Gmail Integration and Sync
Gmail Integration and Sync is the Setup node in Salesforce that controls how the org connects to Google Workspace for sales email and calendar workflows.
Definition
Gmail Integration and Sync is the Setup node in Salesforce that controls how the org connects to Google Workspace for sales email and calendar workflows. It bundles three settings: the Gmail Integration (the Chrome extension and Google Workspace add-on that surface Salesforce records inside Gmail), the email-and-event capture engine (Einstein Activity Capture in modern orgs, Lightning Sync in older ones), and the per-user enablement that lets each rep connect their Google account to Salesforce.
The node is the single place where an admin turns on the org-wide capabilities, assigns users to the sync configuration, and configures which fields and behaviors flow between Gmail and Salesforce. It does not configure the Google Workspace side; that work happens in the Google admin console. Salesforce treats the integration as a one-way capability flag from Setup; the actual data flow runs over OAuth tokens and the per-user consents granted at install time.
What lives inside the Gmail Integration and Sync node
The main toggle and Lightning Experience requirement
The top of the page is a single Let users access Salesforce when working in Gmail switch. Flipping it on enables the Salesforce Chrome extension to render the sidebar inside Gmail for any user with the relevant permission set. The setting requires Lightning Experience; orgs still running Salesforce Classic see a notice and cannot enable it.
Enhanced Email and email-message storage
The same node hosts the Enhanced Email setting. Enhanced Email stores emails as Email Message records (with full headers, body, and attachments) rather than the legacy Task subtype Email. Modern Gmail integration relies on Enhanced Email being on; without it, logged emails revert to truncated Task records and the rich email features (forward, reply from Salesforce, multi-recipient handling) do not work.
Einstein Activity Capture configuration
Setup, Einstein Activity Capture sits adjacent to Gmail Integration and Sync. EAC is the auto-sync engine that watches Gmail in the background and captures emails and events without the user clicking Log Email. The configuration page lets admins create a sync configuration (Gmail or Office 365 source), pick a sharing model (Everything, Contacts and Events, Don't Share), and assign users to the configuration.
Lightning Sync, the older path
Lightning Sync is the deprecated predecessor to EAC. It still appears in older orgs under Setup, Lightning Sync. Salesforce announced its end-of-life in 2023; new orgs do not get the option. Migrating from Lightning Sync to EAC is a deliberate project: it requires disabling Lightning Sync first, then creating a new EAC configuration with the same user set, and reconciling any data loss between the old activity store and the new one.
Per-user enablement and OAuth
Enabling the org-wide setting does not enable any specific user. Each rep has to install the Chrome extension, install the Google Workspace add-on, and complete the OAuth handshake. The handshake stores a refresh token on the user record under the Connected App Salesforce for Gmail. Disabling the connection revokes the token; new logs cannot be made until reconnect.
Google Workspace admin allow-listing
The Workspace side of the setup happens in admin.google.com. The Workspace admin allow-lists the Salesforce add-on at the OU level. Without allow-listing, individual users see a Google warning blocking the OAuth consent. This step is the single most common rollout blocker; rolling out the Salesforce integration without coordinating with the Workspace admin causes silent failures for the entire field team.
Calendar sync within the same node
Gmail Integration and Sync covers both email and calendar. The same Google add-on extends into Google Calendar, capturing meetings as Salesforce Events (Lightning Sync) or as EAC events in the activity store. Two-way sync is supported under Lightning Sync; EAC currently does one-way Google-to-Salesforce capture by default, with controlled two-way settings rolling out by release.
Configure Gmail Integration and Sync from scratch
A clean rollout takes about a week: a day for org-level toggles, a few days for Google Workspace coordination, and a week for user enablement. Plan for parallel work between the Salesforce and Workspace admins.
- Open Gmail Integration and Sync
Setup, Quick Find, Gmail Integration and Sync. Confirm Lightning Experience is the active UX; without it the page refuses to enable.
- Turn on the org switch
Toggle Let users access Salesforce when working in Gmail to ON. Save. The setting propagates immediately to any user with the relevant permission set.
- Enable Enhanced Email
Setup, Activity Settings, check Enable Enhanced Email and Send Through External Email Services. Required for modern logging behavior.
- Configure Einstein Activity Capture
Setup, Einstein Activity Capture, create a configuration. Choose Gmail as the source, pick a sharing model, assign target users.
- Coordinate with the Workspace admin
Google Workspace admin opens admin.google.com, Apps, Google Workspace Marketplace apps, allow-lists the Salesforce add-on at the relevant OU.
- Roll out to users
Email the user roster the install instructions: Chrome extension, Google Workspace add-on, OAuth consent. Track completion via a permission-set or custom field on User.
- Lightning Sync is deprecated. New orgs and new rollouts should default to Einstein Activity Capture; migrating from Lightning Sync later involves data movement and is non-trivial.
- Without Google Workspace allow-listing, users see a Google security warning and cannot complete OAuth. The Salesforce admin alone cannot fix this; coordinate with the Workspace admin before user rollout.
- EAC stores activities in its own activity store, not the Task object. Reports built against Tasks will miss EAC-captured emails; use the EAC virtual report types instead.
- Enhanced Email is off by default in older orgs. Skipping the enablement step makes the entire Gmail integration revert to legacy Task creation, which breaks most of the value.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Set Up the Gmail IntegrationSalesforce Help
- Einstein Activity Capture OverviewSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Gmail Integration and Sync.
- Gmail IntegrationSalesforce Help
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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