Get Started with AI Automation: Quick reference & Tool Guide
This page is a quick reference for anyone building AI Automations. It’s designed to accompany my AI Automation Worksheet.
AI Automation Tool Choosing Matrix
Choose your approach and aim, then check out the automation tool in that cell. (Or read all the automation tool reviews.)
| Need ↓ / Tool → | No‑Code (Easy) | Low‑Code (Mid) | Full‑Code (Advanced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send emails / DMs | Lindy AI, Zapier+Gmail | Make, Gumloop, Relevance AI | n8n, Python & SMTP |
| Parse docs / PDFs | Mercury Parser (Zapier) | Make, Gumloop, Relevance AI, Airtable AI | Python + PyPDF |
| Schedule social posts | Buffer | Make + API | Custom API calls |
| Update CRM | HubSpot, Zapier, JPCRM (WordPress) | CRM + Make, Gumloop, Relevance AI | Direct SQL + API |
| Generate text | ChatGPT preset | Claude + Make | OpenAI API w/ LangChain |
| Webhook ingest | Zapier Webhooks | Make Webhooks | AWS Lambda |
Prompts to Help You Automate
Here’s a prompt to let ChatGPT help you digest this page!
Please read this page: https://profitswarm.ai/tools. then ask me 3 concise questions which will give you enough information about what I'm seeking to automate such that you can advise me effectively on which tool I should start using.
Do not advise a tool until you have enough clear understanding about my skills and aims to make valid suggestions.Here are some basic prompts to get you started, (once you have a workflow sketched out and a feeling for which tool you’d like to use):
Automation coach, guide me:
You are my Automation Coach. I have the following process sketched: {{paste steps / photo of workflow sketch}}. Using {{tool}}, generate a numbered, step‑by‑step build plan with module names, data mappings, and test checks I can complete in under 60 minutes.Pro-AI architect, make me a spec:
Act as a senior {{tool}} solutions architect. Translate this workflow diagram (pasted below) into a production‑ready automation spec: triggers, actions, conditional branches, error‑handling steps, and any premium features required.Optimise my workflow:
Here is a draft automation in {{tool}} (JSON / screenshot). Identify the three biggest optimisation wins (speed, cost, reliability) and rewrite the affected steps or prompts to achieve them.Guide me through it:
I'm going to make an automation workflow (as per attached screenshot). Guide me step‑by‑step through the build using {tool}.If you’ve not already picked up your copy of the AI Automation Worksheet, please buy it here – it’ll make all this much easier 🙂