How to Enable Einstein Activity Capture and Sync Data in Salesforce

Sales reps lose real selling time to manual CRM logging.

Salesforce's own State of Sales research has repeatedly flagged data entry as one of the top reasons reps feel they cannot get to actual selling. Einstein Activity Capture exists to remove that chore by syncing emails and calendar events into Salesforce automatically.

Here is the short version. You enable Einstein Activity Capture in Salesforce Setup, connect your team's Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace accounts, choose what to sync, and let it run in the background.

This guide walks through the full setup, what the Summer '25 release changed, where your data actually lives now, and how to decide whether EAC is enough for your team.

We work with revenue teams inside Salesforce every day, so we will be straight about where EAC shines and where it still leaves gaps.

What is Einstein Activity Capture?

Einstein Activity Capture (EAC) is a Salesforce tool that automatically logs emails and calendar events and links them to the right Salesforce records. Instead of asking reps to copy every message or log every meeting by hand, it captures that activity in the background and surfaces it on the Salesforce activity timeline.

It connects Salesforce to a user's email and calendar provider, either Microsoft 365 (Outlook) or Google Workspace (Gmail). Once a rep connects their email account, it starts matching emails and events to leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities based on the addresses involved.

The point is simple. Keep customer and prospect data current in the CRM without adding manual work, so managers and revops see real engagement instead of a half-empty timeline.

Who benefits from EAC

• Sales reps stop logging every call and email by hand.
  
• Managers get a current view of deals in motion and can coach from real email and meeting engagement.
  
• Revops and admins get consistent, standardized activity data across the team.
  

One thing to plan for: EAC handles standard email and event logging well, but it does not capture attachments, and its record matching is built around standard objects. Teams that need attachment logging, custom object syncing, and full control over what gets captured often pair or replace EAC with a tool like Cirrus Insight.

How to Enable and Configure EAC (Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace)

Setup is fast from an admin seat. The steps are nearly identical for Outlook and Gmail. The only real difference is which provider you authenticate against.

Step 1: Confirm requirements and permissions

• You need a Salesforce edition that includes EAC. Standard ships with Sales Cloud Starter, Professional, and Enterprise, and full EAC comes with Performance and Unlimited editions or add-ons like Sales Cloud Einstein and Sales Engagement.
  
• You need admin rights. System Administrator access is the norm for the initial setup.
  
• Each user needs the Einstein Activity Capture Included permission set and must belong to a configuration.
  
• EAC is cloud-only. It works with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, not on-premise Exchange.
  

Step 2: Open EAC settings and add a configuration

In Salesforce Setup, search for Einstein Activity Capture and open Settings. You will be prompted to create a configuration, where you name it (for example, "Sales Team, Outlook"), pick the email and calendar service, and choose an authentication method. User-level authentication is common, where each rep connects their own account once.

Step 3: Connect email and calendar accounts

Choose Microsoft or Google, then authenticate. For a Microsoft 365 setup, sign in with your admin account and grant Salesforce access to mailboxes and calendars. For Google Workspace, authorize the OAuth scopes so Salesforce can sync emails and calendars. If you chose user-level authentication, each user connects their account in their settings, which is a one-time step.

Step 4: Configure sync settings

Inside the configuration, decide what gets captured: emails, calendar events, contacts, or all three. You also set how far back the sync reaches, measured in days, and which records EAC matches activity to, such as leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities. Use the Excluded Addresses tab to keep internal domains out of the sync from day one.

Step 5: Set sharing and finish

Choose how captured activity is shared: private, visible to everyone, or limited. Save and activate. Emails and events start syncing within minutes, and matched activity appears on the Salesforce activity timeline.

Post-setup checklist

• Tell users EAC is active and what it captures.
  
• Confirm each rep has connected their email account.
  
• Review sync settings after a week and tighten anything capturing too much or too little.
  
• Watch permission set assignments and user limits.
  

What Changed in the Summer '25 Release

The most important thing to know in 2026 is that EAC's architecture changed in the Summer '25 release, which rolled out to production instances around mid-July 2025. If you read the guide written before then, parts of it are now wrong. Here is what actually changed, drawn from Salesforce's Email as Salesforce Activity release notes and Salesforce Ben's updated EAC guide.

• Email as Salesforce activity. EAC can now sync emails as standard Salesforce Activities instead of only displaying them from an external store. That unlocks native reporting, API access, and automation on captured email.
  
