If you've ever wished your AI assistant could do more than just answer questions—like actually do the work for you—you're not dreaming. You're just one MCP server away.
With Zapier MCP, your assistant can send emails, schedule meetings, and keep your life running smoothly, all with a single prompt. Think of it as giving your AI a utility belt, Batman-style—but instead of batarangs, it's connected to over 8,000 apps.
Check out this video from Brock Mesarich of AI for Non Techies to learn how to teach your AI assistant to send emails for you. Or, keep reading to see step-by-step instructions.
Steps to set up a Send Email action using Zapier MCP
In this example, we'll assume you're using Cursor as your AI code editor. It's the simplest tool to use to get started—but you can also build a Zapier MCP-powered AI assistant using other platforms like Claude Desktop and ChatGPT.
Step 1: Set up Zapier MCP in Cursor
Open the Cursor page in the Zapier MCP documentation.
Copy the provided code snippet.
In Cursor, go to Settings > MCP.
Click Add New Global MCP Server.
Paste the code snippet into the MCP configuration field.
Return to the Zapier MCP documentation and visit the MCP page.
Click Generate URL. Copy your MCP server endpoint (treat this like a password—don't share it).
Paste the server endpoint into Cursor's MCP configuration field where prompted.
Click Close to save your MCP server configuration.
Step 2: Enable the Send Email AI action
Go to the My actions page in the Zapier MCP documentation.
Click Edit actions.
In the new window, click Add a new action.
Search for and enable the "Gmail: Send Email" (or similar email-related) action.
Connect your Gmail (or other email service) account when prompted.
Choose whether to:
Let the AI guess field values or set a specific value for each field.
Require a preview before sending, or run the action on autopilot.
Click Enable action.
Step 3: Trigger the email action via AI Agent
Create a new chat in Cursor.
Prompt the agent with instructions (for example, "Send a joke to janedoe@gmail.com via email.")
The AI will process the message and call the Send Email action via MCP.
Check your email inbox to confirm the action worked.
Learn more about setting up and using Zapier MCP in our feature guide.
Want a no-code option? Start with Zapier Agents.
Because Zapier can already trigger actions across thousands of apps, you can enable your AI assistant to do nearly anything you can imagine. But while the Zapier MCP is less technically demanding than building your own system from scratch, it may still be a little complicated for non-technical users.
If you're not ready to dive into the deep end of MCP but still want to pull the power of AI into your work, try Zapier Agents instead.
