'Automated Email Failed' error on Sales Engagement targets

This article answers the question: "Why does a prospect's Automated Email step in a Sales Cadence fail with an 'Automated Email Failed' error, and how do I fix it?" There are multiple reasons an automated email can fail in Sales Engagement. Follow the steps below to resolve the behavior or get more detailed error information.

Troubleshooting Steps for Automated Email Failures

1. Check the Sales Engagement component and click View Steps to see if an error is available.
2. If Inbox is enabled in the organization, confirm that the user assigned to the prospect has connected their email account. An easy way to confirm this is to have the user open the prospect record and click the Email quick action. If they haven't connected their account, they'll be prompted to do so there.
3. Have the user assigned to the prospect click Send Manually in the Sales Engagement Lightning component on the prospect record. You may need to edit the Lightning page to add this component for your users. If the email fails when using Send Manually, more detailed error information may be presented. For example, the error may indicate an issue with the prospect record, or a problem with the email template selected for the Sales Cadence step.
4. If, when attempting to Send Manually, the user is asked to confirm that the prospect "wants non-commercial emails only," this means the Email Opt Out field on the prospect has been set to True. Automated Email steps always fail for prospects who have opted out of email.
5. Have the user assigned to the prospect confirm they're able to send email outside of the Sales Cadence. To test this, the user can click the Email quick action on the prospect record to send a test email — it's often best to create a test record with an internal email address. If they're able to send an email to the test record, add that record to the Sales Cadence to see if the automated email also fails to send for it.

When to Open a Support Case

If you're still unable to determine why the error is appearing after working through the steps above, create a support case through Salesforce Help.