What is a Zap?
A Zap is one Zapier automation: a trigger and one or more actions. When the trigger fires, the actions run. Zapier bills successful steps as tasks.
Also called: Zaps
In plain English
If a form is submitted, create the contact and ping the team. That is a Zap. AI by Zapier can sit in the middle as a step that rewrites text. The Zap is still the path. The model does not get to invent extra steps you did not add. Name the Zap after the job, not after the experiment. 'New lead to the sheet' is a name you can find. 'Test 3 final' is how a live path gets turned off by mistake. Turn test Zaps off when the real one works. Once a week, open the task history and look for runs you do not remember approving. Put the Zap's owner in the name or the folder. Orphan automations are how a former contractor keeps receiving your leads.
How an owner would use it
Build the Zap for the repeatable path. Use AI only in the step that needs wording. Watch the task count, because each successful step spends a task.
Common mistakes
A Zap that emails customers from an AI step with no approval will eventually send a test phrase to a real couple. The other miss is ignoring task counts until the bill jumps because a loop ran all night. Read Zapier's current task rules on their site before you put AI in the middle of a high-volume Zap. Turn off old test Zaps. They keep succeeding.
A worked example
A mobile DJ
Inquiry in, playlist questions later
This is an illustration, not a customer result. A Zap catches the wedding form, creates the contact, and alerts the DJ. An AI step may draft a first reply from the date and the venue. The DJ sends it. The Zap does not invent a package price.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is a Zap?
A Zap is a Zapier workflow made of a trigger and actions. It runs in the background when the trigger happens.
How do I use a Zap with AI?
Keep the trigger and the record-keeping as normal steps. Put AI in the step that drafts words. Check Zapier's task rules so you know what each step costs.
Is a Zap an AI agent?
No. A Zap follows the path you built. An AI step inside it can draft or classify text. The Zap still only does the actions you placed on the canvas.
The automation glossary also defines Zap. Product guides are on AI apps for business.