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How to use Zapier to automate Notion

Turn your Notion workspace into the perfect information hub

By Krystina Martinez · September 9, 2024
The logos for Notion and Zapier

It's easy for tasks to slip through the cracks when you're managing projects across different platforms. Even if you're a Notion user—one of our favorite project management apps—you can't fully streamline the way you work without bringing all your apps together under one roof. 

That's where Zapier comes in. With our Zaps (what we call our automated workflows) you can connect Notion to the rest of your techstack and automate your project management. From sending team notifications for new projects to tracking incomplete tasks, here's how to use our Notion integration to power your work—automatically.

You'll need a Zapier account to use the workflows in this piece. If you don't have an account yet, it's free to get started.

Table of contents

  • How the integration works

  • Connect Zapier to your Notion workspace

  • Popular ways to automate Notion

How the Zapier Notion integration works

Triggers

The Notion integration has three available triggers—the events that can start a Zap.

  • New Database Item: You can have Zapier start an automated workflow whenever there's a new database item in your Notion workspace. You can specify which database or property Zapier should watch to start your Zap.

  • Updated Database Item: Zapier will trigger a workflow whenever an item in a selected database in your Notion workspace is updated.

  • Updated Page: Zapier will trigger a workflow whenever a page in your Notion workspace is updated.

Searches

There are three searches available for the Notion integration:

  • Find Database Item: Zapier will look for an existing database item in your workspace.  You can add additional steps in your Zap to make a change to the database item or send information from your database item elsewhere.

  • Find or Create Database Item: This will locate an existing database item in your Notion workspace. If it doesn't exist, Zapier will create a new database item if you check the box. 

  • Find Page (by title): Zapier will search for a page in your Notion workspace by its available title.

Check out our guide on how to get the most out of Zapier search steps.

Actions

The Notion integration also has nine actions—the event your automated workflow performs in Notion. You can search for an item in a Notion database by property. You could use a trigger within Notion, say if you want a new item in one place to update an item somewhere else. Or you can set your trigger to be something outside Notion, like closing a new deal in your CRM or completing a task in a to-do list.

  • Create Database Item: This action will create a new database item in your Notion workspace. For example, if you want an item created in Notion whenever you land a new client.

  • Update Database Item: This changes an existing database item in your Notion workspace. This action works best when you use the Find Database Item search before it. Check out our feature guide on search steps to learn how. 

  • Create Page: This action will create a page within a specified page. You can include markdown in the body of the page too.

  • Add Content to Page: This action will add content directly to a specific page of your choosing in your Notion workspace.

  • Retrieve a Page: This action retrieves a specific page from Notion using its ID. The page ID can be a normal page or a database item.

  • Retrieve Database: This action retrieves a database in Notion using the ID of the database.

  • Retrieve Block Children: This action retrieves the children of a block, with any text rendered as Markdown.

  • Custom Actions (Beta): This action allows you to create a custom action using AI. 

  • API Request (Beta): This is an advanced action that allows you to make a raw HTTP request that includes this integration's authentication.

Did you know? You can extract content from Notion pages, such as lists, text, images, quotes, and other block types, and send them elsewhere in Markdown. For example, you might generate reports by extracting data from Notion and sending it as an email. Or you might update to-do lists in Notion with information from another project management app.

How to connect Zapier to your Notion workspace

Check your Notion account permissions

Before you try to connect Zapier to your Notion account, make sure you're a workspace owner in your workspace. You can check this by clicking on Settings & Members in the left-hand navigation window.

Click on "Settings & members" in the left-hand menu in your Notion workspace.

Click on the Members tab, where you can see whether you have admin-level access in your workspace.

In the "Members" tab, you can view and adjust permissions for the members in your Notion workspace.

If you don't, reach out to your workspace owner, who can change your access level.

Connect Notion to Zapier

Whenever you're ready to connect Notion in the Zapier editor, search for and select Notion as your app, then select the trigger, action, or search. Click Continue.

In the Zap editor, select Notion as the app and the event trigger or action you want it to perform.

You'll then be prompted to connect your Notion account. Click + Connect a new account. Zapier will prompt you to grant access to your workspace. Click Select pages.

A pop-up window in the Zap editor will request access to your Notion workspace. It will list the permissions you're granting Zapier.

For each app you connect, Zapier will ask for a general set of permissions which allows you to be flexible with your Zaps. The only actions Zapier takes on your app accounts are those a given Zap needs to accomplish what you've set up.

