In mid‑October 2026 I received a cold‑email from a purported University of Waterloo student asking for advice. The exchange turned out to be fully AI‑generated on both sides, leading me to conclude that the utility of cold‑email outreach is collapsing and that in‑person networking will become far more critical.
1 email received from the university domain.
Got an AI‑generated reply, very clearly templated.
0 successful, substantive advice exchanges resulting from this interaction.
Decision to stop responding to cold‑email advice requests.
On the positive side: in‑person relationships will be more important and relevant than before, when you can no longer trust cold email.