https://zapier.com/blog A blog about productivity, workflow automation, company building and how to get things done with less work. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:58:41 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-by-zapier-guide Guilty of tokenmaxxing? I get it. Now that AI is ubiquitous in all of our work, it's easy to let an agent harness take the reins for every workflow. But tossing your important tasks into the agent void and letting it run amok in your wallet isn't always the cheapest—or smartest—way to go. Some work requires determinism, which means the same input produces the same output every time. Conventional automation handles that more reliably than AI. And it's also less expensive. There's no reason to pay Steph Spector Wed, 22 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-by-zapier-guide https://zapier.com/blog/mach-1-mcp Most AI agents can complete a task inside a single tool. Running them reliably across an entire business is a different problem. Chris Olson is co-founder and CEO of Mach 1, an AI operations platform that helps mid-market companies deploy agents across go-to-market, customer success, sales, support, and finance operations. He developed the approach after applying AI-driven operations at a sports technology company, helping move the business from a $9 million annual cash burn to $5 million in fre Rob Ayre Wed, 22 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/mach-1-mcp https://zapier.com/blog/best-photo-editing-apps-iphone-android "The best camera is the one you have with you" is an old adage in photography, and there's a lot of truth to it. Even as someone who has at least five cameras at home, I capture more photos with my smartphone than I do anything else. Smartphone cameras have been so good for so long now that it really doesn't feel like a tradeoff. My DSLR definitely doesn't have a wide-angle and an 8x telephoto lens built in. But capturing photos is just the first half of creating a good image. To really make gre Harry Guinness Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/best-photo-editing-apps-iphone-android https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-for-enterprise-automation Zapier is easy to use—and sometimes ease of use gets conflated with simplicity. But at Zapier, we know that being easy to use and being enterprise-ready aren't mutually exclusive. Any enterprise tool should prioritize ease of use. If you want your entire organization to adopt software, there can't be barriers to entry. Zapier helps your entire company operate more efficiently and achieve mission-critical goals at scale. And it goes beyond workflows: Zapier is an AI orchestration platform where y Nicole Replogle Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-for-enterprise-automation https://zapier.com/blog/mulesoft-integrations I have an engineering degree, which I once bravely attempted to use for its intended purpose. I tried connecting devices that absolutely didn't want to be connected. After all, where else was I supposed to use the IoT concepts I spent years pretending I fully understood? My smart setup included a light that needed one app, a plug that needed another app, and a speaker that refused to talk to either of them. That small adventure taught me that integrations sound simple until they meet real-world Sunny Yadav Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/mulesoft-integrations https://zapier.com/blog/relay-alternatives Relay is shutting down on August 15, 2026, for free users, and on September 14 for paid plans. Either way, if you built workflows, agents, or tables in Relay, the end is near. The good news is that Relay has made it as easy as possible to transition your workflows to a new tool. Here's how to export your Relay.app data and rebuild those workflows in Zapier, plus what to expect from Zapier as a former Relay user. We'll also cover why Zapier is your best option compared to other Relay alternatives Nicole Replogle Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/relay-alternatives https://zapier.com/blog/best-automation-software Automation software seems like a straightforward enough concept until you start shopping for it. Suddenly, you're staring down a list of tools that range from no-code automation builders to enterprise API platforms that require a six-month implementation and a dedicated IT team. They all say they automate things, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends. I've been writing about automation tools for Zapier for years, which means I've tested a lot of these myself. And the opinions I've for Nicole Replogle Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/best-automation-software https://zapier.com/blog/web-scraping There are two ways to catch a price drop on that obnoxiously priced all-terrain dog stroller you've been eyeing (but won't admit out loud to the general public—which, smart). You could check the product page every morning and hope today's the day for good boy Professor Waffles. Or you could let a price tracker like camelcamelcamel watch the listing for you and send an alert the moment it dips below a set price. That second option is web scraping at work: an automated tool visits the page, reads Jessica Lau Mon, 20 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/web-scraping https://zapier.com/blog/remove-ai-slop-from-writing Good writing is a gift to everyone around you. Clear, concise communication means your readers spend less time decoding your words and more time acting on them. Here's how to write in a way that respects your reader's time and keeps us all from drowning in walls of text. Why this matters AI slop is real, and we can do better. The internet is full of bloated, padded writing generated (or at least inspired) by AI that optimizes for length over clarity. Don't add to it. When you write vague or word Michelle S. Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/remove-ai-slop-from-writing https://zapier.com/blog/best-vibe-coding-tools Decades ago, building the Facebooks of the world was reserved for a small elite clad in technical skills. Today, with a sequence of good prompts, endless curiosity, and good testing practices, you too can stand next to the big names and launch your own app—and no, you don't need to know how to write a function. That's what vibe coding is all about: as coined by Andrej Karpathy, you build an app using natural language, and forget that the code is even there. While the hype is mostly gone—the firs Miguel Rebelo Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/best-vibe-coding-tools https://zapier.com/blog/openclaw-vs-zapier If you've spent any time in AI automation circles this year, you've probably heard about OpenClaw. The open-source AI agent went from a side project to a global phenomenon in a matter of weeks, and for good reason: it gives anyone the ability to run an always-on AI assistant from their own machine, controlled through the messaging apps they already use. But popularity doesn't mean it's the right tool for every job. OpenClaw is powerful, flexible, and community-driven. It's also self-hosted, perm Sami Akkawi Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/openclaw-vs-zapier https://zapier.com/blog/agentic-ai-vs-rpa Automation has evolved far beyond simple scripts and basic workflows. While robotic process automation (RPA) has long been used to handle repetitive, rules-based work, especially inside legacy systems, agentic AI represents a newer approach to automation built for far more dynamic problems. Both are designed to reduce manual work and improve efficiency. But RPA works by mimicking human interactions with software through predefined rules and screen-based actions, while agentic AI systems are buil Jessica Lau Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/agentic-ai-vs-rpa https://zapier.com/blog/ai-prompt-templates I've gone through a lot of painful trial and error with AI prompting—a lot. Which was fine when I was experimenting in back-and-forth conversations with AI chatbots, because I could refine my prompts with every response. But it's a different story with AI agents. A weak AI prompt baked into an agent's instructions produces the same bad output—and bills you for the same mistake—every single time it runs, with no one at the keyboard to catch it.  I've rounded up 16 AI prompt templates that the Zap Jessica Lau Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-prompt-templates https://zapier.com/blog/crm-for-real-estate A CRM is your prized possession in real estate. You need something to keep things straight when juggling client management, property listings, and the looming threat of being upstaged by that insufferably smug agent from the office across the street. But with countless options on the market, how do you know which software is right for you? ​​I looked into dozens of options, read approximately a million reviews, watched demos narrated by people way too cheerful for 9 a.m., and gathered insights Allisa Boulette Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/crm-for-real-estate https://zapier.com/blog/integrately-vs-zapier Most businesses sign up for an automation platform to fix a specific annoyance. There's only so much copy-paste work you can take before you finally reach the limits of your patience, search "Typeform to HubSpot automation," and find yourself researching whether Integrately or Zapier is the right fit. Integrately is an automation-only platform that's built for one-off workflows like this. But sooner or later, most businesses start asking more questions, like: "Can we filter leads before adding t Ryan Kane Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/integrately-vs-zapier https://zapier.com/blog/workato-vs-zapier-for-large-businesses Everyone has opinions about how to run a big meeting. Should the host run the show, or are participants free to jump in with questions or input when they feel like it? (And, if you're me, is this Zoom meeting even worthwhile unless it's just an excuse to meet everyone's dog on camera?)  