How to Send Outlook Emails to Slack with Zapier

zapier.com > Create > Zaps

Create a new Zap

Log into zapier.com and click the orange 'Create' button in the top-left sidebar. Select 'Zaps' from the dropdown. You'll land on the Zap editor, which shows a two-panel layout: a left sidebar with step names and a right panel where you configure each step. The first step is always the trigger — this is where Zapier watches for new emails.

1. 1Click the orange 'Create' button in the top-left sidebar
2. 2Select 'Zaps' from the dropdown menu
3. 3You should now see the Zap editor with a blank trigger step labeled '1. Trigger'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Search Apps > Microsoft Outlook > New Email

Set Outlook as the trigger app

Click on the trigger step in the left panel. In the right panel, type 'Outlook' into the 'Search for apps' field. Select 'Microsoft Outlook' from the results — make sure it's the Microsoft one, not an older community-built integration. Then choose 'New Email' as the trigger event from the dropdown that appears below.

1. 1Click the blank trigger step labeled '1. Trigger'
2. 2Type 'Outlook' in the 'Search for apps' search box
3. 3Select 'Microsoft Outlook' (look for the Microsoft logo, not a third-party icon)
4. 4Click the 'Trigger Event' dropdown and select 'New Email'
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Microsoft Outlook > Sign In

Connect your Outlook account

Click 'Sign in to Microsoft Outlook' in the account connection panel. A popup window opens asking you to log into your Microsoft account and grant Zapier permission to read your mail. After approving, Zapier will return you to the editor and show your email address in the account dropdown. If you manage multiple inboxes, make sure you select the correct one here.

1. 1Click the 'Sign in to Microsoft Outlook' button
2. 2Log in with your Microsoft credentials in the popup window
3. 3Click 'Accept' on the Microsoft permissions screen
4. 4Confirm the correct email address appears in the connected account dropdown

Zap Editor > Trigger > Microsoft Outlook > Configure > Search String

Configure the trigger filters

After connecting, Zapier shows optional configuration fields for the 'New Email' trigger. You can set 'Search String' to filter by sender email, subject keyword, or folder. For example, entering 'from:[email protected]' will only trigger on emails from that address. Leave the field blank if you want all new emails to post to Slack. You can also specify a folder like 'Inbox' or a custom folder name.

1. 1In the 'Search String' field, enter a filter like 'from:[email protected]' or a subject keyword
2. 2In the 'Folder' field, type the folder name (e.g., 'Inbox') or leave blank for all folders
3. 3Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Microsoft Outlook > Test Trigger

Test the Outlook trigger

Click 'Test trigger' to pull in a recent email from your Outlook inbox that matches your filter. Zapier will fetch up to 3 recent emails and display the raw data fields — sender, subject, body, received time, and more. You need at least one test email to map fields in the Slack step. If no emails match your search string, Zapier will return an empty result and you won't be able to proceed with field mapping.

1. 1Click the 'Test trigger' button
2. 2Wait 5–10 seconds for Zapier to poll your Outlook inbox
3. 3Select one of the returned emails to use as your test record
4. 4Scroll through the returned fields to confirm you can see 'From', 'Subject', 'Body Preview', and 'Received Date/Time'

Zap Editor > + Add Action > Slack > Send Channel Message

Add Slack as the action app

Click the '+' icon below the trigger step in the left panel to add an action. Search for 'Slack' in the app search box and select it. Then choose 'Send Channel Message' as the action event. This sends a message to a Slack channel you specify — it does not DM anyone or post as a bot unless you configure that separately.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the Outlook trigger step
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the 'Search for apps' field
3. 3Select 'Slack' from the results
4. 4Click the 'Action Event' dropdown and select 'Send Channel Message'
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action > Slack > Sign In

Connect your Slack workspace

Click 'Sign in to Slack' to authorize Zapier. A popup opens asking you to allow Zapier to post messages to your Slack workspace. Choose the correct workspace from the dropdown at the top of the Slack authorization page if you're a member of multiple workspaces. After approving, your workspace name will appear in the account dropdown in Zapier.

