How does Salesforce integrate with Outlook and Gmail for sales teams?

Salesforce offers two integration paths for email clients:

1. Salesforce for Outlook (legacy): A desktop plugin (being retired) that synced Contacts, Events, and Tasks between Outlook and Salesforce. It required client-side installation and could conflict with email security policies.
2. Lightning for Outlook / Lightning for Gmail (Salesforce add-in): The modern, web-based add-in that runs inside Outlook (desktop and web) or Gmail as a sidebar. It shows related Salesforce records for the open email, allows one-click logging, and lets reps create or update records without leaving their inbox. Configuration: Enable via Setup > Email > Email Integration; deploy the add-in to users via Microsoft 365 Admin Centre or Google Workspace Admin Console.
3. Einstein Activity Capture complements the add-in by automating background sync of emails and calendar events. Key distinction: the add-in is for manual, in-context actions; EAC is for automatic background capture.