Book Image

Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI - Second Edition

By : Kelly Goss
Book Image

Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI - Second Edition

By: Kelly Goss

Overview of this book

Organizations experience significant issues with productivity when dealing with manual and repetitive tasks. Automate it with Zapier and Generative AI, second edition has been extensively revised to help you analyze your processes and identify repetitive tasks that can be automated between 6000+ cloud-based business applications. This book includes all Zapier’s newest features such as AI functionality using the ChatGPT plugin, drafts, reordering and duplicating steps and paths, subfolders and version history, as well as built-in apps such as Looping, Sub-Zap, Interfaces, Tables, and Transfer. The chapters also contain examples covering various use cases sourced from the Zapier user community. You'll learn how to implement automation in your organization along with key principles and terminology, and take the first steps toward using Zapier. As you advance, you'll learn how to use Zapier’s native functionality and all 27 built-in apps such as Filter, Paths, Formatter, Digest, and Scheduler to enable you to build multi-step Zaps. You’ll also discover how to manage your Zapier account effectively, as well as how to troubleshoot technical problems with your workflows, and use the OpenAI integration to automate AI tasks. By the end of this book, you'll be able to automate your manual and repetitive tasks using Zapier.
Table of Contents (33 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with Zapier
7
Part 2: Customizing Your Zaps with Built-in Apps by Zapier – Functionality and Practical Uses
16
Part 3: Using the Features of the Formatter by Zapier Built-In App
22
Part 4: Getting the Most Out of Zapier

Creating a Zapier account

For you to get started with Zapier, the first thing you will need to do is create a Zapier account.

Important note

The Zapier team is very proactive in trying to create the best experience for the user and often tests different user interface (UI) changes on user groups. UI updates, new features, and changes to navigation are released regularly, so don’t be surprised if, as you work through this book, the screenshots we have used differ slightly from the current, live state.

Work through the following steps to create your new Zapier account:

  1. Open your web browser, navigate to the Zapier website home page (https://zapier.com/), and click on the Sign up button.
  2. Create a Zapier account by entering your business email address and your first and last name. Then, click Get Started Free, as shown in the following screenshot. Alternatively, you can sign up using your Google, Facebook, or Microsoft credentials:
Figure 1.2 – The sign-up area on the Zapier home page

Figure 1.2 – The sign-up area on the Zapier home page

  1. Add a password and click Get Started Free, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.3 – Filling in details on Zapier’s home page sign-up area

Figure 1.3 – Filling in details on Zapier’s home page sign-up area

  1. Complete the first step in the onboarding process by identifying your role, adding how many employees your company has, and clicking Continue, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.4 – The first step of the Zapier sign-up onboarding process

Figure 1.4 – The first step of the Zapier sign-up onboarding process

  1. Complete the second step in the onboarding process by selecting five or more apps that you use in your business so that Zapier can provide you with tailored recommendations. Then, click Finish setup, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.5 – The second step of the Zapier sign-up onboarding process

Figure 1.5 – The second step of the Zapier sign-up onboarding process

Important note

By completing this two-step onboarding process accurately, Zapier will be able to customize your user experience and provide you with tailored workflow suggestions. These recommendations will give you ideas of what types of tasks you can automate using your business apps as examples. You can choose to fill this information in as appropriate or skip these steps.

Now that you have set up your Zapier account, you’re one step closer to building your first workflow automation. In the next section, we’ll cover navigation on the Zapier platform.