ELMA vs HubSpot vs Braze: AI-Driven Email Vibes in Action

TL;DR

• ELMA, HubSpot, and Braze all support email marketing, but they follow very different models.
• HubSpot is a powerful marketing CRM with email tools, but still depends heavily on manual workflows and segmentation.
• Braze excels at omnichannel journeys and enterprise-scale personalization but requires technical setup and constant maintenance.
• ELMA is an AI agent that autonomously executes email campaigns- creating content, personalizing messages, adjusting timing, and learning in real time.
• If you want AI-driven execution and minimal manual work, ELMA leads by a wide margin.
• If you need CRM + marketing automation, HubSpot fits well.
• If your team wants advanced cross-channel orchestration, Braze remains a strong enterprise choice.

There’s something happening in the world of email marketing right now. It’s not subtle. It’s loud, fast, and reshaping how brands talk to people. For years, teams relied on traditional email marketing software, built workflows by hand, segmented audiences over and over, and hoped the right message would land at the right moment.

But today…“hoping” is no longer enough.

AI has entered the chat, and the vibe has changed.

In this blog, we’ll explore that shift through a real comparison: ELMA, HubSpot, and Braze. All three are popular marketing automation platforms, but they were built for very different futures. One is built for agentic AI. The other two were built for marketers in the early automation era.

Let’s walk through what really sets them apart.

The Email Marketing World Is Changing Fast

The Old Playbook No Longer Works

You remember the old approach:

• Build a few workflows
• Push newsletters
• Segment based on activity
• Add a discount when numbers drop

This was the comfort zone for traditional email automation tools like HubSpot and Braze.

But customer behavior is now more fluid. People jump from email to the website, then Instagram, then ignore you for 30 days, then come back at 2 a.m. Do you manually plan for every twist? Of course not.

This is why AI email marketing is taking over, not because it’s trendy, but because the complexity is too much for humans alone.

Meet the Three Platforms

ELMA: AI Email Marketing With Real-Time Decisioning

ELMA isn’t just a tool. She’s an AI agent built specifically for email vibes- analyzing behavior, detecting intent, generating personalized content, and sending messages automatically without waiting for someone to configure flow logic.

She works inside Questera’s customer engagement platform and behaves more like a lifecycle strategist than a tool.

HubSpot: The Classic Marketing CRM Software

HubSpot is powerful, no doubt. It combines CRM + marketing + sales + workflows. But at its core, HubSpot is still built around manually designed automation.

AI helps with suggestions, but not the execution engine.

Braze: A Strong Omnichannel Journey Builder

Braze shines in cross-channel communication. It’s the go-to for teams that want multi-step journeys and tight integration with a CDP.

But like HubSpot, it depends heavily on human-built workflows.

Email Campaign Management: How Much Work Do You Actually Do?

ELMA: Minimal Work for Marketers

The effort with ELMA is interestingly simple:

Tell her your goal (convert inactive users, bring back drop-offs, grow repeat purchases).

• She studies the data.
• She designs the campaign.
• She generates the emails.
• She deploys and optimizes without waiting for you.

The marketer becomes the coach, not the laborer.

HubSpot: Manual, Spreadsheet-Heavy, Configuration-Heavy

HubSpot requires:

• building lists
• defining workflow rules
• setting triggers
• writing content
• scheduling
• updating logic as behavior changes

For teams that enjoy structure and sequence-building, HubSpot works great. But AI is not running the show, you still are.

Braze: More Power, More Complexity

Braze offers a visual journey builder that is beautiful but demanding:

• multiple branches
• multiple channels
• custom events
• rules for every action

It’s excellent for enterprise teams. But again, AI doesn’t automate the thinking, humans do.

Personalization: Who Sends the Most “Human” Emails?

ELMA: The Vibe Is Personal, Real, and Dynamic

ELMA doesn’t just personalize content, she adapts to mood, timing, and behavior.

Example

Two users abandon their cart.

User A loves discounts.

User B buys at full price but needs reassurance.

ELMA sends two completely different emails, each crafted for the individual.

• No templates.
• No variable inserts.

It’s true personalization.

HubSpot: Static Personalization

HubSpot personalizes with tokens, conditional content, and smart rules. It’s strong but rule-based.

