Salesforce Marketing Cloud integration with AI Decisioning

Before you begin

Prepare data for AID

Overview

Hightouch’s AI Decisioning (AID) helps you deliver real-time, personalized messages based on live customer context and predictions. By connecting AID with Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC), you can:

Automatically trigger messages from AID Agents via SFMC Triggered Sends or Journeys
Personalize SFMC templates using dynamic variables from Hightouch—no custom code required
Centralize targeting and decision logic in Hightouch, while using SFMC to handle message delivery

Set up SFMC as a destination

Already configured SFMC? Even if you’ve previously set SFMC up as a destination, you’ll still need to apply the specific permissions and scopes outlined below.

Why these permissions matter

To send messages through SFMC using AID, Hightouch needs access to certain channels, content, and user data. These permissions allow Hightouch to:

Trigger messages via Triggered Send and Journey Builder
Read and update subscriber data
Access and personalize email, SMS, push, and in-app templates
Read Content Builder assets to list and preview your email templates

Connect SFMC and grant permissions

In SFMC:

Create an installed package in SFMC until you reach Set Server-to-Server Properties.
Under Channels, enable the permissions for each message type you want Hightouch to use (read, write, send, publish, or post).
Under Assets, select Documents and Images: Read.
Select Save.

In Hightouch:

Continue setting up the SFMC destination until you reach the Custom Scopes step.
Under Advanced permissions > Custom Scopes, paste in the following:

email_read email_write email_send documents_and_images_read accounts_read data_extensions_read data_extensions_write journeys_read journeys_write journeys_aspr journeys_execute list_and_subscribers_write list_and_subscribers_read push_read push_write push_send

Select Test Connection to verify that setup is complete.

Add channels in AI Decisioning

Once SFMC is set up as a destination, you can add channels. Channels define how Hightouch sends messages to SFMC—via Triggered Sends or Journeys.

Set up a channel

Go to AI Decisioning > Configuration > Channels.
Select Add channel.
Choose a channel type: Email, SMS, Push, or In-App.
Select Salesforce Marketing Cloud as the destination.
Select a sync type:
- Triggered send – sends a 1:1 message in real time
- Journey entry – sends as part of a journey workflow
- Data extension (advanced) – batch sends managed within SFMC
For Triggered send channels, choose an identifier that matches the Subscriber Key field in SFMC (for example, email or user ID). Hightouch sets the identifier automatically for Journey and Data extension channels.
Select Add channel, then Save changes.

Sync type comparison

The Sync Type determines how Hightouch sends messages through SFMC:

Channel	Triggered send	Journey	Data extension
Email	✅	✅	✅
SMS	❌	✅	✅
Push	✅	✅	✅
In-App	❌	✅	✅

Sync type	Best for	Setup notes
Triggered send	Real-time, event-based sends tied to a single user action	For email Triggered Sends, select a send classification from your SFMC account — for example, a Commercial classification for marketing (users can opt out) or a Transactional one for system notifications (users can’t). SFMC maps these to its Marketing and Operational types.
Journey entry	Automated, multi-step campaigns (for example, onboarding, retargeting)	Select the Synced user columns (for example, email, name, product interest) you want to sync. These fields are available inside the journey’s Data Extension for personalization or decision splits.
Data extension (advanced)	Batch sends, scheduled campaigns, and advanced setups where you need full control over delivery logic	A Data Extension is a table in SFMC that stores subscriber or message data. When you choose this sync type, Hightouch writes data directly to a Data Extension, and you manage the send logic (timing, audience filters, scheduling) within SFMC. This gives you the most flexibility but requires more setup on the SFMC side. Choose Insert to append new rows, or Mirror to keep the Data Extension in sync with your warehouse. Mirror mode may need to be enabled for your workspace — if you don’t see it.

Add messages

After you add channels in AI Decisioning, you can add messages to your agents. Each message connects an agent’s decision to a specific template in SFMC.For full details on message configuration, variants, and tags, see Messages.

Add a message from SFMC

Go to AI Decisioning > Agents and select your agent.
Open the Messages tab.
Select Add messages, then select Add messages individually.
Select your configured SFMC channel and destination tile (for example, Email - Salesforce Marketing Cloud).
Select the appropriate template or event identifier from SFMC.
Enter a message name and select Add messages.

You can repeat this process for any channel and sync type. Continue the setup process in the channel-specific sections below:

Send emails via Triggered Send
Send emails via Journey
Send emails via Data Extension
Send SMS via Journey
Send SMS via Data Extension
Send push (outbound) via Triggered Send
Send push (app inbox) via Triggered Send
Send push via Journey
Send push via Data Extension
Send in-app via Journey
Send in-app via Data Extension

Test a message

Open the message and go to the Content tab.
Under Optimized content, confirm your variants are configured. If your message uses dynamic variables, set values for testing.
In the Preview panel, verify the rendered message looks correct.
Select Send test to send the message to a test user.

Configure SFMC Triggered Sends and Journeys for AID

Before adding a message in Hightouch, you need to configure the corresponding Triggered Send or Journey in SFMC.

Send emails via Triggered Send

Add a channel with the sync type set to Triggered send.
Add a message from your SFMC email template.
Close the window that opens and return to the Messages tab.
Select the link next to Base content to go to SFMC.
This will prompt you to log in to SFMC and should open the Email Studio > Interactions page.
Select Triggered Sends.
Select the send name that corresponds with your newly created message.
Select Start/Restart.
Return to Hightouch and open your message.
In the Content tab, set the variables and select Send test.

Send emails via Journey

Add a channel with the sync type set to Journey entry.
Add a message from your SFMC email template.
In the Content tab, set the variables and select Send test.

Send emails via Data Extension

Add a channel with the sync type set to Data extension.
Choose Insert (append new rows) or Mirror (keep in sync with your warehouse).
Add a message from your SFMC email template.
In SFMC, configure your send logic (automation, query activity, or triggered automation) to read from the Data Extension that Hightouch populates.

Send SMS text messages via Journey

Add a channel with the sync type set to Journey entry.
Add a message from your SFMC SMS template.
In the Content tab, set the variables and select Send test.

Send SMS text messages via Data Extension

Add a channel with the sync type set to Data extension.
Choose Insert or Mirror mode.
Add a message from your SFMC SMS template.
In SFMC, configure your send logic to read from the Data Extension that Hightouch populates.

Send push (outbound) notifications via Triggered Send

Enable the push channel

Add a channel with the sync type set to Triggered send.

Configure your push template in SFMC

In SFMC:

Go to Mobile Studio > MobilePush.
Select Create Message.
Select the Outbound template and select Next.
Name your message and select your app.
Select API Triggered as the Send Method.
Select Alert as the Push Method and select Next.

You can only trigger Alert Only or Inbox Only messages, not Alert + Inbox.

Create the template for your push alert.
Save your message.
Select Send in the top right-hand corner.
An activation window should pop up with an API key. Copy this API key to make it easier to find the template in Hightouch in a later step.

Add a message in Hightouch

In Hightouch:

Add a message from your SFMC push template.

Preview content

Hightouch automatically creates the variables for push notification title, subtitle, and body. The values you supply here are used directly in the push notification without any need for code snippets in the template. If these are left blank, Hightouch uses the default values in the template.

Hightouch uses the override capabilities in the API. If even one variable has a value supplied, the default values in the template for all variables get overridden. Make sure to supply at least the default value for all variables, even if you only want AID to vary one.

Send tests

To test push notifications, paste the contact key you use in your SFMC contacts.
Personalization strings can be supplied directly in the values for the variables without any need for code snippets in the template.