Zapier's AI Features: A Game-Changer for Automation

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This article is an excerpt from the book, Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI, by Kelly Goss. Strategize and create automated business workflows with Zapier, including AI-integrated functionalities such as the ChatGPT plugin and the OpenAI integration, to minimize repetitive tasks without using code

Introduction

This article delves into the exciting world of Zapier's AI-driven features, including Natural Language Action (NLA) and ChatGPT, uncovering how they can supercharge your workflow. Join us on a journey through the synergy of automation and artificial intelligence, where the tools of tomorrow are transforming the way we work today.

Technical requirements

To fully benefit from the content in this article, you will need access to a Zapier account. The Zapier Starter plan will provide you with the necessary features to effectively build and implement multistep Zaps with the features discussed in this chapter. You must join Zapier’s Early Access Program to get access to features in beta. To use the Zapier ChatGPT plugin, you must subscribe to a ChatGPT Plus account, and to use the OpenAI integration with Zapier, you must subscribe to a paid account.

Running Zap AI Actions (beta) using the Zapier Chrome extension and the ChatGPT plugin (beta)

Zapier has integrated AI-powered or AI-related features into a few Zapier built-in apps, and more developments are underway. For example, the Zapier Chrome extension built-in app now has Natural Language Action (NLA) and AI Actions (beta) features, and the Formatter by Zapier built-in app now has a transform function available named Split Text into Chunks for AI Prompt. Many of these features are currently in beta and may change. Before we explore these features, let’s cover NLA and AI Actions in more detail.

NLA and AI Actions

With the NLA API from Zapier, you can use the Zapier platform to power your own products, and it is optimized for products that use natural languages, such as chatbots, for example. You can read more about the NLA API and use cases in the article at https://zapier.com/l/naturallanguage-actions. The NLA API allows you to create AI Actions to use with Zapier’s 6,000+ app integrations and 30,000+ action events. You can read more about AI actions in the article

at https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/17013994198925-ZapierAI-actions-in-other-apps.

The Zapier Chrome extension and Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta) are two examples where NLA features and AI Actions have been introduced. We will cover these features in the next two sections.

The following Zapier help articles provide more details on creating, using, and managing AI actions:

• Create AI actions within an AI app: https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/ articles/17014153949709 • Use AI actions within an AI app: https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/ articles/17014427470477 • Manage your AI actions: https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/ articles/17014677921037
• Decide if AI should guess the value of specific fields in AI actions: https://help.zapier. com/hc/en-us/articles/17014876778381

Let’s start with the Zapier Chrome extension NLA actions (beta).

Zapier Chrome extension NLA actions (beta)

The NLA API and the use of AI Actions are the basis for the new functionality in the Zapier Chrome extension, thus allowing you to run AI-powered actions right inside your Zapier Chrome extension with simple prompts. For example, you could use this functionality to draft a reply to an email.

Using AI actions with the Zapier Chrome extension

To get started, follow the instructions in Chapter 10, Other Useful Built-In Apps by Zapier, to set up the Zapier Chrome extension built-in app ahead of using the NLA functionality. Let’s explore the next steps once this is set up:

1. Select the Zapier Chrome extension icon in your browser, then click on the Actions (beta) tab, and then click on the Set up actions button.

2. In the popup that appears, click on the Allow button to give Zapier access to AI Actions in your account.

3. In the new browser window that appears, click on Add a new action. You can also manage NLA access to your Zapier apps by clicking on the Manage access link.

4.  Set up your Zapier Chrome extension action by mapping the fields. For example, we might want to send a direct message to ourselves in Slack with a random motivational quote. The setup of the action for this example is shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 19.2 – Setting up a Zapier Chrome extension NLA action (beta)

5. Turn on your action by clicking on the Enable action button.

6. Navigate to your browser window and click on the Zapier Chrome extension icon, select your action from the dropdown, add your instructions in the Instructions field, and select the Preview button to show a preview or Run to run the action. This is shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 19.3 – Creating a Zapier Chrome extension NLA run

You can also activate field hints by selecting the Use field hints (advanced) checkbox.

The result in Slack is shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 19.4 – The result of the NLA prompt using a Zapier Chrome extension run action

Now, let’s review how to use the ChatGPT plugin (beta) feature to connect and run Zapier actions straight from your ChatGPT chatbot interface.

The Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta) – running Zap actions from ChatGPT

The development and release of the OpenAI ChatGPT chatbot have encouraged users to take advantage of AI to perform a multitude of tasks that normally would have taken hours and might require specific skills, such as copywriting. Some examples of the tasks that ChatGPT is helping users to perform are as follows:

• Writing cold outreach emails
• Drafting responses to emails
• Writing blog articles and newsletters
• Researching topics and creating presentations

You can now supercharge your newly found AI-enhanced productivity by connecting Zapier to ChatGPT with the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta) to run AI actions to perform a variety of tasks without copying and pasting text from the ChatGPT chatbot interface. For example, you could ask ChatGPT to perform the following tasks and then perform the relevant Zapier AI action:

• Write a response to an email sent by a specific person and create a draft email response in Gmail
• Write a blog article and create a new post in WordPress
• Draft a presentation and create a Google Slides presentation from a template

The article at https://zapier.com/blog/announcing-zapier-chatgpt-plugin/ presents several more use cases of the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta).

Important Note: You must be subscribed to a ChatGPT Plus account in order to use plugins.

Using the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta)

Before you can use the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta), you must connect your ChatGPT account to your Zapier account by installing the Zapier plugin in ChatGPT, and then set up your ChatGPT AI Actions. Comprehensive instructions can be found at https://zapier.com/blog/ use-the-zapier-chatgpt-plugin/ and https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/ articles/14058263394573.

To illustrate how the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta) works, we will use the example of prompting ChatGPT to write a response to an email sent by a specific person and then an associated Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta) AI action to create a draft email response in Gmail.

You can set up your ChatGPT plugin AI actions by navigating to https://nla.zapier.com/ openai/actions/, similar to as described in the Zapier Chrome extension NLA actions (beta) section. The following screenshot shows how the ChatGPT action would be set up:

Figure 19.5 – Setting up a ChatGPT action (beta)

The following screenshot shows the Please draft an email for Joe Bloggs (joe@ sabcompany.com) and let them know the report that was due Friday is ready for review today. prompt and result in ChatGPT:

Figure 19.6 – Using the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta)

Clicking on the review and confirm the draft link opens another browser window for you to choose to alter the AI action by clicking on the Edit button or process the run request by clicking on the Run button. This is shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 19.7 – Reviewing the ChatGPT plugin (beta) action result The result of running the action is shown in the following screenshot:

The action is shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 19.8 – The result of the ChatGPT plugin (beta) AI action run in Gmail

You should now have a better understanding of how and when to use the Zapier ChatGPT plugin (beta).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Zapier's integration of AI-powered features, including NLA and ChatGPT, opens a new realm of possibilities for workflow automation. With the potential to streamline tasks, generate content, and enhance productivity, these tools are transforming the way we work. As technology continues to evolve, Zapier remains at the forefront, empowering users to harness the power of AI to make their workflows more efficient and innovative than ever before. Embrace the future of automation and elevate your productivity with Zapier's AI-driven solutions.

Author Bio

Kelly Goss is a process automation specialist and company director for Solvaa, a cloud-based automation consultancy. She has worked across multiple industry verticals to provide Zapier consultancy, digital process improvement, process mapping, and process automation solutions. Kelly is a is one of less than 100 Zapier Certified Experts in the world and a speaker at multiple events related to automation.