the provider. Null if email was not sent.

composedSubject

Type: String or Null

The final email subject line used. For AI-composed emails, this is the AI-generated subject. For templates, this is after variable substitution. Null if email was not sent.

composedHtmlBody

Type: String or Null

The final HTML email body sent. Null if only text was sent or email was not sent.

composedTextBody

Type: String or Null

The final plain text email body sent. Null if only HTML was sent or email was not sent.

sentAt

Type: String (ISO 8601 timestamp) or Null

UTC timestamp when the email was successfully sent. Format: "2026-03-02T10:30:00.000Z". Null if not sent.

suggestedCorrection

Type: String or Null

If a typo was detected in the email address, this field contains the suggested correction (e.g., "johndoe@gmail.com" if input was "johndoe@gmaill.com"). Null if no typo detected.

error

Type: String or Null

Error message if email processing or sending failed. Null if successful.

batchNumber

Type: Integer

Which batch this email belonged to (relevant for rate limiting and retry logic).

Sample Output Item

{
    "email": "john@company.com",
    "name": "John Doe",
    "validationStatus": "valid",
    "deliveryStatus": "sent",
    "validationResult": {
        "status": "valid",
        "formatValid": true,
        "dnsValid": true,
        "smtpValid": true,
        "mxRecords": [
            "alt2.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt4.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com",
            "alt3.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com"
        ],
        "details": {
            "regex": true,
            "typo": true,
            "disposable": true,
            "mx": true,
            "smtp": false
        }
    },
    "messageId": "abc123def456@sendgrid.com",
    "composedSubject": "John, your personalized follow-up on our demo session",
    "composedHtmlBody": "<h1>Hi John,</h1><p>Thank you for attending our product demo. As CEO at Acme Corp, I thought you might be interested in...</p>",
    "composedTextBody": "Hi John,\n\nThank you for attending our product demo. As CEO at Acme Corp, I thought you might be interested in...",
    "sentAt": "2026-03-02T10:30:00.000Z",
    "suggestedCorrection": null,
    "error": null,
    "batchNumber": 1
}

Sample Failed Validation Output

{
    "email": "jane-typo@gmaill.com",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "validationStatus": "typo_detected",
    "deliveryStatus": "skipped",
    "validationResult": {
        "status": "typo_detected",
        "formatValid": true,
        "dnsValid": false,
        "smtpValid": false,
        "mxRecords": [],
        "details": {
            "regex": true,
            "typo": true,
            "disposable": false,
            "mx": false,
            "smtp": false
        }
    },
    "messageId": null,
    "composedSubject": null,
    "composedHtmlBody": null,
    "composedTextBody": null,
    "sentAt": null,
    "suggestedCorrection": "jane@gmail.com",
    "error": null,
    "batchNumber": 1
}

Sample Output Format

{
    "email": "invalid-email",
    "name": null,
    "validationStatus": "invalid_format",
    "deliveryStatus": "skipped",
    "validationResult": null,
    "messageId": null,
    "composedSubject": null,
    "composedHtmlBody": null,
    "composedTextBody": null,
    "sentAt": null,
    "suggestedCorrection": null,
    "error": "Invalid email format",
    "batchNumber": 1
}

Output Views Available

The Actor provides multiple organized views of the results:

1. Overview View: All processed recipients with complete details
2. Successful View: Only successfully sent emails
3. Failed & Invalid View: Emails with validation errors or delivery failures

This allows you to quickly identify successes and issues in your campaign.

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Core Features

Email Providers

Supports five industry-leading email providers:

Provider	Best For	Setup Time
SMTP	Testing, existing email accounts	2 minutes
SendGrid	Marketing campaigns, reliability	5 minutes
Resend	Developer-friendly projects	2 minutes
AWS SES	High volume, cost optimization	10 minutes
Mailgun	Advanced features, API control	5 minutes

Email Validation

Advanced multi-level validation system:

• Format Validation: RFC 5322 compliance, structure checking
• DNS Validation: MX record verification, domain validity
• Typo Detection: Catches common typos (gmaill → gmail)
• Disposable Email Blocking: Rejects 10,000+ temporary services
• SMTP Verification: Optional mailbox existence checks
• Validation Caching: 100x faster for repeated campaigns

AI Email Composition

Generate professional emails using 200+ AI models:

• OpenRouter Integration: Access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and more
• Custom Prompting: Describe what you want, AI generates content
• Per-Recipient Personalization: Unique emails for each recipient using their data
• Context Awareness: Provide business context for more relevant content

Template Variables

Dynamic personalization with variable substitution:

Hello {{name}}, we noticed you're {{position}} at {{company}}.

