The new builder is a conversational way to create Zaps by describing your workflow in plain language. Instead of configuring each step manually in the Zap editor, you describe what you want to automate, including which apps to use, what triggers it, and what should happen, and the builder creates and tests the workflow with you.
By the end of this article, you'll understand how the new builder works, what it can do, and when to use it instead of the Zap editor.
BetaThis feature is in beta. Some features may change as development continues.
How it works
The new builder guides you through three phases: planning, testing, and publishing.
Planning
You describe your workflow in the prompt field. The builder scores your description against four criteria to help you write a stronger prompt:
- What starts it? The trigger event
- What's the goal? The outcome you want
- Which tools? The apps to use
- What happens? The actions and results
It then proposes a plan and generates a visual diagram of the workflow steps. You can refine the plan in the chat: ask the agent to change the trigger, add or remove actions, or update step details before any testing begins.
Testing
Once the plan is ready, the builder runs through each step with you. It fetches real sample data from your trigger and uses your actual account data to populate fields, for example:
- Spreadsheet names and column headers from Google Sheets
- Channel names from Slack
- Contact records from your CRM
You remain in control throughout: you can edit step parameters, reject a proposed action with feedback, or ask the agent to try a different approach. During the testing stage, actions that only read information run automatically, but actions that make changes to information require your approval.
Publishing
After testing succeeds, you publish the workflow directly from the builder. You can also open it in the Zap editor to make further changes before publishing.
When to use the new builder
The new builder works well when:
- You're starting from scratch: Describing your goal in plain language is faster than manually selecting triggers and actions when you do not yet know exactly which steps you need.
- You want guided testing: The step-by-step approval model keeps you in control of write actions and lets you catch issues before they affect live data.
- Your workflow has branching or looping: The builder can propose and test conditional paths and loops, automatically placing new steps into the correct branch.
- Your workflow needs data transformation: The builder uses inline formulas and AI by Zapier for simple transforms, such as formatting dates, changing text casing, or combining fields, without you needing to add separate steps.
Limitations
- Results may need refinement. The builder may not always interpret ambiguous prompts as intended. You can iterate in the planning chat or open the Zap in the editor after testing.
- Some fields require manual input. Field types the agent cannot auto-fill, such as file uploads, raw datetime values, and password fields, will prompt you to provide the value directly.
- One loop step per workflow. The builder enforces a single loop per Zap and does not support nested loops. For more complex iteration, the builder will suggest using Sub-Zaps.
You want to notify your team in Slack whenever a high-priority row is added to a Google Sheet.
You describe: "When a new row is added to my Google Sheets tracker with Priority set to High, send a message in the #alerts Slack channel with the row details."
The builder proposes a plan: a Google Sheets trigger, a step to filter for the Priority column marked as High, and a Slack action. It fetches sample rows from your spreadsheet so you can choose which one to test with, resolves your Slack channel name from your account so you do not have to look up the channel ID, and presents a preview of the Slack message before asking you to approve it. Once the test passes, you publish the workflow directly.
New builder vs. the Zap editor
| New builder | Zap editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup method | Describe in natural language | Configure each step manually |
| Field mapping | Agent suggests values based on your account data | You map fields yourself |
| Testing | Guided, with per-step approval prompts | Manual, step by step |
| Best for | Creating new workflows from scratch | Precise edits to existing Zap workflows |
| After building | Open in Zap editor for further changes | Available throughout |
You can move between the two at any point. After building in the new builder, you can open the Zap in the editor to adjust any step, field mapping, or connection.
Next steps
Now that you understand what the new builder is and how it works, you are ready to build your first workflow.