Select the Notion pages you want Zapier to access, then click Allow access.

Click on the checkboxes next to the Notion pages you want Zapier to access. You can also give Zapier access to the entire workspace.

You've now connected your Notion account to Zapier! 

Zapier will also appear in your list of connections within your Notion settings. Click on the My Connections tab to see the list of apps you've connected to your workspace.

The Connections tab in Notion will show the list of apps connected to your workspace, as well as the users who can access the connection.

Popular ways to use Notion with Zapier 

Notion combines the best of your favorite productivity tools into one app, but sometimes you still need information from outside apps. Zapier can help you turn your Notion workspace into a central hub for your most important information. Here are a few ideas to start automating:

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Keep up with your calendar

It can be tough to keep up with the daily demands of project deadlines, meetings, client calls, or anything else that relies on a calendar. Luckily, Notion allows you to visualize database items in a calendar or a timeline. 

If you're already using another calendar app to manage important dates, you can use a Zap to automatically send those calendar events to Notion. Get started with these workflows:

Add new Google Calendar events to databases in Notion

Add new Google Calendar events to databases in Notion
  • Google Calendar logo
  • Notion logo
Google Calendar + Notion

Add new Microsoft Outlook calendar events to Notion databases

Add new Microsoft Outlook calendar events to Notion databases
  • Microsoft Outlook logo
  • Notion logo
Microsoft Outlook + Notion

Add new Calendly invitees to Notion databases

Add new Calendly invitees to Notion databases
  • Calendly logo
  • Notion logo
Calendly + Notion

Want to set aside time on your calendar to tackle your Notion items? Blocking out your work calendar allows you to fully focus on specific projects and tasks. (Plus, your team will know not to book meetings during that time.)

With these Zaps, any time a new item is added to your Notion workspace, Zapier will automatically create detailed (or simple) events in your calendar, so you can stay on top of your most important work.

Generate detailed events in Google Calendar from new Notion database items

Generate detailed events in Google Calendar from new Notion database items
  • Notion logo
  • Google Calendar logo
Notion + Google Calendar

Quick add events to Google Calendar when new items are added to Notion databases

Quick add events to Google Calendar when new items are added to Notion databases
  • Notion logo
  • Google Calendar logo
Notion + Google Calendar

Notion uses the YYYY-MM-DD format for dates in Zaps. If your calendar app doesn't use that format,  you can add a Formatter step—available on our paid plans—to change the date format to use in Notion.

Read more: Learn step-by-step how to integrate Notion and Google Calendar.

Stay on top of changes in Notion

When you're working collaboratively in a shared workspace, it's important for your team to know when something major has changed in your project plan. 

Instead of relying on a human to notify the team—or trying to spot the change on your own—these Zaps will automatically notify you in a team chat app whenever there's a new database item in Notion.

Send Slack messages for new Notion database items

Send Slack messages for new Notion database items
  • Notion logo
  • Slack logo
Notion + Slack

Send channel messages in Discord with new database items in Notion

Send channel messages in Discord with new database items in Notion
  • Notion logo
  • Discord logo
Notion + Discord

Send Notion database items to Microsoft Teams

Send Notion database items to Microsoft Teams
  • Notion logo
  • Microsoft Teams logo
Notion + Microsoft Teams

If you're working with external stakeholders, they'll also need to be notified of major changes. Instead of giving them access to your workspace, you can use an automated workflow to draft an email for you. 

Send emails for new items in Notion databases

Send emails for new items in Notion databases
  • Notion logo
  • Email by Zapier logo
Notion + Email by Zapier

Produce draft emails in Gmail with new items in Notion databases

Produce draft emails in Gmail with new items in Notion databases
  • Notion logo
  • Gmail logo
Notion + Gmail

Send emails in Microsoft Outlook for new items in Notion databases

Send emails in Microsoft Outlook for new items in Notion databases
  • Notion logo
  • Microsoft Outlook logo
Notion + Microsoft Outlook

Learn more: How to get Slack notifications for new Notion database items.

Track tasks and projects

There is no shortage of project management and task apps to choose from. However, the one-size-fits-most approach of these tools might not jive with what you need to track work.  

Notion allows you to customize and track your to-dos according to your style, whether it's a list of checkboxes or you need multiple deadlines for a single task. But if your team manages projects in another app, you can create an automated workflow to add new tasks to your Notion workspace. 

