• I Built a Zapier AI News Agent: Here’s What Happened

    Everyone is pushing the term “AI Agent,” promising it will book your flights and email your clients. I’m here to tell you: We are nowhere close to that. Marketing kills everything.

    But Zapier is in a unique position to be “more agent-like”. I decided to test its new AI Agent feature to see if it delivers on any realistic promise.

    Watch as I build my Daily Automation News Agent:

    • The goal: Get daily, scannable updates on Zapier, its competitors (Make, N8N, IFTTT), and major outages, delivered to a Google Doc and Slack.
    • The build: It took “shockingly little effort”.
    • The results: A comprehensive news digest that includes product updates and, crucially, links to the primary source for every story.

    This feature is a powerful example of AI’s best core use: crunching data and surfacing relevant information in a manageable way. It proves that while agents may lack “autonomy” or “intelligence” in the way some claim , they excel at specific, prompt-driven tasks.

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  • Automated Email Replies

    I built an automation that replies to emails when I’m not at my desk… and it still feels personal.

    Here’s how it works ?

    When someone on my list replies to an email with the word “template” (I specifically ask them to do this if they want my VA template), a Gmail search looks for replies to one of two subject lines, makes sure the message isn’t from me, and includes the word “template”.

    Then it automatically sends a reply:

    “Hey, thanks so much for being on my mailing list. This is an automated email. But here is your template. If you reply to this email, I promise you’ll get me.”

    That last line is key. It lets them know this is automation, but I’m still part of the loop.

    This does 3 things:
    ? Gets them the template immediately, not hours (or days) later
    ? Keeps everything within Gmail
    ? Leaves the door open for an actual conversation

    Could I also tag them and drop them into a sequence? Sure.

    But for this use case, a quick, one-tool response with a personal note is the best experience I can offer.

    Hey, I’m Joe Casabona.

    ? I talk a lot about automations and systems.

    I help solopreneurs use tech to build better human interactions (not replace them).

    ?? I also have a newsletter where I teach and build automations. Join using the blue link under my name.

  • Automate Testimonial Sharing

    I don’t know about you, but I love/get embarrassed when people say really nice things about me.

    But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know the instant a testimonial comes in.

    Social proof is powerful:
    ? You can add it to sales pages
    ? Use it to fuel future content
    ? Learn what your audience is actually struggling with

    That’s why I built an automation that does 3 simple things:

    • Trigger: A testimonial is collected in Senja

    • Action: Senja creates a testimonial image automatically (no Canva needed)

    • Result: It sends me the image + text in Slack

    So now, the moment a testimonial arrives, I see it, I can share it, save it, or turn it into new content for my community—without lifting a finger.

    A 3-step automation that saves me time and gives me high-value insights? Worth every second it took to build.

    Want automations like this tailored to your biggest business struggle?

    Head to Casabona.org/YouTube – http://Casabona.org/YouTube — answer a few questions, and I’ll send you 4 automation ideas right away.

  • I’m Anti-AI, But I Tried Zapier’s Copilot (Honest Grade)

    I’ve always been skeptical of using AI for creative or professional work—but what if you just need a head start on a complex task? I decided to put Zapier’s new AI Copilot to the ultimate test to see if it can actually save time on building automations, or if it just creates a mess.

    I gave the AI three challenges:

    1. A simple Tally Form to Google Sheets Zap
    2. Fleshing out a Notion idea using an AI synopsis and sending it back
    3. Building a multi-step client onboarding and invoicing process

    Watch to see the final, brutally honest grade, and learn when you should actually trust an AI to build your Zaps for you (and when you shouldn’t).

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