Enterprise automation is equally impacted by a business's approach to leadership and democratization. Every business owner has their own strong feelings about who should touch production systems. Workato and Zapi Nicole Replogle Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/workato-vs-zapier-for-large-businesses https://zapier.com/blog/gumloop-vs-zapier AI agents are everywhere right now, and platforms like Gumloop are betting that enterprises want tools built specifically to design, launch, and manage agents. But here's the question: do you need a specialized app for agentic workflows, or a platform that integrates agents more broadly into your existing business processes? Most enterprises already use dozens of tools across departments, including CRMs, project management software, HR platforms, and communication apps. The real challenge isn't Ryan Kane Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/gumloop-vs-zapier https://zapier.com/blog/ai-agent-frameworks Over the last year, I've seen a shift in how teams talk about AI. Chatbots, once the center of attention, are no longer the primary focus. Instead, more businesses are moving toward autonomous AI systems. AI agents are what you reach for when you want a system that can break down a task, make decisions, interact with tools, and learn from its mistakes (unlike me). Designing and integrating these complex systems with external tools isn't straightforward. AI agent frameworks, which offer pre-built Avdhoot Vadghule Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-agent-frameworks https://zapier.com/blog/best-bookmaking-read-it-later-app Sometimes, during the work day, I stumble upon a really interesting but really long article that I don't have time to read at the moment. This is the moment read-it-later apps are built for. The idea: you can save the article, then get back to it later when you have time. I don't know how I lived before finding these kinds of apps, which I've been using for around 15 years. For this roundup, I considered over 20 read it later apps. After extensive testing, I can say that these are the four best Justin Pot Wed, 15 Jul 2026 07:30:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/best-bookmaking-read-it-later-app https://zapier.com/blog/ai-pilot-survey Most companies don't have an AI ambition problem. If anything, it's the opposite. Give executives a new AI demo, and they'll find 47 potential use cases before lunch.  Companies are spinning up pilots by the dozen, and that appetite is only growing. According to AI spending data, 86% of companies plan to increase their investment over the next 12 months. But deployment is a different story. More than a quarter of organizations (28%) have run over 100 AI pilots, yet only 13% have broadly deployed Laura Kutch Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-pilot-survey https://zapier.com/blog/data-integration-tools If you've ever had to hunt down an important email across one of your seven inboxes, you know the struggle of having information spread out between a bunch of unconnected systems. Ctrl+F can't save you when you aren't even sure where to start looking. Multiply that by hundreds of employees and dozens of systems, and things get real messy. Data integration tools take siloed data and un-silo it, uniting various data sources into a single master view. This means no more swapping between application Dylan Reber Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/data-integration-tools https://zapier.com/blog/openai-models Keeping track of all the new AI models getting released at the moment is practically a full-time job. The most recent series of models, GPT-5.6, was released less than three months after GPT 5.5, which itself was released two months after GPT-5.4. I've been writing about OpenAI's models for the past few years, and it feels like every time I publish an article, another new model drops. It's been particularly bad with GPT 5.X—OpenAI seems to be serious about pushing point-releases more frequently Harry Guinness Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/openai-models https://zapier.com/blog/zappy-award-monthly-winners-june-2026 This month's three Zappy Award winners are turning scattered company knowledge into shared context that AI and humans can actually use. The strongest June Zappy Award submissions had the same shape: shared context. AI can only help with work it can see. When customer history lives in someone's head, when policy hides in a stale doc, when product knowledge is scattered across videos, help articles, and slide decks, AI has to guess, and a guessing AI is an unreliable one. Eric McNulty at Mercari, Rob Ayre Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/zappy-award-monthly-winners-june-2026 https://zapier.com/blog/ai-agent When you think of AI agents, do you imagine a personal AI assistant like Tony Stark's Jarvis? Perhaps a calm-under-pressure TARS from Interstellar? Or, more on the scary spectrum, an amoral HAL 9000 straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey? Current technology doesn't come close to that kind of science fiction (yet). But the field is evolving fast. What AI agents are capable of today looks nothing like it did even just a few months ago.  Here's how AI agents actually work, what they can do right now Jessica Lau Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/ai-agent https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-vs-power-automate If your business uses Microsoft 365, you already have access to Power Automate. It's a capable automation platform that integrates deeply with Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics, and the rest of Microsoft's ecosystem. For Microsoft-to-Microsoft workflows, it's a smart place to start. But most enterprises have a substantial portion of their tech stack spread across multiple vendors. While Power Automate offers modest support for outside apps, Zapier works natively across whatever combination of apps you Ryan Kane Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:00:00 GMT https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-vs-power-automate