At Zapier, we believe that AI can give everyone automation superpowers.
From using AI to turn your ideas into automated processes to building chatbots that can support your customers 24/7, we want to make automation more accessible for everyone—regardless of your tech skills.
And Zapier's AI products, from Chatbots to Central and beyond, aim to help you put automation and AI to good use, bringing your most innovative ideas to life.
But if you're wondering which AI tool is right for you—or when you should be using them—fear not. We've broken down your options below.
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Pull AI into your workflows
With Zapier, you can choose how AI operates for you, interacts with your data, and helps you drive your business forward.
You might want to respond to customers at scale, for example. (Hello: Chatbots.) Or perhaps you want to create assistants with access to your data that can take internal tasks off your plate. Or maybe you want smarter Zaps that solve unique business problems (over and over) with AI and automation.
Whatever your need, these are the AI products that can have a real business impact:
Build chatbots that interact with customers
Zapier Chatbots lets you create AI-powered chatbots in a matter of minutes that better serve your customers and leads.
Chatbots can draw from your own knowledge sources to answer questions, resolve issues, and capture lead information with the power of automation—freeing up your sales and support teams to do the work that matters most. (Though there are plenty of other use cases, too.)
Train your chatbots on web pages like your website, tables, or help center, and set a schedule to sync any online updates. Chatbots are the ideal option if you want to create a tailored AI experience for an external-facing audience.
Think of it this way: If you need a stand-in for support and sales chats, Zapier Chatbots is your best bet as they can work 24/7 behind the scenes.
Learn more: Check out our guide on building a custom AI-powered chatbot to power your business.
Build assistants to help you perform tasks with Zapier Central
Zapier Central is designed to help you tackle internal tasks (like specific business operations) at scale.
It's an AI workspace where you can create and train internal agents for specific tasks (by showing them the exact behaviors and data to follow) across Zapier's ecosystem of 7,000+ apps.
You can think of these assistants as mini teammates that help you do anything from analyzing your company data to reminding teams about deadlines to pulling reports—all on their own. Plus, you can use Central's Chrome extension to summarize, translate, and carry out other tasks on web page content without ever leaving the browser.
Note: While Chatbots support external audiences and are ideal for after-hours customer support or lead capture on your website, Central is more suited for teams looking to streamline their internal processes. That includes analyzing data, accessing the web for external info, and learning about leads.
Learn more: Check out our guide on Zapier Central for a more in-depth look at how it works.
Build Zaps that integrate with AI apps
You can make any Zap smarter by connecting AI tools (like Fathom) and large language models (like ChatGPT) to the apps you use every day.
Zapier has the largest AI ecosystem on the market (270+ AI apps), allowing you to build customized workflows that power your day-to-day work and move your business forward.
Imagine adding a ChatGPT step to your Zaps, for example. Whenever a content brief gets added to your project management tool, the AI step can create an outline for you, and the Zap will automatically add that to a Google Doc. Or you can generate meeting summaries with Fathom and send them to your team in Slack.
Alternatively, you can use our AI by Zapier integration to pull the power of GPT-4o mini into your Zaps (without a ChatGPT API key) to carry out similar tasks. The difference? This integration will write a detailed prompt for you—based on what you want your automation to do.
Essentially, when your AI tools and the rest of your tech stack work together, you can build better processes that free up your team to focus on more complex problems that require a human touch.
Note: While both Zaps that use AI apps and Central are great ways to automate tasks, Central allows you to chat directly with AI for recommendations, search the web, and perform instant actions.
Learn more: Discover ways to automate ChatGPT and OpenAI and get more out of your workflows. Alternatively, check out some of our most popular templates.
Use AI to help you automate workflows
So now you know which tools can help you pull AI into your work processes. But what about the AI tools within Zapier that can help you bring your automation ideas to life? Here are two AI-powered tools that can help you build workflows faster and easier—even if you have zero automation experience.
Diagram processes from start to finish with Canvas
Zapier Canvas is a diagramming tool that uses AI to help you visualize, plan, and automate business-critical processes from start to finish.
If you and your team have a process in mind, you can map it out with a flowchart and ask Canvas for suggestions on optimizing each step—even those that require human interaction. You can even use AI (through Zapier Copilot) to help you map out an idea you have from scratch by just describing the process you want.
Think of Canvas as a bird's eye view of how your workflows, apps, data, and teammates all fit under one roof. That includes any Zaps, tables, interfaces, and chatbots you create.
Canvas is for you if you want to gain clarity over key processes, identify bottlenecks, and keep your team aligned on the way your business operates.
Learn more: Check out our guide on Zapier Canvas for a more in-depth look at how it works.
Automate simple workflows with Copilot
Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that helps you build individual Zaps—inside the Zap editor. Like within Canvas, Copilot can suggest the right apps for the job, but it will also outline the trigger (the event that starts your Zap) and any subsequent actions (the events your Zap will perform).
Copilot will guide you through each step of building a Zap, like testing each step, connecting your accounts, and mapping the data fields—no automation experience required from you.
Copilot's the right tool for you if you need a shortcut to building Zaps fast without getting stuck—and can even help you build custom actions if you need more flexibility over a workflow.
Note: Both Copilot and Canvas are AI assistants that work hand-in-hand to help you build automations faster. While you can use Copilot inside Canvas to visualize entire processes, Copilot in the Zap editor helps you build individual Zaps within that process.
Learn more: Check out our guide on Zapier Copilot for a more in-depth look at how it works.
Scale your impact with AI and automation
Now that you've seen what our tools can do, it's your turn.
Whether you need to personalize emails, automate support, and more, you can choose one (or all) of our AI products to start scaling. See what AI can do for you today.
This article was originally published in May 2024 and was most recently updated in September 2024.
