Create AI actions within an AI app

This tutorial refers to AI actions. These are Zapier actions that can only be used through another app.

Note

AI Actions is no longer being developed and supported. This documentation is available as a reference for current users. For a fully supported experience, explore Zapier MCP — it's built to offer even more flexibility and reliability for your workflows.

App permissions

Before you can run Zapier's AI actions, you must give the application the following permissions:

• See and run AI Actions you enable for that app 
• See the results of AI Actions run for that app

Apps that have Zapier AI actions embedded in them can only run AI Actions that you specifically enable for that app. You can manage and revoke an app's access to your Zapier account at any time. 

Using the action setup window

To add a new AI action, you must visit the action setup window for the app you're working with. A link will be available in the app's interface, but you can also reach it using the following instructions:

1. Go to the list of connected apps.
2. Click the Manage Actions link for the specific app.

Add a new AI action

In the action setup window:

1. Click Add a new action.
2. In the text field, search for the app or action name, and select the action you want to use.
3. Select a connection. You can also reconnect or create a new connection.
4. Fill out the available fields.
   1. You can use a specific value or let AI guess values based on the content of your request.
5. Click Enable action.

Note

By default, Zapier only shows required fields during the setup process. To view and use optional fields, click Show all options. You can then include them in the AI's response by selecting Have AI guess or Use a specific value from the dropdown menu. Learn more about these options.

Complete an action without previewing it

By default, AI actions will show a preview of the data the app will send before running. Depending on the AI app you use, you may be able to complete an AI action automatically without the preview step. Learn more about previewing an action.

To skip the preview step:

1. Add a new AI action.
2. At the bottom of the screen, click Show all options.
3. Clear the Require preview before running AI action checkbox.
4. Click Enable action.

You can also change this behavior for existing AI actions. Learn how to edit your AI actions.

Note

• This option may not be available if the developer has set the AI app to always require the preview step. In this case, you will not see the checkbox, and the actions will always display a preview before running.
• When using AI Actions within GPTs, they will not show a preview by default. You can mark the checkbox Require preview before running AI action when you create an AI action to review it before running.

Other recommended help guides

• Zapier AI actions in other apps
• Manage your AI actions
• Use AI actions within an AI app
• Decide if AI should guess a value or if it should be set by you