Get started with the Zaps below:

Save new incomplete Todoist tasks in Notion databases

Save new incomplete Todoist tasks in Notion databases
  • Todoist logo
  • Notion logo
Todoist + Notion

Create Notion items from new TickTick tasks

Create Notion items from new TickTick tasks
  • TickTick logo
  • Notion logo
TickTick + Notion

Save new tasks in Google Tasks in Notion databases

Save new tasks in Google Tasks in Notion databases
  • Google Tasks logo
  • Notion logo
Google Tasks + Notion

Add new tasks in Asana projects to Notion databases

Add new tasks in Asana projects to Notion databases
  • Asana logo
  • Notion logo
Asana + Notion

Want to make sure you're also recording updates across both of your project management apps? Use these Zaps to automatically search for the specific item in Notion and upload any changes to the tasks. That way, you're always on the same page across all your apps. 

Find and update Notion databases when tasks in Asana are updated

Find and update Notion databases when tasks in Asana are updated
  • Asana logo
  • Notion logo
Asana + Notion

Update Notion databases when Trello cards are updated

Update Notion databases when Trello cards are updated
  • Trello logo
  • Notion logo
Trello + Notion

Turn casual asks into Notion tasks

Do people ask you to do things in your team chat app or via email? If so, you'll want an easy way to send those requests straight to Notion—without the hassle of copying and pasting. 

These Zaps can help. Any time you add a reaction to a message in Slack or receive an email you've labeled as "to-do", Zapier will send the contents of the message straight to Notion. If you want to organize that information more effectively, you can even add an AI step to extract the request and log it according to a template. 

Add items to databases in Notion with new Slack reactions

Add items to databases in Notion with new Slack reactions
  • Slack logo
  • Notion logo
Slack + Notion

Add labeled Gmail emails to Notion

Add labeled Gmail emails to Notion
  • Gmail logo
  • Notion logo
Gmail + Notion

Create items in Notion databases with new inbound emails

Create items in Notion databases with new inbound emails
  • Email by Zapier logo
  • Notion logo
Email by Zapier + Notion

Organize customer information

Whether you're trying to organize form submissions, spreadsheets, or invite attendees, it can be helpful to have that information in the same space where you do most of your planning. These Zaps will automatically create Notion database items for you, so you can keep tabs on your customers, without wasting time manually importing information.

Add items to databases in Notion with new Slack reactions

Add items to databases in Notion with new Slack reactions
  • Slack logo
  • Notion logo
Slack + Notion

Generate items in Notion databases with new triggers of Zapier Chrome extension

Generate items in Notion databases with new triggers of Zapier Chrome extension
  • Zapier Chrome extension logo
  • Notion logo
Zapier Chrome extension + Notion

Save new items in RSS feeds as database items in Notion

Save new items in RSS feeds as database items in Notion
  • RSS by Zapier logo
  • Notion logo
RSS by Zapier + Notion

Store new Pocket items in databases in Notion

Store new Pocket items in databases in Notion
  • Pocket logo
  • Notion logo
Pocket + Notion

Log saved Slack messages in Notion databases

Log saved Slack messages in Notion databases
  • Slack logo
  • Notion logo
Slack + Notion

Log online research and articles

Whether you're tracking brand mentions online, your published articles, or you just want to save interesting articles in one place, Notion is a great tool for logging your favorite links. Skip the copy-and-paste routine with these Zaps, which will automatically create Notion database items for you.  

Generate items in Notion databases with new triggers of Zapier Chrome extension

Generate items in Notion databases with new triggers of Zapier Chrome extension
  • Zapier Chrome extension logo
  • Notion logo
Zapier Chrome extension + Notion

Save new items in RSS feeds as database items in Notion

Save new items in RSS feeds as database items in Notion
  • RSS by Zapier logo
  • Notion logo
RSS by Zapier + Notion

Store new Pocket items in databases in Notion

Store new Pocket items in databases in Notion
  • Pocket logo
  • Notion logo
Pocket + Notion

Take your productivity to the next level with Notion and Zapier

This is just the start of all that you can do with Notion and Zapier. Zapier supports thousands of apps, so you automate almost any task at work. Create your Zap now and see what you can do.

Zapier is the leader in workflow automation—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack. Learn more.

Related reading:
  • How to automatically add Google Tasks to a Notion database

  • How to add new Google Calendar events to Notion

  • How to integrate Notion with Slack

  • How to automate recurring tasks in Notion

  • Create Notion tasks from Slack with ChatGPT and Zapier

This article was originally published in May 2021 and was most recently updated in September 2024 by Elena Alston.

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'