Supports nested properties, default values, and custom fields.

Performance Optimization

• Validation Caching: Cache validation results for 1-7 days
• Batch Processing: Configurable batch sizes for rate limiting
• Asynchronous Processing: Efficient concurrent operations
• Provider Rate Limiting: Automatic throttling per provider

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Quick Start

1. Choose Your Email Provider

SMTP (Universal):

{
    "emailProvider": "smtp",
    "providerConfig": {
        "smtpHost": "smtp.gmail.com",
        "smtpPort": 587,
        "smtpUser": "your-email@gmail.com",
        "smtpPassword": "your-app-password"
    }
}

SendGrid:

{
    "emailProvider": "sendgrid",
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "SG.your-sendgrid-api-key"
    }
}

Resend:

{
    "emailProvider": "resend",
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "re_your-resend-api-key"
    }
}

AWS SES:

{
    "emailProvider": "ses",
    "providerConfig": {
        "accessKeyId": "AKIA...",
        "secretAccessKey": "wJalr...",
        "region": "us-east-1"
    }
}

Mailgun:

{
    "emailProvider": "mailgun",
    "providerConfig": {
        "apiKey": "key-...",
        "domain": "mg.yourdomain.com"
    }
}

2. Configure Recipients

{
    "recipients": [
        {
            "email": "john@example.com",
            "name": "John Doe",
            "customFields": {
                "company": "Acme Corp",
                "position": "Manager"
            }
        }
    ]
}

3. Set Email Content (or Use AI)

Manual Content:

{
    "subject": "Hello {{name}}!",
    "htmlBody": "<h1>Hi {{name}},</h1><p>Welcome to our service.</p>"
}

AI Composition:

{
    "useAiComposer": true,
    "aiMode": "openrouter",
    "openrouterModel": "anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet",
    "aiPrompt": "Write a warm welcome email",
    "aiContext": "We're a SaaS platform for project management"
}

4. Configure Validation and Sending

{
    "validateEmails": true,
    "validationLevel": "dns",
    "enableTemplateVariables": true,
    "validationCacheEnabled": true,
    "batchSize": 10,
    "delayBetweenBatches": 1000,
    "dryRun": false
}

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Template Variables Guide

Basic Syntax

Hi {{name}}, we have a special offer for {{company}}!

With Default Values

Hello {{firstName|friend}}, welcome!

If firstName is missing, displays "friend" instead.

Nested Properties

Your account at {{user.company}} is ready!

Accesses nested custom fields.

Available Variables

• email: Recipient email address
• name: Recipient display name
• customFields.*: Any custom field provided in recipients array

---

Validation Levels Explained

Format Only (Fast)

• Checks email syntax
• Speed: Instant
• Accuracy: ~95%
• Use for: Quick validation, high volumes

DNS/MX Records (Recommended)

• Validates format and domain MX records
• Speed: 1-2 seconds per email
• Accuracy: ~99%
• Use for: Production campaigns (recommended)

SMTP Verification (Most Accurate)

• Connects to recipient server for full verification
• Speed: 5-10 seconds per email
• Accuracy: ~99.5%
• Warning: May trigger spam filters, slow for large lists
• Use for: Small campaigns where accuracy is critical

---

Pricing Model

Pay-per-use with transparent, predictable costs:

Event	Price
Actor Initialization	$0.001
Email Validation	$0.002 per validation
Email Sent	$0.005 per email
AI Composition	$0.010 per email (OpenRouter)
Template Processing	$0.001 per email

Cost Examples

Sending 1,000 emails with validation and AI composition:

• Actor start: $0.001
• Validations: 1,000 × $0.002 = $2.00
• AI composition: 1,000 × $0.010 = $10.00
• Sending: 1,000 × $0.005 = $5.00
• Total: ~$17

Compared to monthly SaaS services ($20-100+), this is significantly more cost-effective.

