AI by Zapier: How to Add an AI Step That Waits for Your Approval

On 6 October 2026 Zapier folded Zapier Agents into AI by Zapier: an agent is now a single AI step you drop into any Zap, with its own prompt, a tools picker and a "Require approval before running" switch for each tool. If you used Zapier Agents, a banner on eligible agents walks you through moving them into a Zap. If you never did, this is the simpler way to try an agent, because it runs inside the triggers, filters and history you already know.

Below is what changed, what it costs in tasks, and a short recipe: an AI step that sorts incoming customer emails, drafts a reply, and waits for a person before anything is sent.

What changed in AI by Zapier

Zapier's announcement that Zapier Agents is now AI by Zapier lists the main differences. The ones that matter for a small team:

Some features are still rolling out, and knowledge sources do not yet support HubSpot, Asana, Zendesk, Zoom or Jira.

Recipe: sort customer emails and draft replies that wait for approval

This works for any business with a shared support or sales inbox. The agent reads each new email, decides what it is, looks up the customer, and prepares a reply. A person approves every reply before it leaves.

1. Set the trigger

Use your email app's "new email" trigger, limited to the support label or folder. Add a filter that skips emails from your own domain so the Zap never answers itself.

2. Add the AI by Zapier step and paste the prompt

Add an AI by Zapier step after the trigger and paste the prompt from the next section into its prompt field. Start with the default model tier, which Zapier says is free, and only move up a tier if the drafts are poor.

3. Pick the tools and set approvals

In the step's tools picker, add three tools:

• Lookup Spreadsheet Row in the Google Sheet (or CRM) that holds customer details. Leave approval off: reading cannot hurt anyone.
• Create Draft in Gmail (or your email app). Approval can stay off, because a draft is not sent.
• Send Email. Turn "Require approval before running" on. This is the one action a customer will see.

4. Route urgent emails

Ask the step to return a structured "category" field. Add a filter or path after it: when the category is "urgent", send an alert to the owner on Slack, email or WhatsApp.

5. Set a limit, then test on old emails

Set a task limit per run so one confused email cannot use up your plan. Then run the Zap on 20 past emails and read every draft. Keep approval on until the drafts are right almost every time.

Copy-paste prompt for the AI step

You handle the support inbox for {business_name}.

For the email below:
1. Pick ONE category: order_status, pricing, complaint, urgent, other.
   "urgent" means a customer says something is broken, unsafe,
   or they will cancel today.
2. Use the "Lookup Spreadsheet Row" tool with the sender's email address
   to find the customer. If there is no match, say "new contact".
3. Write a reply of at most 5 short sentences in plain English.
   Use only facts from the email and the customer row.
   Never promise refunds, discounts or delivery dates.
   If you are not sure, say a team member will reply by {reply_time}.
4. Create a draft with that reply. Only use "Send Email"
   if the category is order_status or pricing.

Return: category, customer_found (yes/no), draft_reply.

Email:
From: {from_email}
Subject: {subject}
Body: {body_plain}

Replace the curly-bracket parts with fields from the trigger. The line against promising refunds or dates matters most: that mistake costs money.

What it costs

Zapier bills AI steps as tasks. With the default model the step itself is free, and other tiers cost 1, 3 or 5 tasks per step, according to the same announcement. The trigger, filter and alert steps count as normal tasks on your plan. Check Zap History after a week before raising the tier.

For more on how to roll out AI replies safely (shadow mode, drafts first, then auto-replies for safe topics), see our guide on using AI for customer support.

What's next

Agents inside ordinary workflows was one of several changes this month. Friday's pulse leads with one that touches every business that makes calls in India: from 1 November, the caller's registered name shows up by default on 4G and 5G phones, and the name your customers see may not be the one you expect. If you want help setting up a Zap like this, a free 30-minute automation audit is a good place to start.

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