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What is Zapier
Zapier is a no-code automation provider. It lets you connect your web apps together. So, when an event happens in one app, automatic actions occur in other apps. For example, you could build a workflow, or Zap, that starts whenever a file is uploaded to a specific Google Drive folder. Then, the Zap sends the doc to an AI tool for summary. Finally, the summary is sent to you in a Slack message. That’s the example we’re going to build.
Apps Zapier connects to
Even if you don’t actually use these specific apps, that’s totally okay. These same techniques will work for the 8,000 plus other apps that Zapier says it connects to, apps like HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, Shopify, Mailchimp, and QuickBooks, just to name a few. Zapier also does a bunch of other things like AI automation and AI agents, but this guide focuses on workflow automation, the things Zapier calls Zaps.
Test data and trigger
Before building anything, make sure you have test data you can use. In this case, we need to have a file like this ready to go in Drive. Every Zap needs to start with a trigger. That’s the event that prompts the automation to run. For us, that will be in Google Drive. And the specific event will be new file in folder. For nearly every app you use in Zapier, you’ll need to connect your own account. I’ve already connected my Google Drive account. When you configure a trigger, you just need to tell the trigger what data it’s looking for. With Google Drive, that means telling it the drive and folder to watch.
Give your trigger a test
It should find the test data you made earlier. You can click on the arrow to see the details of the data retrieved. There’s a whole bunch of data points here, and you can use all of them as you build your Zap. Think of these as variables or placeholders. When we reference this title variable anywhere in future steps in the Zap, it will fill in the title of whichever Google Doc triggered the automation that time, not just the doc we’re testing with.
Add a Slack action
Sending a Slack alert shows how these variables work. We’ll go back and add the AI summary later, since that app works pretty differently from most other apps in Zapier. I’ll choose Slack as the app and send channel message as the action event. Again, you’ll need to have a Slack account connected. Now, we can configure the action. Like most actions in Zapier, you’ll see several straightforward fields with tooltips that explain what data you need to provide. For this step, we just need to pick the channel to send the message to. And we need to compose the message.
Insert variables
In our message, and in pretty much any text field in Zapier, we can insert variables from earlier steps by clicking on the plus button or pressing the forward slash on your keyboard. So, I’ll add the title of the Google Doc. I’ll also use this alternate link variable to add a link directly to the doc in Drive. By the way, this formatting I’m using is just some simple Slack syntax that will make the titles bold and embed the long URL into shorter text. You can also configure some optional settings like adding a bot name and icon for the message.
Testing actions
Once your message is all set, run a test. Testing actions in Zapier actually performs those actions. So, we can check Slack to see the message. And here it is, with an actual title and link filled in. When I click on the link, it takes me directly to the doc. With a trigger and action, we could finish this Zap and turn it on. But I want to add an AI summary to this message.
Add an AI action
Let’s go back and add an action after the trigger and before our Slack message. We’re going to use AI by Zapier. In this demo, it lets us send AI prompts for free, and we don’t even need to connect an OpenAI account to do it. Like I said, it’s a bit different from most Zapier apps. In the input fields, I’m going to add a PDF export of our Google Doc. That’s this file PDF variable here. And I’ll make sure to note that it’s a file and not text or image content. Then I’ll write a simple prompt asking for a brief summary of the attached doc. And that’s all I really need to do here.
Generate a preview
I’ll generate a preview. The AI summary looks pretty good. And now we can use this summary in future steps. So I’ll go back to the Slack step and insert this output variable into the message. Then I’ll test it once more. And now the message includes the AI summary as well.
Add a filter
This Zap is looking good. But Zaps aren’t limited to just connecting your apps. There are also several options for flow control, like loops, paths, and filters. I’ll add a filter after the trigger that checks the file type of the new file. Since this automation really only works for Google Docs, adding this filter will make sure it doesn’t run for images or slide decks or anything other than a doc. The filter will check the MIME type field for the string of text that refers to a Google Doc. The currently selected file passes the filter since it is a Google Doc.
Testing the filter
I’m going to load in a PNG image in the trigger test data. When I test the filter again, Zapier says it wouldn’t proceed because it’s not the right file type. This Zap is all set, so I can turn it on and publish it.
Free plan
Note that as of this walkthrough, if you’re on a free plan, you won’t be able to publish a multi-step Zap like this. You’ll be able to build it and test it, but you won’t be able to turn it on and use it.
Learn more about using Zapier
That covers the basics of using Zapier. You should now know how to create a Zap with a trigger, a couple of actions, and a filter. If you’d like to learn more, you can check out the in-depth tutorials on our blog at x-ray.te for one-on-one expert support. You can also go to hourly.xray.te to schedule a collaborative building session with one of our vetted low code engineers. Learning by doing is often the best way to learn.
