Connecting AI Tools Together

Your Tools Should Talk to Each Other

Using AI tools in isolation is good. Connecting them to automate entire workflows is transformative. This module teaches tool integration fundamentals.

Integration Platforms Overview

Zapier (Easiest, most beginner-friendly)

• 6000+ app integrations
• No-code workflow builder
• Free tier: 100 tasks/month
• Best for: Simple automations

Make (formerly Integromat) (More powerful)

• Visual workflow builder
• Better for complex logic
• Free tier: 1000 operations/month
• Best for: Multi-step workflows with branching

n8n (Open source, self-hosted)

• Unlimited automations
• Requires technical setup
• Best for: Developers, privacy-focused

IFTTT (Simple, consumer-focused)

• Consumer apps mainly
• Very simple if-this-then-that logic
• Best for: Personal automations

This module focuses on Zapier (easiest to start)

Zapier Basics

Key concepts:

Trigger: Event that starts automation

• Example: "New email in Gmail"
• Example: "Form submitted in Google Forms"

Action: What happens when triggered

• Example: "Create task in Todoist"
• Example: "Send message in Slack"

Zap: Trigger + Action(s) = Automation workflow

Your First Integration

Email to Task Automation:

Trigger: New starred email in Gmail
Action 1: Create ChatGPT summary
Action 2: Add task to project management tool

Setup (10 minutes):

1. Sign up for Zapier
2. Create new Zap
3. Choose trigger: Gmail → "New Starred Email"
4. Connect Gmail account
5. Test trigger (star an email)
6. Add action: OpenAI → "Send Prompt"
7. Write prompt: "Summarize this email and extract action items: [Email body]"
8. Add action: Todoist/Asana → "Create Task"
9. Map fields: Title = AI summary, Notes = Action items
10. Test and turn on

Now starring any email auto-creates a task with AI summary.

Common Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: Capture → Process → Store

Example: Meeting notes workflow

• Trigger: New recording in Otter.ai
• Action 1: Transcribe and summarize (Otter)
• Action 2: Extract action items (ChatGPT)
• Action 3: Save to Notion database
• Action 4: Create calendar events for follow-ups

Pattern 2: Monitor → Alert → Act

Example: Competitor monitoring

• Trigger: RSS feed update (competitor blog)
• Action 1: Summarize with ChatGPT
• Action 2: Analyze for threats/opportunities (ChatGPT)
• Action 3: Send Slack notification if important
• Action 4: Add to competitive intelligence database

Pattern 3: Collect → Synthesize → Distribute

Example: Weekly team digest

• Trigger: Every Friday 9am (Schedule)
• Action 1: Pull data from project management tool
• Action 2: Summarize with ChatGPT
• Action 3: Format as newsletter
• Action 4: Email to team

Integrating ChatGPT into Workflows

OpenAI integration in Zapier:

Use cases:

• Summarize emails, documents, meeting notes
• Extract structured data from unstructured text
• Draft responses based on context
• Translate content
• Analyze sentiment
• Generate reports from data

Example: Customer inquiry automation

1. Trigger: New support email
2. ChatGPT: Categorize urgency (high/medium/low)
3. ChatGPT: Draft initial response
4. Slack: Notify if high urgency
5. Email: Send draft to support team for review
6. CRM: Log interaction

Multi-Step Workflows

Complex example: Content pipeline

Step 1: Idea capture

• Trigger: New row in "Content Ideas" spreadsheet
• Action: Send Slack notification to content team

Step 2: Research

• Trigger: Status changed to "Research"
• Action 1: ChatGPT searches for angles and data points
• Action 2: Save research to Google Doc
• Action 3: Update status to "Ready to Write"

Step 3: Drafting

• Trigger: Status "Ready to Write"
• Action 1: Create outline with ChatGPT
• Action 2: Create Google Doc from template
• Action 3: Assign to writer in project tool

Step 4: Editing

• Trigger: Draft submitted
• Action 1: Run through Grammarly API
• Action 2: Generate SEO suggestions (ChatGPT)
• Action 3: Send to editor for review

Step 5: Publishing

• Trigger: Status "Approved"
• Action 1: Format for CMS
• Action 2: Schedule publication
• Action 3: Create social media posts (ChatGPT)
• Action 4: Add to content calendar

Entire pipeline automated with handoffs at key decision points.