• Flow-based record matching. Matching emails to records moved into a Salesforce Flow named "Activities: Match Email to Records" that admins can customize, with Apex actions available when the out-of-the-box logic is not enough.
  
• Header-Only Email Capture. A new privacy option lets you record that a message happened without storing its subject or body, which helps in tighter governance environments.
  
• Reporting overhaul. Activity 360 Reporting, Activity Metrics, and the Activities Analytics Dashboard are being retired. If you did not configure them before Summer '25, you generally cannot turn them on now, and reporting shifts to native Salesforce Activity reports on synced email.
  

Where EAC Stores Your Data

This used to be the clearest knock against EAC. Captured data lived in an external, Salesforce-managed store on Amazon Web Services rather than in your CRM, so you could not report on it natively and lost access when a license ended.

The Summer '25 release changed the default. When you sync email as a Salesforce activity, new emails are written as native Salesforce records, so they consume storage and behave like any other activity for reporting and sharing.

Two caveats still matter. First, historical data captured under the old AWS model is not automatically migrated. Salesforce has said a migration path is coming, but it was not available at launch. Second, because emails now land in the storage, you need a deletion or archival plan so you do not run up storage costs. 3rd party services like historical sync from Salesforce can be explored to bring over past activity and capture to the right location in Salesforce.

So the honest picture in 2026 is a hybrid. New activity is native in Salesforce, older activity may still be stranded in AWS, and storage is now a line item you manage.

Benefits of Einstein Activity Capture

EAC earns its place by removing manual activity logging and giving teams a live view of customer interactions. The impact looks different depending on your seat.

Automated email and calendar logging

Incoming and outgoing emails and calendar events are captured and shown on the activity timeline, with no manual logging.

Fresher CRM data

Real-time syncing keeps records current, which cuts missed follow-ups and duplicate outreach.

More selling time

Less data entry means reps spend more time with prospects. That is the whole point of activity capture.

Better cross-team visibility

Sales and support see recent emails and meetings on shared accounts, so handoffs are smoother.

By role:

• Reps: emails and meetings sync automatically, with timeline reminders of recent activity.
  
• Managers: a clearer view of pipeline activity and a real basis for coaching.
  
• Revops and admins: standardized logging and, after Summer '25, native Salesforce reports on captured email rather than the retiring Activity Metrics dashboard.
  

Einstein Activity Capture Limitations

EAC saves time, but it has real constraints. These are the ones we see teams hit most often.

• No attachment capture. Email attachments are not synced into Salesforce. The related list stays empty.
  
• One-way email, coarse filtering. Emails sync one direction into Salesforce, and you cannot filter by subject line, keyword, or folder. You get broad on/off and domain exclusions, not per-team rules.
  
• Custom object matching is limited. EAC's automatic matching is built around standard objects like leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities. It is not designed to drive precise custom object logging the way a dedicated sync tool can.
  
• Recurring and delegated calendars struggle. Recurring events, especially in Outlook, can duplicate or miss syncs, and delegated or shared mailboxes are not well supported.
  
• No record creation from the inbox. EAC will not create a new account, opportunity, or custom record from an email or meeting. If the parent record does not exist, the activity does not sync until someone makes it.
  
• Storage and history trade-offs. As covered above, new email now consumes Salesforce storage, and historical AWS-era activity data is not auto-migrated.
  

None of these make EAC a bad tool. They just define the ceiling of what a built-in, standardized capture tool can do.

How Much Does Einstein Activity Capture Cost?

EAC is not a product you buy on its own. It is bundled into Salesforce editions and add-ons, so the real question is which path you are taking. The figures below track Salesforce's edition and licensing documentation.

• EAC Standard: included at no extra cost with Sales Cloud Starter, Professional, and Enterprise, for up to 100 users.
  
• Performance and Unlimited editions: full EAC is included through the Sales Cloud Included license, with no add-on required.
  
• Sales Cloud Einstein add-on: roughly $50 per user per month, billed annually, on top of your base Sales Cloud subscription. This unlocks full EAC plus the wider Einstein AI features.
  
• Salesforce Inbox: about $25 per user per month if you mainly want email and calendar sync without the rest of Einstein.
  

Keep two things in mind. These fees sit on top of your existing Sales Cloud license, and the legacy Activity Metrics dashboards that older pricing pages advertised are being retired, so do not choose a tier expecting them.

