Zapier’s New Features Will Be a Hit With Automation Enthusiasts
Zapier acts as an online hub that allows you to connect different product lines, services, and underlying data, integrating services that do not have native integrations. If, say, you want the Hue lights in your office to blink every time a request comes through Hubspot, you can do it in Zapier, even if you can’t do it in either Hubspot or the Hue app. Simply put, people have been using these platforms for years to create simple, one-step workflows at home or work. For example, if the smart camera captures something, you can send an SMS message to someone. Each of these automations is called a “Zap.”
If you haven’t signed up for Zapier in a while, the company has introduced three new ways to make a simple offer more business-friendly. A drag-and-drop visual editor allows you to create multi-step automation with conditional expressions; Zapier will now help you create databases on the Zapier platform for use in your Zaps; and the new AI engine will even create automation for you. These features offer a low-cost method of automation that goes beyond what a home user might need. They are ideal for people who are just starting their own project or small business, although you can also create wild multi-layered automation for your home and family.
Zapier now helps you create internal databases
Sheets and Canvas were introduced in late 2023, and as a Zapier user I was shocked at how advanced they were compared to the old Zapier. Zapier has always worked with databases that you had somewhere as triggers or results, in platforms like SQL, Quickbase, and Google Sheets. Tables skips a number of steps and helps you create the database on Zapier itself, and then you can decide which Zaps to use to build the data in it. You can make the database a trigger for automation. The result can also be a database: if any trigger fires elsewhere, it will add data to the database. It could even serve both purposes: if certain data comes in, change something else in the database.
One of the reasons for storing your databases on Zapier is for database security, since you know your Zaps won’t break (this happens all the time on platforms like Zapier, so I’ve never liked relying on them). Tables also invites you to the “Do It Live!” (a scary but common task used by developers when you are editing a live site instead of a standalone development site), editing this database while it is already in use without affecting your Zaps. One of the reasons why Zaps often fail is because you combine three things: trigger, result and Zapier. By removing at least one of these items, you will reduce your risk. By having the data in Zapier itself, you can also do a lot of things with the database without creating a hundred Zapiers to do it. Some suggested use cases are a lead database or incorporating approval levels into a workflow.
You can also use this to automate household tasks between a couple or family. For example, a workflow for notifications from school that allows both parents to see and sign notifications on time. You can use it to plan family dinners or pay bills. When emails arrive with the correct keywords or to the correct email address, the content is added to the database, notifications are sent, approvals are sent and finally payment is sent, all through automation, with the benefit of exceptional record keeping during tax time. .
Create multi-step workflows
Canvas, introduced at the same time, moves away from the Mad Libs style automation build we’ve seen on these platforms for years and gives you a drag-and-drop interface for creating rich, branching conditional workflows. Instead of just filling out “use this trigger” and “perform this action” fields, you can now create an entire complex workflow using drag-and-drop blocks. “If someone opens an email, send them this message. If he doesn’t open it, wait three days and then send it again” is an example of conditional logic you could use here.
Canvas is part of your database marketing automation for developing leads in spreadsheets: create email drip campaigns, notifications, and approval steps. Visually, it seems simpler and clearer than similar automation tools on Hubspot, Salesforce and Mailchimp. But then again, Canvas can also make a lot of sense for home use. Consider also a layered workflow for your smart home devices.
There’s also AI
Zapier acquired Vowel, which created AI for video conferencing, and turned it into Zapier Central , which lets you work hand-in-hand with AI bots. You submit a request in basic Chat GPT style and the bot will perform the automation for you, which should reduce manual labor. Even if there are bugs in the automation system, this gives you a great advantage. Bots can also learn from your actions.
All of these services appear to be add-ons to your basic Zapier plan, which only covers Zaps. While you can start with a free Zapier subscription and work your way up to enterprise plans, all three features I mentioned have a separate additional cost of $20 per month: Sheets, Canvas, and AI. This may seem like a lot, but when you’re thinking about just starting a business or someone with a serious side hustle, having all possible services on one relatively open platform for $80 a month is an affordable way to build a serious marketing and workflow. automation. As a home user, you likely won’t need all three add-ons, meaning that for $20 a month you can create a next-level automation system for your home and family.