---
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title: How Marketing App Extensions Work
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/pardot_extensions_overview.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_extensions_overview.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 479f55c4e1cfb8bf27ed061fe8a18c7ad7cf4b1944946ab7ba1463052108771a
description: A marketing app extension represents a third-party app that you use with prospects. You can add activity types or action types to an extension to capture external prospect activity or make external actions available to use in Engagement Studio programs.
products:
  - Marketing
  - Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
release: "264"
---
# How Marketing App Extensions Work

A marketing app extension represents a third-party app that you use with prospects. You can add activity types or action types to an extension to capture external prospect activity or make external actions available to use in Engagement Studio programs.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <span>Account Engagement <strong>Plus</strong>, <strong>Advanced</strong>, and <strong>Premium</strong> Editions</span></td></tr></tbody></table>

The marketing app extension acts as a category for activity types and action types, each representing a simple integration. An activity type receives data from an external system, while the action type sends data to an external system.

![Graphic showing the flow of data with marketing app extension components external actions and activity allowing data to pass from and to a business unit.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-mktg-pardot-264-0-0-production-enus/5fef4d4f-9a34-45c6-8cd3-e3200b9eeba8/pardot/images/pardot_extensibility_data_flow.png)

You create the extension in Marketing Setup and then add and define the activity types and action types. Work with your developer to complete the integration for each activity type and action type. After your integrations are complete and the activity types and action types are active, you can use them in automations.

## Activity Types

Add an activity type to a marketing app extension to define the kind of external prospect activity that you want to capture. After you add an activity type to an extension, your developer can help you complete the integration via the API. For example, if “Attend Webinar” is the activity type, the activity type record receives prospect activity data each time a prospect attends the webinar specified in the integration. You can use external activity data in automation rules, segmentation rules, and Engagement Studio programs. External activity data appears on the prospect list table and on the Activities tab on an individual prospect record.

## Action Types

Add an action type to enable your team to trigger that action on prospects externally, such as registering them for a webinar. An action type requires an invocable action. You can use a supported standard invocable action available in your org, install one from AppExchange, or work with your developer to create a custom action.

When you create an action type, the record generates a schema and parameters. The schema defines how the action step displays in Engagement Studio and how the action executes. Work with your developer to edit the schema fields to meet your needs. Here’s what you can do:

- Define which fields appear on an external action step in Engagement Studio.
- Map schema fields to HML merge fields so that they automatically populate when the step executes and data is passed to your external system.
- Set default values for empty fields.

After you finish setup for an action, you can use it in Engagement Studio programs.