November 2025
This month’s release focuses on giving new users a smoother first experience, helping all users move faster inside the platform, and improving clarity in key workflows like templates, test sends, list management, and domain authentication.
A More Helpful New User Experience
What’s New
We’ve redesigned several first-touch experiences so new accounts don’t feel empty or confusing. Updates include:
Your account now starts with a real contact – we automatically create a contact for the account owner during signup, so your dashboard and Contacts tab show real activity instead of blank states.
Richer empty states – refreshed imagery and clearer explanations in Lists, Tags, Emails, and Reports help new users understand what each feature does and how to get started.
- More detailed Contact Activity tracking – the Dashboard and Contact Details view now show when contacts are added or updated manually or via import
Why it matters
Your workspace feels alive from the start. New users can navigate with confidence, see real data, and immediately understand how contacts and activity flow through Benchmark.
Find Templates Faster
What’s new
The Templates screen is now more scannable and flexible:
- All templates display by default.
- “Start from scratch” appears alongside other templates instead of taking a full row.
- Template cards are smaller so more designs fit on your screen.
Template filters now use OR logic, ensuring you see all relevant results.
Why it matters
Browsing and selecting templates is quicker, clearer, and more intuitive — especially when exploring multiple design starting points.
Contacts Page Refresh After Import
What’s new
When you import contacts into a brand-new account, the Contacts page now auto-refreshes the moment your import is complete.
Why it matters
Instead of wondering whether your upload worked, your newly imported contacts appear automatically — no need to refresh the page.
Faster Access to Draft Emails
What’s new
Draft email cards now include two clear actions:
- Edit – takes you straight to the email builder
- Details – brings you to the email checklist
Why it matters
Most users want to jump directly back into designing. This update removes unnecessary steps and gets you editing faster.
Send Test Emails Earlier and From More Places
What’s new
You can now send test emails even if parts of the email checklist aren’t fully completed. Plus, test sends are now available directly inside the email builder.
Why it matters
Previewing your work is no longer tied to checklist order. You can validate your design anytime — without breaking your creative flow.
Simpler Domain Authentication for Providers That Split MX Records
What’s new
Some DNS providers require MX records to be entered in two separate fields, while others display them as a single value. Benchmark now automatically splits MX records into the correct format.
Why it matters
Domain authentication becomes easier and less error-prone, especially for senders whose DNS providers use split-field formats.
Clearer List Management and Contact Selection
What’s new
To improve the workflow around adding contacts to lists and selecting recipients:
- Bulk actions are renamed to Add to List and Remove from List for clarity.
- The modal for adding contacts now highlights that you’re applying filters to choose which contacts to add.
- “Custom Contacts” in the email checklist is now Select Existing Contacts, with clearer guidance to prevent creating empty lists accidentally.
Confirmation dialogs now make it clear that deleting a list does not delete the contacts themselves.
Why it matters
Managing lists and targeting recipients feels more direct and less confusing — especially for new users learning how lists and contacts interact.
More Accurate Search & Filters
What’s new
Search and filter logic now handles multi-word terms more intuitively, returning results even if words appear in a different order.
Why it matters
Finding the right contacts is quicker, and you’re less likely to receive “No results” when the data is actually there.
Clearer Handling of Bounced Contacts
What’s new
Hard bounce events in Contact Activity now include clearer descriptions.
Why it matters
You get more visibility into why contacts bounce and how engagement is tracked.
More Accurate Send Quotas for Shared Domains
What’s new
Plans & Billing now correctly displays send limits and usage for customers sending from shared domains.
Why it matters
Your available monthly sends are now represented accurately, making it easier to stay within your plan.
Other Fixes & Improvements
What’s new
Key improvements include:
- Fixes for two rare contact import issues, including UTF-8 encoding conflicts.
- More accurate reporting for Outlook desktop users (versions up to 2019).
- Fixed link-truncation problems for long URLs in email reports.
- Improved warnings to help prevent accidental bulk unsubscribes.
- A smarter AI model for auto-mapping CSV columns during imports.
Updated Japanese translations and clearer onboarding placeholders.
Why it matters
These updates strengthen data accuracy, protect your lists, and ensure smoother importing and reporting for all users.