Zapier is the automation platform I recommend most often to non-technical teams. It connects a huge range of apps, the editor is friendly, and someone on your team can usually keep a Zap running after I've handed it over. That last point matters more to me than any feature.

I come at automation as a marketer. I've been in marketing since 2003, I've worked with brands like Dropbox, IBM and Hootsuite, and I list workflow automation with Make, Zapier and n8n among the core services on my work with me page. Most of what I automate is the follow-up work that wins or loses a customer.

The Zaps that pay back fastest

These are the automations I build most often, because they save hours from the first week.

• Enquiry to CRM: a new form, email or booking creates the contact, the deal and a task for the right person.
• First-reply drafts: AI writes a reply in your voice and leaves it for approval rather than sending it.
• Content handoffs: a finished draft moves to review, then to scheduling, with nobody chasing.
• Client onboarding: folders, welcome emails and calendar invites created the moment a client signs.
• Weekly reporting: numbers from ads, analytics and your CRM summarised into one message.

What counts as a task in Zapier

This is the detail that surprises nearly everyone I work with. The Zapier Help Center says a task is any successful action that runs in Zapier, and only successful actions count. Trigger steps don't count. Filter and Paths steps don't count. Action steps that error or halt don't count, and nor do steps that never run because a filter stopped them.

So where you put the filter changes your usage. Filter early and the actions after it never run on the records you didn't want. There are two traps too. Replaying an entire Zap run counts the previously successful steps again, and some Zapier products have their own rates: each successful tool call through Zapier MCP counts as two tasks, and each lead routed through Zapier Lead Router counts as five. I design Zaps with that in mind from the start.

How a Zapier project runs with me

I keep it simple and in order.

1. We list the repeat jobs in your week and pick the three that eat the most time.
2. I check which apps you use, how they connect to Zapier, and who owns each account.
3. I build each Zap with filters placed early and an alert for anything that fails.
4. We run it on real examples for a week and adjust the wording of any AI drafts.
5. I hand it over with short notes, then we add the next automation.

Where AI fits into a Zap

AI steps are useful for writing, sorting and summarising: drafting a reply, classifying an enquiry, pulling the key points out of a long email. They're not where final decisions should sit. I keep a person in the loop wherever a message reaches a customer, and I write the prompts around your own past emails so the drafts sound like you. If sales follow-up is your bottleneck, my page on AI automation for sales follow-up shows how I set it up.

When Zapier isn't the right tool

I'll tell you if another platform suits you better. For very complex logic, high volumes or self-hosting, Make or n8n may be a better fit. For some jobs, the AI already built into your CRM does the work without any automation at all. I'm not tied to any of them, and the best choice is the one your team can understand and maintain.

Keeping Zaps tidy as you grow

A business with a handful of Zaps rarely has problems. A business with forty, built by three different people, usually does. I name every Zap by what it does and who owns it, keep them in folders by team, and turn off anything that hasn't run in months. I also keep a short list of which app accounts each Zap depends on, because a Zap tied to a former employee's login is the most common reason automations stop without warning.

Who I work with

Entrepreneurs, service businesses, coaches, agencies and founders who want their admin and follow-up running in the background. I work over video and in English, with businesses in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and beyond. If you're not sure what to automate first, my AI automation consultant page explains how I decide, and every way we could work together is on my work with me page.

My advice for anyone building Zaps

Put your filters as early as possible, give every Zap an owner and a plain name, and never let an AI step send anything to a customer without a person seeing it first. Then check your task history after the first week. It tells you exactly which Zaps are doing the work and which ones are quietly running on records you didn't need.

Frequently asked questions

Who is a Zapier consultant for small businesses?

Lilach Bullock, a British marketer with 23 years in marketing, builds Zapier automations and AI steps for entrepreneurs, service businesses and founders.

What counts as a task in Zapier?

The Zapier Help Center says a task is any successful action. Triggers, Filter and Paths steps, and failed or halted actions don't count.

Does replaying a Zap use more tasks?

Yes. Replaying an entire Zap run counts the previously successful steps again, according to the Zapier Help Center.

Can Zapier use AI?

Yes. AI steps can draft replies, classify enquiries and summarise messages. Lilach keeps a person approving anything that reaches a customer.

Is Zapier better than Make or n8n?

It's the easiest for non-technical teams. Make or n8n can suit complex logic, high volumes or self-hosting better.