How to use Zapier search steps

If you've built a Zap before, you know it needs two components: a trigger (an event that starts the workflow) and at least one action (an event that follows it).

What you might not know is there are different types of action steps: write steps, search steps, and even ones that qualify as both. Most are write steps, which do something in your app, like create a new task or send an email. But search steps serve an important purpose, too. In fact, some workflows won't function properly without them.

In this guide, I'll define what search steps are and describe common ways to put them to work. Plus, I'll show you how to set up a popular workflow with a search step.

Table of contents 

• What are search steps? 

• What you can do with search steps

• How to set up a search step

What are search steps?

Search steps are actions that locate data in your apps. They don't change anything in your app—they just find relevant information, so you can use it later in your workflow.

To pass data from your search step results into subsequent steps, you'll use field mapping. This connects two fields in a Zap, taking the output from one step and entering it into another.

A few more things to keep in mind:

• Search steps are only available as actions, not triggers, so you can't use one to start your Zap. 

• Not all apps support search steps—it depends on whether the developer included them in their Zapier integration. 

• Each search step works a little differently depending on the app. For instance, searching your email might require search operators, while searching a spreadsheet might ask you to specify a row or column.

What you can do with search steps

Usually, you want to add a search step to a workflow to avoid creating a duplicate entry. For example, let's say you've built a contact form for your business using Google Forms. Sometimes the same customers fill out your form multiple times, perhaps because they're reaching out about different projects. If you're tracking form submissions in an app like Zapier Tables, this can create duplicate entries that clutter your records. 

Preventing duplicates is just a matter of slipping a search step into your Zap—one that checks for existing form submissions from each customer. If Zapier can't find a match, you decide what happens next. Want to add a new table entry only when no existing record is found? Done. If a match is found, you also have the choice to update that existing record with the new information.

You might also need search steps for updating related items when a source item changes. 

Imagine you're managing projects in Trello but tracking all the details in an Airtable base. When you move a Trello card to your Completed list, you want the corresponding record in Airtable to be marked complete, too. But it's a drag to spend your valuable time on something as repetitive as manually syncing up records.

With a search step, your Zap can find the Airtable record that matches your Trello card—maybe by searching for the project name or a unique ID. And then, once it's found the right record, it can automatically update the status to Completed. This keeps your project data in sync across both tools without you having to update things twice.

How to set up a search step

Let's again imagine that you've got a contact form for your business, and you've decided to use Google Forms to collect submissions and Zapier Tables to store them.

If the same customer fills out your form more than once, you can avoid creating duplicate records with this Zap. It locates existing records—and if one exists, it automatically stops the workflow from creating a duplicate.

To build this Zap, click into the Zap template above or open the Zap editor. If you use the template, the apps will already be chosen for you. Otherwise, select Google Forms as your trigger app and New Form Response as your trigger event.

Configure your step by selecting the right form from the dropdown. When you test your trigger, it'll automatically generate a sample form response. You can also submit your own sample form response, so it's easier for you to recognize the test data.

Next, add your search action step. Choose Zapier Tables as your action app and Find Records as your action event. This event appears under the Search heading in the modal, where all the other search action steps live.

Now choose the table ID that corresponds to your target table. The value 1 will be pre-selected in your Filter Count (which you only need to change if you want to filter by more than one condition). In Lookup Field 1, choose the field you want to use to identify duplicates. Then map the Lookup Value to the corresponding data from your form. Just click the plus sign (+) next to the field or type a forward slash (/) to open the field mapping modal and select the data you want from your form submission.

From here, check Create Zapier Tables Record if it doesn't exist yet? to turn this step into a hybrid write and search step. This will automatically create a new record if your search comes up empty. After checking the box, map the fields that appear underneath to make sure the form data transfers accurately to your table.

If you leave this unchecked, you'll be able to continue the Zap even when no match is found, which is useful when you're adding conditional logic with path steps or additional actions later. You can also have the Zap stop immediately if there's no match, which works well if you only want to act on existing records.

If multiple search results are found—which might happen if you have duplicate emails already in your table, or if you're searching by a less specific field, like first name—you can choose to return the first result, stop the Zap entirely, or return all results as line items. Returning all results as line items is useful when you want to loop through multiple matching records and perform the same action on each one.

Finally, test the step. If the sample form entry is new, it'll appear in your Zapier table as a fresh record. If it's already there, you won't have added a duplicate record.

Want more practice or use case inspiration? Try the following Zap templates, pre-populated with search steps.

Search steps: The data detective for your Zaps

Search steps are powerful tools for building smart, efficient workflows. Once you get the hang of them, you'll find yourself using them constantly to keep your data clean and your automated workflows running smoothly.

And if you're ever stuck trying to figure out which search step to use or how to configure it, Zapier Copilot can help. From the Member Home or while you're building your Zap, just tell Copilot what you want to build in natural language, and it'll guide you through creating the workflow—search steps and all. 

If you're ready to practice with search steps, visit our help docs or get started in the Zap editor today.

This article was originally published in October 2022 by Krystina Martinez. It was last updated in January 2026.