Most Zaps with an AI step are built like a sandwich. A search step on top fetches the data, the AI step reads it, and a few steps underneath act on what it wrote.
You can now give an AI by Zapier step tools: app actions, knowledge sources and web browsing. The step can fetch what it needs and act on its answer, all from your prompt.
Let one AI step finish the job
You pick the apps the step can use, and it decides which tools to call and how, based on what you asked. A few prompts your teams could run:
Support. "Find this customer's latest order in Shopify, check it against our refund policy, then draft a reply with the delivery date."
Sales. "Research this lead's company on the web, find their account in HubSpot and post a short brief in #sales."
Operations. "Match this invoice to its purchase order in Airtable, then post any mismatched lines in #finance."
Take the support prompt. The step finds the order, checks it against the policy and drafts the reply with the delivery date, then passes the reply to the next step in your Zap.
Decide what the AI can touch
Looking up an order is low-risk, and changing one isn't. For any tool that creates, updates or deletes data, switch on Require approval before running.
The run then pauses before the step uses that tool, however your prompt is worded, and Zapier emails you a Review step link. Check the fields, then click Approve to continue or Reject to stop the run.
You can also pin fields down. For each field in an app action, pick Set specific field to fix the value, like the Slack channel a message posts to, or Agent determines field to let the step fill it in.
After every run, the Activity tab under the step's Run details lists each tool the step called, what it did and whether it worked.
Because tools run inside your Zap, every call uses an account you picked, keeps the fields you locked and shows up in that run's activity.
Add a tool to your AI step
Ready to try it? New AI by Zapier steps default to the Premium model, which can use tools, so you can start in the Zap editor.
Open your Zap and click the AI by Zapier step.
Expand Tools and Knowledge under Settings.
Switch on Browse the web, or click + Add tool.
Pick App action or Knowledge as the Tool type.
Choose the App, App action and Account, then click Add tool.
Click Preview and check Tools used in the results.
Note: AI by Zapier steps created before June 15, 2026 can't use tools, so add a new step to an older Zap. The guide to adding tools covers knowledge sources and every field option.
Availability
Tools work on Professional, Team and Enterprise plans, and Free plans aren't included. The step needs an Advanced or Premium model, or your own API key for one of those models.
Each run of the step and each successful tool call costs your model's tier rate: 3 tasks on Advanced, 5 on Premium. A Premium step that calls two tools uses 15 tasks, and runs pause at 75 tasks unless you raise the limit to 500.
