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 in ServiceNow's Zurich release enables you to create and send emails automatically within a playbook without pausing for user input. Once triggered, the activity sends the email immediately and proceeds to the next step in the playbook, streamlining communication workflows.

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    Key Features

    • Immediate Email Sending: Sends emails instantly based on pre-configured data, avoiding manual intervention.
    • Configurable Inputs: Customize email components including recipients (To, Cc, Bcc), subject, body (supports rich text and HTML), and related record references.
    • Dynamic Recipient Handling: Use the pill-picker to dynamically select email addresses from playbook data, enabling personalized notifications (e.g., notifying individual applicants).
    • Run Conditions and Scheduling: Define conditions and start rules for when the activity or related stage should execute, including options to delay execution.
    • Advanced Options: Configure additional parameters such as comma-separated email addresses and reference to target records for attaching emails.
    • Role-Based Access: Available to users with admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles for inclusion in playbooks.

    Key Outcomes

    • Automates email communication within playbooks, reducing manual steps and increasing efficiency.
    • Supports personalized and context-aware messaging by leveraging data from prior playbook activities or triggers.
    • Ensures emails are properly linked to relevant records for audit and tracking purposes.
    • Provides outputs that can feed into subsequent activities, such as references to the created email notification and associated records.

    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 2 ways to configure this field:
    • Enter email addresses as strings if you want the emails to go to the same addresses every time.

    • When the email address value varies, use the pill picker to indicate where to find the recipient email address. For example, you would use the pill picker if you wanted to automatically notify credit card applicants of a rejection, because each applicant has a different email.

      You would select the customer record from the trigger (when the application was submitted), because that is where the applicant's email address is found.


      Using the pill picker to reference the email address.
    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