Companion videos

Your first no-code automation — companion videos

The article walks you through building your first Zap that uses ChatGPT to handle a small piece of recurring work — turning a form submission, an email, or a spreadsheet row into something useful without you sitting there. The two picks below give you the underlying Zapier mechanics first, then the current AI-agent version of the same pattern — an assistant that watches a trigger and does the work itself.

Primary pick

29:33

How to use Zapier: Basics you need to know

Tom Nassr | XRAY

Walks through what a Zap actually is, how triggers and actions fit together, and how to build a working Google Sheets → Slack automation from scratch — exactly the mental model you need before adding AI to the mix. Also tours Zapier Tables, Interfaces, and AI features so you have a sense of what's in the box.

What you should get from this: Understand triggers, actions and simple automation flow before adding AI to a business process.

Watch or know first: None — no automation experience assumed.

AI Expert note: Mostly pre-AI mechanics by design: the article wants the trigger/action model in your head before you add ChatGPT, and this is that foundation — the Tables and Interfaces tour is optional.

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Also worth watching

12:29

Automate Everything with Zapier AI Agents (Step-by-Step Beginner Guide)

Kevin Stratvert

Builds an agent from scratch that checks overdue invoices in Google Sheets and sends Gmail reminders — the same "AI reads a thing, then does a thing" shape as the article's Gmail → AI → Slack build. Triggers, schedules, tools, a test run against real data, and the activity history all get shown, which is exactly the checklist the article wants you to walk before trusting any automation.

What you should get from this: Decide when an AI agent should own the trigger, reasoning and action instead of a plain Zap with an AI step.

Watch or know first: Know Zapier's trigger/action model and have one low-risk workflow in mind.

AI Expert note: Zapier sponsors this video, so plan limits get a friendly framing — check current pricing yourself. Keep the habit the video models: review the agent's activity history before letting it touch a real inbox.

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