Data Transformation

Common transformations:

Formatting:

• Date/time conversions
• Text case changes
• Number formatting

Parsing:

• Extract email from text
• Split full name into first/last
• Parse addresses

Enrichment:

• Add AI-generated summaries
• Lookup data from databases
• Append metadata

Example: Form to CRM

• Form submission → Parse data → Enrich with AI insights → Create CRM contact → Send welcome email → Add to nurture campaign

Error Handling

Common issues:

API rate limits:

• OpenAI: 3 requests/min on free tier
• Solution: Add delays between steps or upgrade plan

Missing data:

• Field expected but not provided
• Solution: Add "Only continue if..." filter
• Solution: Provide fallback values

Authentication failures:

• App connections expire
• Solution: Re-authenticate regularly
• Solution: Set up monitoring for failed Zaps

Quota limits:

• Free tier runs out
• Solution: Monitor usage
• Solution: Optimize to reduce unnecessary runs

Best Practices

Start simple:

• 2-step Zaps first
• Add complexity gradually
• Test each step before adding next

Use filters:

• "Only continue if [condition]"
• Prevents unnecessary actions
• Saves on quotas

Name clearly:

• Bad: "Zap 1", "Zap 2"
• Good: "Email→Task", "Form→CRM→Slack"

Document your Zaps:

• Keep a list of active automations
• Note what triggers them
• Makes troubleshooting easier

Monitor regularly:

• Check Zap history weekly
• Fix failures promptly
• Disable unused Zaps

Real-World Integration Examples

Example 1: Client onboarding

• Trigger: New client in CRM
• Create folder structure (Google Drive)
• Generate onboarding doc from template (ChatGPT)
• Schedule kickoff meeting (Calendar)
• Send welcome email with doc (Gmail)
• Create project in PM tool
• Notify team (Slack)

Example 2: Invoice workflow

• Trigger: Project marked complete
• Calculate hours from time tracking
• Generate invoice (ChatGPT formats)
• Create invoice in accounting software
• Email client
• Set reminder for payment (Calendar)

Example 3: Social media pipeline

• Trigger: New blog post published
• Extract key points (ChatGPT)
• Generate Twitter thread (ChatGPT)
• Generate LinkedIn post (ChatGPT)
• Generate Instagram caption (ChatGPT)
• Schedule across platforms (Buffer/Hootsuite)
• Add to analytics tracking

Advanced: Webhooks

For developers or advanced users:

Webhooks = Real-time data transfer between apps

Use cases:

• Custom app integrations
• Real-time notifications
• Bi-directional syncing

Example:

• Your app → Webhook → Zapier → ChatGPT → Your app
• Enables custom AI features without building from scratch

Cost Optimization

Zapier pricing:

• Free: 100 tasks/month
• Starter ($20/mo): 750 tasks
• Professional ($50/mo): 2000 tasks

How to stay in free tier:

• Use filters to prevent unnecessary runs
• Batch operations where possible
• Consolidate similar Zaps
• Schedule instead of real-time when acceptable

Example:
Instead of: Trigger on every new email (100s/day)
Do: Schedule daily digest at 9am (1/day)

Troubleshooting Checklist

Zap not triggering:

• Trigger app connected?
• Trigger condition met?
• Test trigger shows recent data?

Action failing:

• Action app connected?
• Required fields filled?
• Data format correct?
• API quota remaining?

Unexpected results:

• Check Zap history for actual data
• Test each step individually
• Verify filter logic