Automated Send Email activity

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Automated Send Email activity

    The Automated Send Email activity allows you to create and send emails automatically within a playbook, using previously gathered or generated data. This activity sends the email immediately when triggered, without pausing the playbook or requiring user input, enabling seamless automation and workflow continuity.

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    This activity is available as a common activity and can be added by users with admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles.

    Configuration Inputs

    To configure the activity, you set values in the properties panel, using static data or dynamic data via the pill-picker for flexible data referencing. Key inputs include:

    • Label: The title displayed on the activity and playbook card.
    • Description: Details about the activity’s purpose or outcome.
    • Run Condition: Conditions that determine whether the activity or stage runs, based on prior activity data.
    • Start Rule: Defines when the stage and activity start, such as at playbook start or after specified stages/activities complete.
    • Start with delay: Optionally delay the start of the activity or stage.
    • To: Recipient list, configurable as static users or dynamically via dot-walking to record fields (e.g., applicant’s email).
    • Cc: Carbon copy recipient list, also configurable dynamically or statically.
    • Subject and Body: Email subject line and HTML body content, supporting rich text and dynamic data insertion via pills.

    Advanced Inputs

    Additional optional inputs can be configured to further refine email sending, including:

    • Comma-separated email addresses for To, Cc, and Bcc fields.
    • Blind copy (Bcc) recipient lists as user references or email addresses.
    • Target Record: Reference to the specific record (task) to which the email should be attached.
    • Table: Specify the data table related to the activity or playbook.

    Outputs

    The activity outputs useful data that can feed into subsequent playbook activities:

    • Record Reference: The task record associated with the email.
    • Email Reference: The notification record representing the sent email.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This activity enables fully automated email notifications as part of your workflows, improving efficiency by eliminating manual email steps. It supports dynamic recipient targeting, flexible scheduling, and rich content formatting, allowing you to tailor communications precisely to your business processes. By attaching emails to relevant records automatically, it enhances traceability and auditability within your ServiceNow environment.

    Create an email from previously gathered or generated data without pausing the playbook to ask for user input. When the activity runs, it immediately sends the email and continues to the next activity in the playbook.

    Roles and availability

    This activity is available as a common activity. Users with the admin, playbook.admin, or pd_author can add this activity to a playbook.

    Inputs

    Open the activity properties panel and configure your activity to add values for the following inputs. If the input value varies, use the pill-picker to show where to get the value. To learn more about the pill-picker, see Dot-walking examples.
    Input Type Description
    Label String Title to display as activity and playbook card.
    Description String Information to display about activity usage or outcome.
    Run condition Condition Builder Conditions that must be met to run an activity or stage. You can use data from prior activities to build conditions.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    Start Rule Choice Under Schedule > Start Rule, select a start rule for when your stage should start running:
    • When process starts: Your stage starts running as soon as the playbook starts.
    • After specific stages: Your stage starts running after specified stage(s) have finished running.
    Under Schedule > Start Rule, select a start rule for when your activity should start running:
    • When stage starts: Your activity starts running as soon as its stage starts running. Your stage starts running when your playbook is triggered.
    • After specific activities: Your activity starts running after specified activities have finished running.
    Start with delay True/False Option to wait for a duration of time before running an activity or stage. When enabled, this input displays the Start with delay input properties.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    To List of Users Recipient list for the email. There are two ways to configure this field:
    • Static recipient — Select the same user record every time. Use this when emails must go to the same addresses in every instance.
    • Dynamic recipient — Use the pill picker to reference a user field dot-walked from the trigger record or a related record. Use this when the recipient varies based on record data. For example, when automatically notifying credit card applicants of a rejection, dot-walk to the applicant's email address from the customer record linked to the application.
    Cc List of Users Cc recipient list for the email.
    Subject String Subject of the email.
    Body HTML Body of the email.
    Tip:
    You can use both text and multiple pills in your message, and any other rich text or HTML field.

    Advanced inputs

    After configuring the required inputs for your activity, you can also choose to configure additional inputs. In the side panel, select Show additional options to display these advanced inputs. For more information, see Activity experience.
    Input Type Description
    To Email Address String Comma-separated list of email addresses.
    Cc Email Address String Comma-separated list of copied email addresses.
    Bcc List of Users Bcc blind copy recipient list for the email.
    Bcc Email Address String Comma-separated list of blind copied email addresses.
    Target Record Reference.Task [task] Reference to the record that the system attaches the email to.
    Table Table Name Table containing activity or playbook data.

    Outputs

    These outputs can provide data to other activities in your playbook. You can access this data as activity inputs when you configure your activity:
    Output Type Description
    Record Reference.Task[task] Reference to record created.
    Email Reference.Notification[sysevent_email_action] Reference to the newly created email notification record