Salesforce Einstein AI: Complete Setup Guide
Einstein is Salesforce's AI brand — a sprawling collection of features bundled, sold separately, and rebranded constantly. This guide cuts through the marketing to tell you what's included with your edition, what costs extra, and which Einstein features actually move metrics.
Estimated read time: 11 minutes
What is Einstein, actually?
Einstein is Salesforce's umbrella brand for AI-powered features. Underneath the brand, you have:
- Einstein for Sales — opportunity scoring, account scoring, forecast intelligence, activity capture
- Einstein for Service — case classification, recommended replies, bots
- Einstein Discovery — predictive analytics on your Salesforce data
- Einstein GPT / Einstein Copilot — generative AI for record summaries, email drafting, search
- Einstein Bots — automated chat for service
Some of these are included with certain editions. Most cost extra. The pricing model has changed multiple times.
What's included free with Enterprise/Unlimited
As of 2026, the following are included at no extra cost on Enterprise+ editions:
- Einstein Activity Capture (basic)
- Einstein Email Insights
- Einstein Search
- Einstein Account Insights (basic)
Everything else is licensed separately under Sales Cloud Einstein, Service Cloud Einstein, or specific add-on SKUs.
How to enable the free features
Einstein Activity Capture
Setup → search Activity Capture → click Activity Capture Settings → toggle ON.
Connect users' mailboxes (Exchange, Gmail). Activity Capture syncs emails and calendar events automatically.
Tradeoff: AC stores data in a separate AWS infrastructure, not in standard Salesforce objects. That makes it fast but limits reporting. Plan accordingly.
Einstein Search
Setup → search Einstein Search → enable. Users get personalized search results.
Einstein Email Insights
Already on by default in Lightning. No setup required. Surfaces deal-relevant emails in the Opportunity timeline.
How to enable the licensed features
Sales Cloud Einstein (separate license)
Includes:
- Opportunity Scoring
- Lead Scoring
- Account Insights
- Forecast Intelligence
- Pipeline Inspection
- Conversation Insights (call analytics)
Setup once licenses are purchased:
- Setup → search Einstein Setup → assign Einstein permission sets to users
- Configure scoring models — Opportunity Scoring needs at least 200 closed opportunities (50% won, 50% lost) to train
- Enable per feature in Setup → Einstein
Wait 24-48 hours after enabling for initial scoring to populate.
Einstein GPT / Copilot
Enable in Setup → search Einstein Generative AI → review terms → enable.
Configure prompt templates, action library, and field-level masking for any sensitive data you don't want sent to the LLM.
Which Einstein features actually move metrics
Honest answer based on observing real deployments:
Worth the license:
- Opportunity Scoring — gives reps a data-driven prioritization signal. Pays back if your team has 100+ active opps per rep.
- Activity Capture — eliminates manual logging. Big productivity win.
- Einstein Search — small but constant productivity gain.
- Einstein Conversation Insights — call analytics that surface real coaching moments.
Mixed results:
- Einstein GPT for record summaries — useful, but the value depends heavily on data quality.
- Lead Scoring — works if your lead volume is high (1,000+/month) and varied. Lower volumes don't generate enough signal.
Often disappoints:
- Forecast Intelligence — promises AI-powered forecast accuracy, delivers a confidence interval. Useful but rarely transformative.
- Einstein Bots — heavy implementation lift. Most orgs underuse the licenses they buy.
Costs to expect
Pricing changes frequently — verify with your AE — but as a 2026 reference:
- Sales Cloud Einstein: ~$50/user/month
- Service Cloud Einstein: ~$50/user/month
- Einstein Predictions: $75/user/month
- Einstein GPT (Sales/Service): ~$50/user/month for full Copilot
A 50-rep team adding Sales Cloud Einstein + GPT: ~$60K/year.
When Einstein isn't the right answer
If you're considering Einstein primarily because:
- "We need AI in our CRM" → wrong reason. Define the metric first.
- "Our forecast is unreliable" → fix your stage definitions and pipeline hygiene first; AI on bad data is bad AI.
- "Reps aren't logging activities" → fix the incentive structure; AI helps but doesn't solve.
Einstein amplifies what's working. It doesn't fix what's broken underneath.
Want help deciding what to buy?
Einstein licensing is one of the most commonly overpaid line items on a Salesforce bill. Before you renew or expand, get an outside opinion.
RevKit's Einstein Audit ($799) reviews your current configuration and recommends:
- Which Einstein features you're using vs paying for
- Which features would actually move your metrics
- Configuration improvements for what you keep
- A roll-off plan for what to drop