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The future of automation is here—and it's no longer just for programmers

How Zapier's new program works with automation enthusiasts to build the next generation of no-code, automation-first tools

By Ryan Anderson · October 20, 2022

We all know how incredible it feels to build something. Whether it's your first home-cooked meal or a new business venture—the feeling of creating something out of nothing is magical. 

And the same goes for automation. 

When you use Zapier's no-code automation tools, it's to accomplish more than just time savings and productivity boosts. It's to unlock a superpower that you wouldn't have otherwise. Zapier allows you to build critical solutions that automate your business. 

This made us wonder: If the feeling of building is so magical, why aren't we all automating more? Because automation wasn't designed for everyone—it was designed for programmers. 

Let's take a quick look at how we got here. 

Barriers to automation 

For the past 50 years, a lot of energy and investment has gone into building technical tools for technical people, including those who know how to code. But not everyone has the time, skillset, or budget to learn how to code, build, or maintain custom-coded solutions. Especially at scale across a business or an organization. 

That's not to say there isn't an appetite for building business-critical solutions. Collectively, Zapier users automate two billion tasks per month. Per month! This astronomical number is a testament to this community's ingenuity and persistence to advance no-code automation. It also makes one thing crystal clear: 

Every tool traditionally built for programmers and software developers needs a no-code alternative designed for non-programmers, so they can create their own automation solutions.

This is where Zapier bridges the gap. 

Connecting the dots 

A list of contributors for a new table in Zapier Tables.

Over the last 10 years, we've seen many of you embrace automation to push Zapier to the limits—more than we ever could have imagined. 

We also know some of you are stretching beyond what's possible today and that you can only build your businesses on top of so many workarounds.

That's why we're expanding Zapier. With the following new products, you'll have three of the same core tools programmers use to build cohesive automation solutions, but of the no-code variety:

  • Transfer makes it easier than ever for you to move bulk data on demand.

  • Tables allows you to create databases to save, edit, access, and share the data needed to run your Zaps. You can even connect a Zap and process triggered records directly from your table. 

  • Interfaces equips you to build dynamic interfaces for your end users—like customers or coworkers—to interact with the workflows you're building.

Combine all three of these tools with Zapier, and you and your team can build reliable and powerful end-to-end automated workflows—without writing a single line of code. 

Building better products for you, with you

Transfer, Tables, and Interfaces are currently in alpha and beta. Why? If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that it's critical to build tools in a tight feedback loop with early users to ensure it's actually useful. This is core to our product development philosophy. 

But this doesn't mean you can't access the future of no-code automation today. 

We're thrilled to introduce Zapier Early Access which gives automation enthusiasts early access to cutting-edge, no-code tools including Transfer, Tables, Interfaces, and future automation-first products.  

How Zapier Early Access works 

Members of the Zapier Early Access program will have the opportunity to connect directly with Zapier product teams, unlock current and future new products, and join an influential community of automation enthusiasts. 

Here's what that looks like exactly: 

  • Get notified. Each time a new product or feature is available, members will receive details on how to get access before anyone else. 

  • Test it out. Dive right into new features and products immediately and start crafting your own workflows. 

  • Give your feedback. Tell us in real time what worked—and what didn't—so we can incorporate the most common and valuable feedback back into the tools. 

A future of endless possibilities 

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: The future of no-code automation tools would not be possible without the input of folks like you—our curious and ingenious customers. 

We believe if everyone can leverage the power of automation, the possibilities of what we can build are endless—and we're so excited to work with our community to put this belief to the test. 

Here's to building together, so we can keep building for the world. 

To learn more about the latest product updates in Zapier, check out our recap.

A version of this article was first presented as the keynote talk at Zapier's user conference, ZapConnect 2022.

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'