diff --git a/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender.go b/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender.go
index aa8bc76051c..0c3dbc5205b 100644
--- a/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender.go
+++ b/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ type emailSender struct {
 // isPlaceholderEmail checks if the given email address is a placeholder that should not be sent
 func isPlaceholderEmail(email string) bool {
 	trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(email)
-	return trimmed == placeholderEmailAddress || trimmed == "example@email.com"
+	return trimmed == placeholderEmailAddress
 }
 
 func (s emailSender) SendEmail(ctx context.Context, cmd *receivers.SendEmailSettings) error {
diff --git a/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender_test.go b/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender_test.go
index 450c9da37c8..6bc5000f8dd 100644
--- a/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender_test.go
+++ b/pkg/services/ngalert/notifier/sender_test.go
@@ -18,21 +18,21 @@ func TestIsPlaceholderEmail(t *testing.T) {
 		email    string
 		expected bool
 	}{
-		{
-			name:     "placeholder with angle brackets",
-			email:    "<example@email.com>",
-			expected: true,
-		},
-		{
-			name:     "placeholder without angle brackets",
-			email:    "example@email.com",
-			expected: true,
-		},
-		{
-			name:     "placeholder with spaces",
-			email:    "  <example@email.com>  ",
-			expected: true,
-		},
+	{
+		name:     "placeholder with angle brackets",
+		email:    "<example@email.com>",
+		expected: true,
+	},
+	{
+		name:     "not a placeholder - example@email.com without angle brackets",
+		email:    "example@email.com",
+		expected: false,
+	},
+	{
+		name:     "placeholder with spaces",
+		email:    "  <example@email.com>  ",
+		expected: true,
+	},
 		{
 			name:     "valid email",
 			email:    "user@example.com",
@@ -118,20 +118,20 @@ func TestEmailSender_SendEmail_PlaceholderHandling(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedRecips: []string{"user@example.com", "admin@grafana.com"},
 			description:    "Should send to all valid addresses",
 		},
-		{
-			name:           "multiple placeholders with one valid",
-			recipients:     []string{"example@email.com", "<example@email.com>", "valid@example.com"},
-			expectSend:     true,
-			expectedRecips: []string{"valid@example.com"},
-			description:    "Should filter out all placeholder variations and send to valid address",
-		},
-		{
-			name:           "only placeholders without angle brackets",
-			recipients:     []string{"example@email.com"},
-			expectSend:     false,
-			expectedRecips: nil,
-			description:    "Should skip sending when placeholder is without angle brackets",
-		},
+	{
+		name:           "placeholder with angle brackets filtered, others sent",
+		recipients:     []string{"example@email.com", "<example@email.com>", "valid@example.com"},
+		expectSend:     true,
+		expectedRecips: []string{"example@email.com", "valid@example.com"},
+		description:    "Should filter out only placeholder with angle brackets and send to other addresses",
+	},
+	{
+		name:           "example@email.com without angle brackets is valid",
+		recipients:     []string{"example@email.com"},
+		expectSend:     true,
+		expectedRecips: []string{"example@email.com"},
+		description:    "Should send to example@email.com when it doesn't have angle brackets",
+	},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
diff --git a/public/app/features/alerting/unified/utils/receiver-form.ts b/public/app/features/alerting/unified/utils/receiver-form.ts
index 39be513d334..b778fe7b01a 100644
--- a/public/app/features/alerting/unified/utils/receiver-form.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/alerting/unified/utils/receiver-form.ts
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ export function omitTemporaryIdentifiers<T>(object: Readonly<T>): T {
  * Placeholder emails that ship with the default grafana-default-email contact point.
  * These should not trigger actual email sends or throw errors.
  */
-const PLACEHOLDER_EMAILS = ['<example@email.com>', 'example@email.com'];
+const PLACEHOLDER_EMAILS = ['<example@email.com>'];
 
 /**
  * Check if a single channel/integration has placeholder email addresses.