How I Would Fix emails landing in spam in a Make.com and Airtable AI chatbot product Using Launch Ready.

How I Would Fix emails landing in spam in a Make.com and Airtable AI chatbot product Using Launch Ready

When an AI chatbot product sends emails from Make.com and those messages land in spam, the symptom is usually simple: the user never sees the reply, or the follow-up sequence drops off after the first send. In business terms, that means lower conversion, more support tickets, and broken trust.

The most likely root cause is not "spam content" alone. It is usually a sender trust problem: missing or misaligned SPF, DKIM, or DMARC, sending from a weak domain setup, or using a shared mailbox with poor reputation. The first thing I would inspect is the full email path: domain DNS records, the exact sending service inside Make.com, and whether the From address matches the authenticated domain.

Triage in the First Hour

1. Check the exact email source.

• Open the Make.com scenario and identify which module sends the email.
• Confirm whether it uses Gmail, Outlook, SMTP, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, or another provider.
• Note the From address, Reply-To address, and any custom headers.

2. Inspect DNS records for the sending domain.

• Review SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in Cloudflare or your DNS host.
• Confirm there is only one SPF record.
• Check whether DKIM is actually enabled at the provider level.

3. Send a test email to 3 inboxes.

• Use Gmail, Outlook/Hotmail, and one corporate inbox if available.
• Compare inbox placement and check spam headers.
• Look for authentication failures like SPF fail or DKIM fail.

4. Review Make.com execution logs.

• Find recent successful runs and failed runs.
• Check whether emails were sent with different content templates or different sender identities.
• Look for retries that may have duplicated sends.

5. Check Airtable data quality.

• Inspect fields used in personalization.
• Look for malformed names, empty subject lines, broken URLs, or HTML fragments being injected into email body text.

6. Review domain reputation signals.

• Check if the domain is new, recently changed, or previously used for cold outreach.
• Look at bounce rate, complaint rate, and any sending volume spikes.

7. Verify security basics before changing anything.

• Confirm no secrets are hardcoded in scenarios or Airtable fields.
• Check that API keys and SMTP credentials are stored in Make.com connections or environment-safe storage only.

dig +short TXT yourdomain.com
dig +short TXT selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com
dig +short TXT _dmarc.yourdomain.com

8. Open one raw message header from spammed mail.

• Confirm SPF pass/fail.
• Confirm DKIM pass/fail.
• Confirm DMARC alignment result.

Root Causes

| Likely cause | What it looks like | How to confirm | | --- | --- | --- | | SPF missing or wrong | Mail says "unauthenticated" or fails SPF | Check DNS TXT record and compare it to the actual sender | | DKIM not enabled | Message lacks valid DKIM signature | Inspect raw headers and provider admin settings | | DMARC too strict too soon | Messages fail alignment after a domain change | Review DMARC policy and aggregate reports | | Bad sender reputation | Mail lands in spam even when auth passes | Test across inboxes and check complaint/bounce history | | Misaligned From domain | Sending service uses one domain but From shows another | Compare envelope sender, From header, and DKIM domain | | Content triggers filters | Overly salesy copy, bad links, broken HTML | Review template quality and link reputation |

1. SPF misconfiguration

This is common when founders add multiple tools over time. One record might allow Google Workspace while another allows an SMTP provider from Make.com flows.

Confirm it by checking that your DNS has one SPF TXT record only. If there are two records starting with `v=spf1`, that is already a problem.

2. DKIM not signing outbound mail

If DKIM is disabled in your mail provider dashboard but emails still send through Make.com, inbox providers see weak proof of identity. That raises spam placement risk even if the content is clean.

Confirm it by opening raw headers and looking for `dkim=pass`. If you see `dkim=none` or `dkim=fail`, fix authentication before touching copy.

3. DMARC alignment failure

DMARC does not just care that SPF or DKIM passes. It cares that they align with the visible From domain.

Confirm it by checking whether `From: hello@yourdomain.com` is being sent through a provider authenticated as some other domain. If alignment fails, Gmail and Outlook can treat the message as suspicious even when one check passes.

4. Shared sender reputation damage

If you use a generic mailbox inside a shared system without warming it up properly, your messages inherit weak reputation signals. This gets worse if previous sends had bounces or complaints.

Confirm it by testing inbox placement across multiple recipients with identical content. If one mailbox lands in inbox and another goes to spam inconsistently, reputation is likely part of the issue.

5. Broken content structure from Airtable data

AI chatbot products often inject names, summaries, tags, or conversation snippets into emails from Airtable fields. If those fields contain weird punctuation, empty variables, repeated keywords, or long AI-generated text blocks, filters can react badly.

Confirm it by reviewing sample records directly in Airtable and comparing them to rendered email output in Make.com logs.

6. Domain hygiene problems

If you send from a fresh subdomain with no SSL setup consistency, weak redirects, mixed brand domains, or no monitoring on DNS changes later on down the chain can be damaged by unrelated infrastructure mistakes.

Confirm it by checking Cloudflare DNS history if available and verifying that web redirects are consistent between root domain and subdomains used for email links.

The Fix Plan

My approach is boring on purpose: fix authentication first, then stabilize sending behavior, then clean up content.

1. Freeze non-essential changes for 24 hours.

• Do not keep editing templates while diagnosing deliverability.
• Do not increase send volume until authentication passes cleanly.

2. Standardize one sending identity.

• Pick one primary sending domain or subdomain for transactional mail.
• Keep From address consistent across all chatbot emails.
• Avoid swapping between Gmail aliases and custom SMTP midstream.