---

Security and Compliance

Data Protection

• API keys stored securely with encryption
• SMTP passwords handled through secure input fields
• No credentials logged in output
• Credentials never persisted to datasets

Email Compliance

• CAN-SPAM Act compliance (include unsubscribe links)
• GDPR compliance (recipient consent and data protection)
• CASL compliance (Canada)
• Respects provider rate limits and specifications

Provider Verification

• All email addresses must be verified with your provider
• Sender domains should be authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Reply-to addresses recommended for compliance

Unsubscribe Links (Recommended)

To maintain sender reputation and comply with regulations, include unsubscribe links in your email templates:

<footer>
    <p>
        <a href="{{unsubscribeLink}}">Unsubscribe from this list</a>
    </p>
</footer>

Or in plain text:

---
To unsubscribe, visit: {{unsubscribeLink}}

Many providers (SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.) automatically handle unsubscribe links. Check your provider's documentation for details.

---

Troubleshooting

Validation Issues

"No MX records found"

• Email domain is configured incorrectly
• Domain doesn't exist or isn't set up for email
• Check domain spelling

"SMTP validation failed"

• Server may have rejected the connection
• Some providers temporarily block SMTP verification requests
• Try DNS validation level instead

Sending Issues

"Authentication failed"

• API key or SMTP credentials are incorrect
• Provider credentials have expired
• Check credentials in your provider's dashboard

"Rate limit exceeded"

• Decrease batch size or increase delay between batches
• Provider may have specific rate limits
• Retry after waiting period

"Email address validation skipped"

• validateEmails is set to false
• Validation level may not support required checks
• Enable validation if deliverability is critical

AI Composition Issues

"AI model not available"

• Model may be temporarily unavailable
• Check OpenRouter or your provider's status
• Try a different model

"Invalid API key"

• OpenRouter or BYOK API key is incorrect
• Credentials may have expired
• Check your provider's account settings

---

Professional Best Practices

Pre-Campaign Checklist

• Verify all recipient email addresses
• Test with a small sample (dryRun mode recommendation)
• Verify sender email with provider
• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records
• Use DNS-level validation minimum
• Include unsubscribe links in templates
• Review AI-generated content before sending

Campaign Optimization

• Use DNS validation for best speed/accuracy balance
• Enable validation caching for repeated campaigns
• Start with small batches to test deliverability
• Monitor bounce rates and adjust batch sizes
• Use AI personalization only when beneficial
• Avoid SMTP validation for large campaigns

Post-Campaign Analysis

• Review validation status distribution
• Check delivery failure reasons
• Monitor unsubscribe rates
• Track bounce rates by domain
• Adjust future campaigns based on results

---

Resources

Documentation

• Complete feature documentation in /docs folder
• Provider-specific setup guides available
• API integration examples and code samples

References

• Apify Platform Documentation
• Apify Acceptable Use Policy
• CAN-SPAM Act Rules
• GDPR Compliance Guide

Support

• Apify Community and Support Channels
• Provider-specific support contacts
• Technical documentation and guides

---

Summary

The AI Bulk Email Sender & Validator provides a comprehensive, cost-effective solution for professional email campaigns at scale. With advanced validation, AI-powered composition, and support for multiple providers, it enables teams to send personalized, compliant emails efficiently.

Key capabilities:

• Multi-provider email sending (SMTP, SendGrid, Resend, SES, Mailgun)
• Advanced email validation with typo detection
• AI-powered email composition using 200+ models
• Template variable substitution for personalization
• Validation caching for performance
• Comprehensive output with detailed results
• Pay-per-use pricing without monthly fees

Remember to use this service responsibly, follow all applicable email regulations, include unsubscribe links, and maintain good sending practices to protect your sender reputation.