Einstein Activity Capture (EAC) is Salesforce’s built-in way to log Gmail emails and Google Calendar events to Salesforce automatically. Each person connects their Google account, and EAC adds their emails and meetings to the matching contacts, leads and opportunities. Since Summer ‘25, captured emails are stored as real Salesforce records you can report on. Standard EAC comes with most Salesforce editions, so if your team only needs email logged, turn it on first. Add a tool like Mixmax when your team also sends follow-ups to a lot of people from Gmail: EAC records the emails you send, but it doesn’t send any for you.
Here’s what EAC does, what changed, where it runs out, and how the alternatives compare.
What Einstein Activity Capture does
EAC connects each person’s Google Workspace mailbox and calendar to Salesforce. Once it’s on:
- Emails are captured onto the related Salesforce records: the contact or lead you emailed, and related accounts and opportunities.
- Calendar events are captured the same way.
- Contacts and events can sync between Google and Salesforce, if your admin turns that on.
(Salesforce Help: Einstein Activity Capture limitations)
Nobody has to click “log”. That’s the point of it.
What changed in 2025
For years, the main complaint about EAC was that captured emails didn’t become Salesforce records. They lived in a separate store, didn’t appear in standard reports, couldn’t trigger a flow, and were kept for a limited time. (Salesforce Help: Einstein Activity Capture guidelines)
That’s no longer how new setups work. Salesforce’s Sync Email as Salesforce Activity stores each captured email as a Task plus an Email Message record. Those work in standard reports, flows and the API, like any other activity. (Salesforce Help: considerations for syncing email as activity)
Orgs set up before Summer ‘25 have to migrate. If an org doesn’t migrate by its date, Salesforce does it automatically, with notices from June 2026, and the move can’t be rolled back. (Salesforce Help: migrate to Sync Email as Salesforce Activity)
So if you read an older article saying “EAC emails aren’t real Salesforce records,” it’s out of date.
The limits to know about
These come from Salesforce’s own help pages for the newer synced setup:
- An email only logs if it matches a record. EAC matches on the email address of an existing contact or lead. Email someone who isn’t in Salesforce yet, and the email isn’t stored. EAC doesn’t create the record for you.
- Synced emails count against your Salesforce data storage. Teams that email a lot should check their storage.
- Attachments don’t sync, and only each person’s main email address is captured, not aliases.
- Logging by hand on top of EAC can create duplicates. Pick one way per team.
- There are volume limits. Each person can backfill up to 50,000 emails from the past 180 days, and an org can sync up to 250,000 emails an hour.
(Salesforce Help: considerations for syncing email as activity)
Which editions include it: Standard EAC comes with Starter, Pro Suite, Professional and Enterprise. Unlimited and the higher editions include the full version, which you can also get through add-on licenses like Sales Engagement. (Salesforce Help: Standard vs. full Einstein Activity Capture)
Where EAC stops
EAC is a recorder. It writes down the emails and meetings that happen. It doesn’t:
- Send follow-ups. If someone doesn’t reply, nothing happens until a person remembers to write again.
- Stop anything when someone replies, because it never started anything.
- Create the lead or contact for someone new you emailed.
- Start an email from a Salesforce change, like a new lead or a stage change.
For a team that sends one email at a time and replies to what comes in, that’s fine. For a team where a lot of people go quiet after the first email, the missing follow-ups cost more than the missing log entries.
When to add a tool inside Gmail
Mixmax is a lightweight outreach tool inside Gmail that syncs with Salesforce. It covers the logging EAC does for the emails it sends, and adds the parts EAC doesn’t:
- Follow-ups send themselves. Write a sequence once. Each follow-up goes out from your Gmail as a reply in the same thread, and stops for anyone who replies.
- Everything logs to Salesforce. Emails, replies and follow-ups log as activities on the record, with opens and clicks. Meetings booked through Mixmax log too.
- New people can become records. If someone you email isn’t in Salesforce, Mixmax can create them as a lead or a contact.
- Salesforce can start the email. A rule can add a new lead to a sequence, or notify the owner when an opportunity hasn’t moved in two weeks.
- People come straight from Salesforce. Add a list of leads or contacts to a sequence without exporting a spreadsheet.
Einstein Activity Capture vs. Mixmax
| Einstein Activity Capture | Mixmax | |
|---|---|---|
| Logs Gmail emails to Salesforce automatically | Yes, for people already in Salesforce | Yes, for emails sent through Mixmax and their replies |
| Logs calendar events | Yes, all of them | Meetings booked through Mixmax |
| Creates a lead or contact for someone new | No | Yes, if you turn it on |
| Sends follow-ups, and stops when they reply | No | Yes |
| Starts emails from Salesforce changes | No | Yes, with rules |
| Where your team works | In the background | Inside Gmail |
| Cost | Standard version comes with most Salesforce editions | Separate plans (pricing) |
Which one is right for you?
- EAC alone: your team mostly answers email and sends one-off messages, and you want every email and meeting on the Salesforce record.
- Mixmax: your team sends the same kind of email to many people, needs follow-ups to go out on time, and wants new people and replies to land in Salesforce without anyone typing them in.
- Both: EAC for everyday email and calendars, Mixmax for follow-ups. Check how the two log the same email so you don’t get duplicates.
Frequently asked questions
What is Einstein Activity Capture?
It’s a Salesforce feature that connects each person’s email and calendar to Salesforce, and logs their emails and events to the related records automatically.
Is Einstein Activity Capture free?
Standard EAC comes with Starter, Pro Suite, Professional and Enterprise editions. The full version comes with Unlimited and higher editions, or with add-on licenses.
Where does Einstein Activity Capture store emails?
On setups from Summer ‘25 onward, as Salesforce records (a Task plus an Email Message). Older setups stored them outside Salesforce, and Salesforce is moving those orgs to the new model.
Can I report on Einstein Activity Capture emails?
Yes, once your org syncs email as Salesforce activity. Then captured emails show up in standard activity reports.
Why isn’t Einstein Activity Capture logging my email?
Usually because the person you emailed isn’t a contact or lead in Salesforce, or the email address on their record doesn’t match. EAC only stores emails that match a record. More fixes: Salesforce Gmail integration not working?
Can Mixmax and Einstein Activity Capture run together?
Yes. Some teams use EAC for all email and Mixmax for follow-ups. Decide which one logs the emails Mixmax sends, so the same email doesn’t log twice.
The next step
Turn on what Salesforce includes and watch for a week. If the gap you see is follow-ups nobody sent, try Mixmax free with your Google account and connect Salesforce from settings.
Keep reading: Explore more on Mixmax sequences.
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