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How to set up Einstein Activity Capture sync

The most common sync an admin turns on is Einstein Activity Capture, which connects users' Microsoft or Google email and calendar to Salesforce. Set it up once at the org level, then add the users or profiles who should sync.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated Jun 16, 2026

The most common sync an admin turns on is Einstein Activity Capture, which connects users' Microsoft or Google email and calendar to Salesforce. Set it up once at the org level, then add the users or profiles who should sync.

  1. Open the Einstein Activity Capture setup

    In Setup, use Quick Find to open Einstein Activity Capture, then start the guided setup to create a configuration. A configuration bundles your capture and sync choices and the people they apply to.

  2. Choose the email and calendar sync settings

    Decide whether email syncs as full messages or header-only, and whether calendar events sync in both directions. These choices affect privacy and what appears on the activity timeline, so confirm them with stakeholders before saving.

  3. Assign users or profiles

    Add the users, profiles, or permission set holders who should be included in this configuration. Only assigned users have their email and calendar captured.

  4. Have each user connect their account

    Each assigned user connects their Microsoft or Google account from their personal settings under Email and Calendar Accounts. After connecting, allow up to 24 hours for past activity to appear.

Key options
Email sync moderemember

Full message captures the email body and metadata; header-only captures just sender, recipients, and subject for tighter privacy.

Calendar sync directionremember

Choose one-way or bidirectional event sync. Bidirectional lets edits flow both ways but introduces conflict handling.

User assignmentremember

Scope the configuration to specific users or profiles so only the intended people sync their accounts.

Sharing of captured activitiesremember

Decide whether captured emails and events are private to the user or shared with their team on related records.

Gotchas
  • The first sync is not instant. Salesforce notes it can take up to 24 hours for past emails and events to populate after a user connects an account.
  • EAC captures activity into its own store using public cloud infrastructure, so some synced items do not behave like standard Task or Event records in reports.
  • For calendar events, EAC gives preference to changes made in the connected Microsoft or Google calendar when a conflict occurs.
  • If your org still runs the retired Lightning Sync, migrate to EAC rather than running both, since the two store data differently.

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