1. 1Click the 'Sign in to Slack' button
2. 2Select the correct Slack workspace from the dropdown in the top-right of the authorization popup
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant Zapier posting permissions
4. 4Confirm the workspace name appears in the Zapier account dropdown

Zap Editor > Action > Slack > Configure > Channel + Message Text

Configure the Slack message

Now you'll map Outlook email fields into the Slack message. Set the 'Channel' dropdown to the Slack channel where notifications should post (e.g., #client-emails). In the 'Message Text' field, compose your notification using the dynamic field picker — click the '+' icon inside the text box to insert Outlook fields. Build a message that includes the sender name, sender email, subject, and body preview so your team has enough context without opening Outlook.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown and select your target Slack channel (e.g., #client-emails)
2. 2Click inside the 'Message Text' field
3. 3Type '*New Email from* ' then click the '+' icon and select 'From Name' from the Outlook trigger
4. 4Add ' (<' then insert 'From Email' field, then '>)' to make the email address a link
5. 5Add a line break, then '*Subject:* ' and insert the 'Subject' field
6. 6Add another line break, then insert 'Body Preview' for a snippet of the email content

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Slack > Configure > Bot Name + Bot Icon

Add optional message details

Scroll down in the Slack action configuration to find optional fields. Set 'Bot Name' to something like 'Outlook Alerts' so the message is clearly identifiable in Slack. You can also set a custom emoji icon (e.g., :email:) in the 'Bot Icon' field. If the email should link back to Outlook, you can add the 'Web Link' field from the Outlook trigger data to the message text. These steps are optional but make the notification more readable in a busy Slack channel.

1. 1Scroll down to the 'Bot Name' field and type 'Outlook Alerts'
2. 2In the 'Bot Icon' field, type ':email:' or choose a custom icon URL
3. 3Optionally, add the 'Web Link' Outlook field to the message text to let recipients click through to the email

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Slack > Test Action

Test the Slack action

Click 'Test action' to send a real message to your Slack channel using the test email data from step 5. Open Slack and navigate to the channel you selected. You should see the notification appear within 30 seconds. Check that the sender name, subject, and body preview all display correctly. If the message looks good, come back to Zapier and click 'Publish Zap'.

1. 1Click the 'Test action' button
2. 2Open Slack and navigate to your target channel
3. 3Confirm the test message appeared with the correct sender, subject, and body preview
4. 4Return to Zapier and review the test result panel for any errors

Zap Editor > Publish Zap > Zap Dashboard

Publish and set polling interval

Click 'Publish Zap' to turn it on. By default, Zapier polls your Outlook inbox every 15 minutes on the free plan and every 2 minutes on paid plans. You'll see the Zap status turn green in your Zap dashboard. Note the polling interval shown under the Zap name — this is the maximum delay between an email arriving and the Slack notification appearing. If you need faster alerts, upgrading to a paid Zapier plan drops the polling to 2 minutes.

1. 1Click the 'Publish Zap' button in the top-right of the editor
2. 2Confirm the Zap status switches to 'On' (green toggle) in the dashboard
3. 3Note the polling interval displayed under the Zap name
4. 4Send a real test email matching your filter and wait for the Slack notification to confirm end-to-end

This Code by Zapier step cleans up HTML from the Body Preview, formats the received timestamp into a readable local time string, and flags high-importance emails with a red circle emoji prefix. Paste this into a 'Code by Zapier' step inserted between the Outlook trigger and the Slack action. Map the output fields 'cleanPreview', 'formattedTime', and 'importanceFlag' into your Slack message text instead of the raw Outlook fields.

// Input fields from Outlook trigger:
// inputData.bodyPreview, inputData.receivedDateTime, inputData.importance, inputData.subject
const bodyPreview = inputData.bodyPreview || '';

// Input fields from Outlook trigger:
// inputData.bodyPreview, inputData.receivedDateTime, inputData.importance, inputData.subject

const bodyPreview = inputData.bodyPreview || '';
const receivedDateTime = inputData.receivedDateTime || '';
const importance = inputData.importance || 'Normal';
const subject = inputData.subject || '(No Subject)';

// Strip HTML tags from body preview
const cleanPreview = bodyPreview
  .replace(/<[^>]*>/g, '')
  .replace(/&nbsp;/g, ' ')
  .replace(/&amp;/g, '&')
  .replace(/&lt;/g, '<')
  .replace(/&gt;/g, '>')
  .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
  .trim()
  .slice(0, 200);

// Format ISO timestamp to readable string
let formattedTime = receivedDateTime;
if (receivedDateTime) {
  const d = new Date(receivedDateTime);
  const options = { month: 'short', day: 'numeric', hour: 'numeric', minute: '2-digit', hour12: true };
  formattedTime = d.toLocaleString('en-US', options);
}

// Add urgency flag for high importance emails
const importanceFlag = importance === 'High' ? '🔴 HIGH PRIORITY — ' : '';
const flaggedSubject = importanceFlag + subject;

output = [{ cleanPreview, formattedTime, flaggedSubject }];