3. Repair DNS authentication in this order:

• SPF: include only approved senders.
• DKIM: enable signing with 2048-bit keys if supported.
• DMARC: start with monitoring mode before enforcing quarantine or reject unless you already have clean alignment.

4. Move transactional mail to a proper provider if needed.

• If Make.com is sending through a consumer mailbox or shaky SMTP setup, move to Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid transactional mode where appropriate.
• For founder-grade reliability I would choose one dedicated transactional provider rather than patching around consumer email limits.

5. Clean up message structure.

• Keep subject lines clear and human.
• Remove aggressive marketing phrases from operational emails.
• Use plain HTML with a text fallback version.
• Reduce link count to only what users need.

6. Sanitize Airtable-driven variables.

• Trim whitespace from names and fields before rendering.
• Add fallback values for missing data like `there` instead of blank salutations.
• Prevent AI-generated content from filling core deliverability-sensitive fields such as subject lines unless reviewed first.

7. Add monitoring before resuming volume.

• Set alerts for bounce rate above 3 percent on transactional sends.
• Watch complaint rate above 0.1 percent as a warning sign.
• Track inbox placement manually for at least 10 test sends across major providers.

8. Document secrets handling inside Make.com.

• Store API keys only in connections or secure vaults where possible.
• Rotate any exposed SMTP passwords immediately after fixing configuration issues.

9. Roll out changes gradually.

• Send to internal test accounts first.
• Then 20 real users max per batch for verification if this is customer-facing mail with low risk tolerance.

Regression Tests Before Redeploy

Before I ship this fix live again I want proof that we solved deliverability without breaking automation flow or exposing secrets.

• Authentication checks
• SPF passes on all test sends
• DKIM passes on all test sends
• DMARC aligns with visible From domain
• No duplicate SPF records exist

• Inbox placement checks
• At least 8 of 10 test messages land in primary inboxes across Gmail and Outlook
• No message lands in promotions due to obvious marketing formatting unless expected
• Spam folder rate stays below 10 percent during testing

• Functional checks
• Make.com scenario completes without errors
• Airtable fields render correctly for empty name values
• Links resolve correctly over HTTPS

* No broken unsubscribe link if applicable * No duplicate sends on retries

• Security checks

* Secrets are not visible inside scenario notes or mapped fields * Email links use approved domains only * CORS does not matter here directly unless linked webhooks are involved * Webhook endpoints are protected against unauthorized posting where relevant

• Acceptance criteria

* Transactional replies arrive within normal provider latency under about p95 < 5 seconds after trigger * Authentication passes consistently across three major inbox providers * Bounce rate stays under 3 percent during pilot resend testing * Support tickets related to missing email drop to near zero within 48 hours of release

Prevention

This problem comes back when teams treat deliverability as copywriting instead of infrastructure plus security hygiene.

• Monitoring guardrails

* Set uptime alerts on Make.com scenarios and mail provider status pages * Track delivery failures separately from scenario failures * Log message IDs so you can trace each send end-to-end

• Code review guardrails

* Review any change touching sender identity like production code * Require a second pair of eyes before changing DNS records or SMTP credentials * Keep changes small so you can roll back fast if inbox placement drops

• Cyber security guardrails

* Enforce least privilege on mail APIs and Airtable bases * Rotate keys every time access looks suspicious * Limit who can edit DNS because one bad change can break both delivery and trust

• UX guardrails

* Tell users what kind of email they will receive and when it should arrive so missing messages become obvious sooner rather than silent churn * Include clear fallback states like "check spam" only after proper auth work is done

• Performance guardrails

* Avoid bloated HTML templates that slow rendering on mobile clients

* Keep images small or skip them entirely for transactional messages

* Cache static assets behind Cloudflare if your links point to branded pages

When to Use Launch Ready

• Domain setup review
• Email authentication audit: SPF/DKIM/DMARC
• Cloudflare configuration checks where relevant
• SSL validation for linked assets and landing pages
• Production deployment review for supporting pages or webhook endpoints
• Secret handling cleanup inside Make.com flows where needed
• Uptime monitoring setup plus handover checklist

What I need from you before I start:

• Access to Cloudflare or your DNS host
• Access to Make.com scenario(s)
• Access to your email provider admin panel
• Airtable base access with read/write permission if templates depend on it
• A few examples of emails that landed in spam plus screenshots if available

My recommendation: do not keep iterating blindly inside Make.com while revenue depends on these messages arriving reliably. Fix sender trust first because every day spent here costs conversions and creates support noise you do not need.

References

• roadmap.sh API Security Best Practices: https://roadmap.sh/api-security-best-practices
• roadmap.sh Cyber Security Roadmap: https://roadmap.sh/cyber-security
• Google Workspace Admin Help on email authentication: https://support.google.com/a/topic/2752442
• Microsoft Learn on anti-spam protection: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/office-365-security/anti-spam-protection
• Cloudflare DNS documentation: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/

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Take the next step

If this is a problem in your product right now, here is what to do next:

• [Use the free Cyprian tools](/tools) - estimate cost, score app risk, check launch readiness, or pick the right service sprint.

• [Book a discovery call](/contact) - I will tell you honestly whether you need a sprint or if you can DIY the next step.

*Written by Cyprian Tinashe Aarons - senior full-stack and AI engineer helping founders rescue, launch, automate, and scale AI-built products.*