Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / HubSpot Sales Extension sidebar cards: leads and agent work in your inbox | Shipped Aug 2026
Transcript
- Dana (AI host): Your reps live in Gmail and Outlook. Dana (AI host): So why should they leave the inbox to check a lead stage, or see what the Prospecting Agent drafted? Rob (AI host): In August 2026, HubSpot added a Leads card and a Prospecting Agent card to the Sales Extension sidebar. Dana (AI host): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped. Let's go. Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies. Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI. Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you. Rob (AI host): Hey there, welcome in! I'm Rob. Rob (AI host): Dana and I are AI hosts, so our inbox is, honestly, very calm. Dana (AI host): Must be nice. Okay, set the scene. What's the sidebar? Rob (AI host): The HubSpot Sales extension, or add in. Rob (AI host): HubSpot says it shows CRM cards in a sidebar when you're working in Gmail, Outlook, and across the web. Dana (AI host): And what shipped in August? Rob (AI host): Two new cards, per our research, both on August 14, 2026. First, the Leads card. Rob (AI host): Reps see lead stage and lead details right in the email or prospecting view, without opening the CRM. Dana (AI host): Why does that matter? Rob (AI host): Our research says reps were opening a new tab just to check where a lead stood. Rob (AI host): Is this a fresh inquiry, a stalled lead, or someone already handed off? Dana (AI host): Okay. Second card? Rob (AI host): The Prospecting Agent card. Our research says it shows three things for a contact or company. Rob (AI host): Outreach the agent drafted for the rep to review, suggested contacts at the same company, and signals the agent surfaced. Dana (AI host): Signals like what? Rob (AI host): Our research lists intent data, job changes, and engagement patterns. Dana (AI host): Quick refresher. What does the Prospecting Agent do? Rob (AI host): HubSpot's help page says it finds good fit companies based on real world triggers, sources the right contacts there, and generates personalized outreach from CRM data and fresh signals. Dana (AI host): So the card is the agent's to do list, in your inbox. Rob (AI host): That's a fair way to put it. Dana (AI host): And the why? Rob (AI host): Our research put it simply. Rob (AI host): The agent was doing real work, but reps weren't seeing it, because it lived somewhere they weren't looking. Dana (AI host): Ha. Classic. Okay, the two views. Rob (AI host): HubSpot's help page says Email is the cards you see in Gmail or Outlook. Rob (AI host): Prospecting is the cards you see when using the extension across the web. Dana (AI host): And it works on contacts and companies? Rob (AI host): Our research says both. Rob (AI host): The suggested contacts piece is most useful on a company, for account based selling. Dana (AI host): Okay, now the catch. There's always a catch. Rob (AI host): There is. In August, both cards were in beta. Rob (AI host): And our research says joining the beta reset your current sidebar setup, so custom card layouts like About This Contact had to be rebuilt. Dana (AI host): Ouch. Was that permanent? Rob (AI host): Our research says HubSpot planned to carry existing setups over automatically when the full migration finished. Dana (AI host): Okay. Quick break, then who gets this, and what HubSpot's help page says today. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): A sidebar card only helps if the properties behind it are clean. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): A lead stage nobody updates is just a confident wrong answer in the inbox. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): At Sidekick, we fix what's broken and build what's missing, and we train your humans to run it. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Want your sales sidebar showing what your reps actually need? George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Book a free strategy call at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): And we're back. Who gets these cards? Rob (AI host): Here's a conflict. Our Leads card article said all hubs and all tiers. Rob (AI host): Our Prospecting Agent card article said Sales Hub Starter, Professional, or Enterprise. Dana (AI host): So which is right? Rob (AI host): Probably both, for different reasons. HubSpot's help page lists sidebar customization for all products and plans. Rob (AI host): But the Prospecting Agent itself lists Starter, Professional, or Enterprise hubs, or Smart CRM Professional or Enterprise, and it needs HubSpot Credits. Dana (AI host): How do the credits work? Rob (AI host): HubSpot says the agent uses credits when it generates personalized email outreach for each lead, whether the agent recommended the lead or someone enrolled it manually. Dana (AI host): So the card is only useful if the agent's running. Rob (AI host): That's our read. We didn't find a HubSpot page naming the card's own tier. Dana (AI host): Got it. Who can set it up? Rob (AI host): Another clarification. Our research said admin only. Rob (AI host): HubSpot's help page says Super Admin permissions are required to customize Sales views. Dana (AI host): So not every admin. Rob (AI host): Right. And team views, for specific users, need a Professional or Enterprise subscription. Dana (AI host): And the steps? Rob (AI host): Settings, General, the Email tab, Extension settings, then Customize Sales Extension Views. Rob (AI host): Pick the object, pick Email or Prospecting, then add, remove, or drag cards, and save. Dana (AI host): And if the card I want isn't there? Rob (AI host): The help page shows two tabs. Rob (AI host): Card library, to add an existing card, and Create card, to build a new one. Rob (AI host): And you're editing the default view for everyone in the account, unless you use team views. Dana (AI host): Anything new since August? Rob (AI host): The help page, updated October 7, 2026, also shows conditional logic. Rob (AI host): Show or hide a card based on a property value. Dana (AI host): Oh, nice. So hide the Leads card when there's no lead. Rob (AI host): Hypothetically, sure. That's our example, not HubSpot's. Dana (AI host): And is it still beta? Rob (AI host): We can't say. Rob (AI host): The help page doesn't use the word beta, and we didn't find an announcement that the beta or the migration finished. Dana (AI host): Okay. Monday. Three things. Rob (AI host): One. Before anyone opts in, screenshot your current sidebar layout, in case it resets. Dana (AI host): Two? Rob (AI host): Two. Rob (AI host): Check whether your team runs the Prospecting Agent, and whether you have the credits for it. Dana (AI host): And three? Rob (AI host): Three. Have a Super Admin add the Leads card near the top of the Email view. Dana (AI host): Screenshot, check, add. Got it. Dana (AI host): That's our show. Dana (AI host): Two new sidebar cards in August 2026, one for leads and one for the Prospecting Agent, right in the inbox. Rob (AI host): Our full research is on the HubSpot Updates page at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): Thanks for listening to Sidekick's What Just Shipped. Rob (AI host): See you next update. Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music. Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.