Overview
Einstein Activity Capture (EAC) is Salesforce’s built-in email integration tool that automatically syncs emails, calendar events, and contacts between Outlook/Gmail and Rethink.
Before proceeding, make sure your organization meets the system requirements:
System Requirements
For Gmail (Google Workspace)
✔ Your company must use Google Workspace (G Suite) (paid Gmail account)
✔ Supported on Basic, Business, and Enterprise editions
✔ Supports user-level connections only
For Outlook (Microsoft 365 or Exchange)
✔ Microsoft Office 365 (Supports user-level and org-level connection)
✔ Microsoft Exchange Server (2013, 2016, or 2019; supports user-level connection only)
✔ Not sure if you have Exchange or Office 365? Check here
Instructions
Step 1: Assign Einstein Activity Capture Permissions
Before setting up the integration, each user must have the correct permission set assigned.
1. Go to Setup → Users → Permission Sets.
2. Click Standard Einstein Activity Capture.
3. Click Manage Assignments → Add Assignments.
4. Select the users to be included in the integration, then click Assign.
Step 2: Enable Einstein Activity Capture
1. Go to Setup and search for Einstein Activity Capture in the Quick Find box.
2. Click Settings → Get Started.
3. Accept the terms and click Next.
4. Choose your email provider.
5. Name your configuration (e.g., “Company Email Sync”) and click Next.
6. Configure Sync Settings:
Choose whether you want to sync Emails, Contacts, and Events.
For Contacts, we strongly recommend setting up a one-way sync (Salesforce → Outlook/G Suite) to avoid data loss and potential duplicate contacts.
For the Contacts Filter, we highly recommend selecting “Contacts Users Own” instead of “All Contacts” to prevent syncing all contacts with every user.
7. Click Next to continue.
Important Notes on Contact Syncing:
If syncing contacts from Outlook/G Suite to Salesforce, or in both directions, ensure their associated companies are created in Rethink first. Since only contact records are created from the sync (not company records), missing company records may lead to orphaned contacts. This is because a contact (child record) must be affiliated with a company (parent record) in Rethink.
Step 3: Add Users to the Integration
1. Select users from the Available Users list and move them to Selected Users.
If no users appear, revisit Step 1 to confirm that permissions were assigned.
2. Click Next.
3. (Optional) Add internal email domains or specific email addresses to exclude from email sync.
4. Set default sharing settings for emails (users can override this later in their personal profile settings).
5. Click Next, then Finish to enable Einstein Activity Capture.
Step 4: Connect Your Email Account
1. Refresh your browser. A banner will appear prompting you to connect your email and calendar.
2. Click the Connect Email link and follow the on-screen prompts.
3. Log into your email account and grant permissions to sync with Salesforce.
Once connected, Einstein Activity Capture will start logging emails and syncing calendar events automatically.
4. All users added in Step 3 should see a banner at the top of their screen. If the banner does not appear, they can manually connect their account by navigating to:
Profile Settings → Connected Accounts → Email and Calendar Accounts
Step 5: User Setup & Managing Synced Contacts
After being added to the sync configuration, each user will have a Salesforce_Sync folder (in Outlook) or a Salesforce Sync group (in Google). Users can move contacts into these groups to enable syncing.
Users can connect multiple Google Workspace or Outlook accounts, but they cannot connect both simultaneously—they must use the account type specified in the configuration.
Step 6: Install the Salesforce Email Extension
To fully integrate email tracking and logging, install the Salesforce for Outlook/Gmail extension:
For Outlook Users
✔ The Outlook admin can install the Salesforce plug-in for all users.
✔ Users can also install it themselves from Microsoft AppSource.
For Gmail Users
✔ Each user must install the Salesforce extension from the Chrome Web Store.
✔ Once installed, log into the Salesforce panel with your Rethink credentials.
Setup Complete! 🎉
Your email integration with Rethink is now fully configured. Emails and events will automatically sync, and you can manage contacts based on your selected sync settings.
If you experience any issues, refer to Salesforce’s Einstein Activity Capture Help or contact our support team.
Options for Customizing the Integration
Here are a few optional features the system administrator can implement to customize your Salesforce side panel:
1. Enable the "Add to Salesforce" button to add new contacts and more with a click of a button. Learn more and setup this feature here!
2. Add quick actions under the [+] menu by watching this video tutorial. Otherwise, read step-by-step instructions on how to create a new publisher layout and then add more actions!