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Overview

Zapier and Make automations consist of three components: Triggers, Search Steps, and Actions. While triggers and actions are essential for every automation, search steps are only included when needed for particular workflows.

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Triggers

A trigger initiates an automation by detecting when a specific event occurs. These events can originate from Assembly or external applications. Assembly offers triggers for numerous events such as “Client Created,” “Client Activated,” “File Created,” and “Form Response Submitted.” External apps can also serve as triggers for Assembly actions. For instance, an automation could create a client in Assembly whenever someone schedules an event in Calendly using Calendly’s “Invite Created” trigger.

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Search Steps

Search steps locate additional information within an automation without performing actions themselves. They enable subsequent steps to execute specific actions based on the information found. Assembly provides search steps including “Find a Client,” “Find a Company,” and “Find a File Channel.” External applications offer similar capabilities, such as Google Drive’s “Find a File” step. While not always required, search steps become necessary when workflows need to retrieve specific information to enable targeted actions.

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Actions

Actions represent the steps that create updates or changes within an app. They are the only automation step type that actively modifies data. Assembly supports numerous actions including “Update a Client,” “Create a File,” and “Request a Form Response.” External apps similarly provide actions like “Upload a File” to Google Drive. Once an automation specifies when to start (trigger), what to do (action), and any necessary search steps, it will function as designed upon publication or activation.