How to Work Around Common EAC Pitfalls

You can get more out of EAC, or sidestep its gaps, with a few habits.

1. Log high-priority emails manually where it matters. For communications tied to custom objects, or when records will not match, have reps log them by hand.
   
2. Plan your reporting. Since the legacy Activity Metrics dashboards are retiring, set up native Salesforce Activity reports on synced email instead.
   
3. Be deliberate about sync settings. Exclude internal domains, and review configurations and permission sets regularly so you are not capturing noise. This keeps your capture workflow clean.
   
4. Manage storage. With email now landing in Salesforce, put an archival or deletion process in place before storage costs creep up.
   
5. Plan for role changes. Historical AWS-era data will not auto-migrate, so document what a departing rep's activity contains before you reassign licenses.
   

Is Einstein Activity Capture Right for Your Team?

EAC is a good fit for some teams and a poor one for others.

It tends to work well if you:

• Run a fairly standard Salesforce setup and mainly want to cut manual logging.
  
• Are a small or mid-market team that needs basic visibility into emails and meetings.
  
• Already have an edition that includes EAC and do not need granular capture rules.
  

You will likely want an advanced sync tool if you:

• Report heavily on activity, or need reliable data against standard and custom objects.
  
• Need advanced sync controls such as direction, rules, filters, or enrichment.
  
• Sync shared, delegated, or multiple mailboxes, or run recurring Salesforce calendar events.
  
• Support custom objects, attachments, or Experience Cloud in your capture.
  
• Run diverse users across multiple email platforms, or sync to multiple Salesforce instances.
  
  

Cirrus Insight vs Einstein Activity Capture

If EAC's ceiling is a problem, this is where a dedicated tool comes in. Cirrus Insight connects Outlook and Gmail to Salesforce with more control over what gets captured and where it goes.

Why teams switch: Cirrus keeps email, calendar events, and tasks captured directly in Salesforce, with attachment logging and real-time buyer signals inside the inbox where reps already work. It closes the exact gaps EAC leaves open.

Final Thoughts

Einstein Activity Capture is a solid way to automate standard email and calendar logging, and the Summer '25 changes made it meaningfully better by moving activity into native Salesforce records. For teams with a standard setup, it may be all you need.

If you report deeply on activity, rely on custom objects, need attachments, or want granular control over capture, EAC's built-in limits will show. That is where a dedicated tool like Cirrus Insight fits, with a 14-day free trial if you want to see the difference before you commit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Einstein Activity Capture in Salesforce?

EAC is a built-in Salesforce tool that automatically syncs emails, calendar events, and contacts between Salesforce and a connected Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account. It reduces manual logging by matching that activity to leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities and showing it on the activity timeline.

How do I enable EAC?

In Salesforce Setup, search for Einstein Activity Capture and open Settings, then add a configuration. Choose Microsoft or Google as your email and calendar service, authenticate, assign the users or permission sets, and turn on email and event sync. Save and activate, and syncing begins within minutes.

Where is Einstein Activity Capture data stored?

Since the Summer '25 release, EAC can write new emails as native Salesforce activities, so they live in your CRM and consume Salesforce storage. Data captured under the older model was stored in an external AWS store, and that historical data is not automatically migrated.

Does Einstein Activity Capture support custom objects?

Only in a limited way. EAC's automatic matching is built around standard objects like leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities. If you need precise custom object logging, a dedicated tool such as Cirrus Insight is a better fit.

Is Einstein Activity Capture sync one-way or two-way?

It is mixed. Contacts and calendar events sync in both directions, while emails are captured one way into Salesforce. That one-way email flow limits how much you can audit or control synced messages.

Does EAC sync attachments?

No, it does not sync email attachments into Salesforce, so the attachments related list on a captured email stays empty. Teams that need attachment logging usually add a tool that supports it natively.

What changed in the Summer '25 EAC release?

EAC can now sync emails as native Salesforce activities, record matching moved into a customizable Salesforce Flow, a Header-Only Email Capture privacy option was added, and the legacy Activity 360 and Activity Metrics dashboards began retiring in favor of native Salesforce Activity reports.

How much does Einstein Activity Capture cost?

EAC Standard is included free with Sales Cloud Starter, Professional, and Enterprise for up to 100 users. The full plan comes with Performance and Unlimited editions, or through add-ons: about $50 per user per month via Sales Cloud Einstein, or around $25 per user per month via Salesforce Inbox.