Braze: Good Dynamic Content but Not Behavior-Aware

Braze supports personalization blocks, but the content doesn’t change unless rules are manually configured.

Omnichannel Experience: Who Delivers the Most Connected Journey?

ELMA Inside Questera: AI-Led Omnichannel Vibes

While ELMA focuses on email, she works as part of an omnichannel marketing platform—paired with agents like:

• SARA for retargeting ads
• OMNIA for cross-channel journeys
• SEGA for segmentation

Together, they deliver a consistent vibe across push, SMS, email, and ads- automatically.

HubSpot: More CRM, Less Omnichannel

HubSpot has email, SMS (recently), WhatsApp, and in-app.

But activation across channels isn’t AI-driven.

It’s workflow-driven.

Braze: The Omnichannel King (Human-Driven)

Braze is excellent when a team manually orchestrates personalized cross-channel journeys.

But the intelligence doesn’t run independently.

Ease of Use: Which Platform Actually Saves Time?

ELMA: Zero-Workflow Environment

You don’t drag boxes.

You don’t build logic.

You don’t configure branches.

The platform feels like working with a teammate, not a tool.

HubSpot: Very Easy but Very Manual

It’s intuitive.

But the more complex your journeys become, the more time it takes.

Braze: Feature-Rich but Requires Expertise

It’s powerful, but it’s not beginner-friendly.

Most brands need technical support, analysts, or consultants.

Who Should Choose What?

Choose ELMA If…

• You want AI to manage email execution end-to-end
• You want personalization beyond templates
• You want faster testing, learning, and adjustments
• You want to reduce human workload
• You want the next era of automation: agentic intelligence

It’s ideal for teams that want speed and deep personalization without complex workflows.

Choose HubSpot If…

You want a marketing CRM with email included

• You want manual control
• You prefer stable workflows
• You need an all-in-one platform for sales + marketing

Choose Braze If…

• You’re an enterprise with a data-heavy structure
• You want robust cross-channel journey design
• You have the team capacity to maintain flows
• You want deep multi-channel personalization

Final Verdict: The Future Belongs to AI Agents

HubSpot and Braze shaped the past decade of automation. They gave marketers power and structure, and they built the category of best email marketing tools.

But the next decade has a different energy.

Automation is no longer enough.

AI that acts is the new standard.

This is why ELMA feels so different. She doesn’t just help you build better campaigns — she builds them for you. She learns, adapts, rewrites, and optimizes without waiting for a marketer to update a workflow.

She moves at the speed of the customer.

HubSpot and Braze? Still strong. Still reliable. Still excellent for structured workflows.

But ELMA represents where AI email marketing, email personalization AI, and modern marketing automation platforms are heading toward intelligence that doesn’t just support your strategy, but executes it.

The world of email vibes has changed.

And ELMA is already living in the future.

FAQs

How is ELMA different from traditional email marketing software?

Most email marketing software depends on workflows, rules, and manual segmentation. ELMA works very differently. She’s an AI agent that studies user behavior in real time and designs the entire email journey herself. Instead of you building automations, ELMA builds and optimizes them for you.

Does ELMA replace manual email automation tools?

Not exactly- she replaces the work those tools require. Traditional email automation tools need human-configured triggers, timing, and content. ELMA handles the decisioning, personalization, and execution automatically, which means your team spends less time building flows and more time improving strategy.

Can AI email marketing really improve conversions?

Yes. AI-driven approaches like ELMA adjust messaging, timing, tone, and offers based on individual behavior. This level of personalization far exceeds rule-based automation and often lifts engagement because each email feels relevant and timely.

Is HubSpot still good for email campaign management?

Absolutely. HubSpot is one of the strongest platforms for teams that want a mix of CRM + marketing. But it’s more manual. You’ll still design workflows, segment contacts, and create content yourself. If you want AI that executes rather than assists, ELMA goes further.

How does Braze compare to ELMA for omnichannel marketing?

Braze is a powerful omnichannel marketing platform, especially for enterprise teams. But it relies on human-built journeys. ELMA works differently, she collaborates with other Questera agents to automatically personalize email, ads, push, and SMS based on live data.

Does ELMA support email personalization AI?

Yes. This is one of her strongest capabilities. ELMA rewrites email content for each user, adapting tone, recommendations, and messaging so every email feels personal. It goes beyond template-driven personalization.