Has Anyone Else Noticed Changes in Amazon SES Deliverability?

Hi everyone. I work as a freelance email deliverability specialist, and the author is completely right about what is happening. From what I have seen, production access is being granted by an automated system that does not properly review the use case, website, domain quality, or what kind of email will actually be sent.

Over the past few months, SES deliverability has noticeably declined because this system is being openly abused. Accounts receive production access in several regions and are then used for spam, while nobody properly checks the website, the sender, or the intended use before approval. As a result, regular SES users end up paying for these approvals with worse deliverability, even though they should never have been granted in the first place.

And do you know what AWS recommends in cases like this? Buy a dedicated IP. That is almost funny—reviewing production access is AWS’s responsibility, not an extra cost that regular users should have to pay because AWS has allowed its approval system to be abused.

I have noticed something similar. My sending practices and bounce and complaint rates have stayed stable, but inbox placement has become less consistent. I cannot say automatic approvals are the cause, but the number of similar reports makes a review of the process reasonable.

I have had similar thoughts recently. There seem to be more people talking about this than ever before, so I hope the Amazon Simple Email Service team reviews the current Production Access process and keeps improving it.

Amazon SES has recently introduced new deliverability features that provide greater visibility into email performance. These features include inbox placement metrics, which show the percentage of messages placed in recipient spam folders based on industry data samples. This allows you to see inbox placement rates by sending domain and campaign. Additionally, SES now offers blocklist monitoring to help identify when reputation changes may affect your ability to send emails to mailbox providers. You can also proactively test email content to estimate inbox placement rates at top mailbox providers before sending to your target recipients. These tools are available through the Virtual Deliverability Manager and can help you optimize your sending content to maximize customer engagement. If you're experiencing deliverability concerns, I recommend using these new features to gain insights into your specific sending performance. For any account-specific questions or concerns about your SES configuration, you can add correspondence through the AWS Support Center at https://console.aws.amazon.com/support/ or review your AWS Support plan options for assistance.
Sources
Amazon SES now offers inbox placement metrics and blocklist monitoring - AWS