Zapier automation · Columbus, Ohio
AI drafted it. Someone still has to move it.Automate the handoffs. Keep people on the decisions.
We automate the repetitive handoffs around an AI workflow in Zapier, with a human approval step wherever AI drafts content, then hand it to an internal owner who can run it.
Runs as a Use-Case Launch · Fixed scope · 6–8 weeks
Sound familiar?
You're probably here because…
- AI drafts the work quickly, then someone still moves it between systems by hand.
- Requests arrive by email, form, and hallway conversation, and someone has to sort them.
- There are Zaps running that nobody remembers building, under the account of someone who left.
- Nobody's comfortable sending AI-drafted content without a review, so the automation stops there.
What we set up
Five things, built around one workflow.
01
A map of the handoffs
We walk the workflow with the people doing it and mark where work waits on someone copying, routing, or chasing it. We'd rather question a process than automate a bad one.
Output: a list of which handoffs get automated and which stay manual.
02
Zaps for the repetitive steps
A Zap is an automated workflow in Zapier. Ours handle the triggers, routing, and updates between the systems you already use. Each automation does one job and is named so someone else can understand it.
Output: automations your team can read and change.
03
Human approval steps
Wherever AI drafts content, the draft stops with a named person until they approve, edit, or reject it.
Output: a review step, with an owner, in front of every AI draft that goes out.
04
Failure handling
A named person hears about it when a step fails, and there's a written way to fix and rerun it.
Output: failures someone sees, instead of work that quietly disappears.
05
Data-handling guide
A plain-language guide to which data can pass through each automation, fitted to your compliance constraints: which kinds of data are allowed, approved uses, and who to ask when unsure.
Output: a guide people can actually follow.
Use cases
Two simple systems to start with.
Small and repeatable on purpose. These are patterns, not client work. Several of these features are new or limited to certain plans, so we confirm what's available on yours during scoping.
A lead intake flow
- A Zapier Forms page collects the prospect's details, and each submission lands in Zapier Tables.
- Paths by Zapier routes the lead by rules you set, such as region and company size, alerts the right rep, and updates your CRM.
- If AI drafts the first reply, a Human in the Loop step holds it until someone approves, edits, or declines it.
Output: every lead logged, routed, and owned, with a first reply a person approved.
A knowledge base your employees can chat with
- Build a custom agent and connect the sources your team already trusts as knowledge sources, such as Google Drive, SharePoint, Confluence, or Notion.
- Instruct it to answer from those sources, name the document it used, and say who to ask when it can't find the answer.
- Share it with your team so people can chat with it while they work. Viewer access lets them use it without changing it. A named owner keeps the sources current.
Output: one place to ask how the job gets done, with an owner keeping the answers right.
Want to start a Zap from a Claude conversation? See the Claude Desktop use cases.
Example workflows
Four places this could start.
These are illustrations of the pattern, not client work.
Intake routing
A request comes in through a form or shared inbox. Claude summarizes it and suggests a category and owner. Zapier sends it to that queue, and the owner confirms or reassigns it.
Output: every request has a summary and an owner, and a person confirmed the routing.
Meeting notes into a system of record
Notes from a project meeting go to Claude, which pulls out decisions and action items in your format. The project lead reviews them, and Zapier files the approved version against the project.
Output: decisions and actions on the project record, reviewed by the person who ran the meeting.
Drafted follow-ups for review
An administrative request closes. Claude drafts the follow-up from approved language, and a staff member edits and sends it. Your compliance rules set which data can pass through before this gets built.
Output: a follow-up drafted and waiting for review, sent by a person.
Recurring report assembly
On a schedule, Zapier gathers the inputs from the systems that hold them. Claude drafts the commentary. The report owner checks the numbers and the wording before anything goes out.
Output: a report draft ready for its owner, without the assembly work.
How Zapier and Claude work together
Each one does a different job.
Zapier moves the work
It watches for the trigger, carries information between systems, and files the result. It follows the rules you set and does the same thing every time.
Claude drafts
It reads, summarizes, classifies, and drafts. The connection can run either way: an automation can hand work to Claude as a step, or someone working in Claude can start an automation.
A person decides
They approve, edit, or reject what AI drafted before it goes out. They also own the rules: what gets automated, who reviews it, and when that changes.
Setting up the Claude side too? See Claude Desktop Enablement.
How it runs
This runs as a Use-Case Launch.
Fixed scope · 6–8 weeks · use case already chosenYou already know which workflow comes first and need it running. We scope it, build the automations and approval steps around it, pilot it with real users, and hand it to an internal owner with documentation and training.
01
Scope
Name the workflow, the systems it touches, who approves what, and what you'll measure. IT and security questions go on the table here.
02
Build
Set up the automations and approval steps around that one workflow.
03
Pilot
Real users, real work, real feedback loops. Then decide: scale, adjust, or stop.
04
Hand off
An internal owner takes it over, with documentation and role-based training.
Pricing comes with the proposal. Don't know which workflow comes first? See the Use-Case Launch and the other ways to start.
Ownership at handoff
What you have when we leave.
Your accounts
Automations and app connections live in accounts your organization controls, under a named owner, not in ours.
An internal owner
A named person who has made changes to the automations with us during the pilot, and who can change or switch them off after we leave.
Documentation
For each automation: what triggers it, what it does, who approves, what happens when it fails, and how to turn it off.
Training
Role-based and specific to this workflow, for the approvers and for the owner.
Who this is for
- Executive sponsors who own the outcome but not the technology
- Operations and transformation leads inside 100–2,000 person organizations
- IT leaders who need a business-side counterpart, not another vendor
- Professional services, engineering, finance, and healthcare administration
- Organizations with real compliance constraints and no appetite for a policy that stops work
What this isn't
Not a software reseller. Not custom software development. Not automation for its own sake.
You buy Zapier directly, and the automations live in your accounts. We don't replace your IT team, and we won't automate a step that should be questioned first. When an engagement needs deeper specialist hands, Sunbury Digital brings in vetted partners, and you'll know who they are before they start.
FAQ
Questions that come up.
Do we need a paid Zapier plan?
It depends on how many automations you run, how often they run, and what you need to administer centrally. Plans and features change often, so we check what's current during scoping. Some features, such as Human in the Loop and shared agents, need a higher plan. We don't resell Zapier, so we have no stake in the answer.
Can AI-drafted content go out without a review?
Not by default. Wherever AI drafts content, the first version of the workflow has a person approving it. If your internal owner later decides a low-risk step doesn't need review, that's their call, made on what the pilot showed and written down.
Does our data pass through Zapier?
Yes. Data in an automation passes through Zapier and through any AI tool the automation calls. So your IT and security people decide which data can be included before we build, and anything that doesn't clear your review stays out of the automation.
What happens when an automation fails?
A named person gets told, and the documentation says how to fix and rerun it. Automations do fail, usually when a connected system changes, so we plan for it during the pilot.
Who maintains it after you leave?
A named person inside your organization, working from the documentation we hand over. If you want ongoing help, that's what the Enablement Partner tier is for.
Why Zapier instead of custom code?
Because your own people can read it and change it, and custom software development isn't something we do. If a workflow needs more than Zapier can reasonably handle, we'll say so and bring in a vetted partner.
Related service
Claude Desktop Enablement
If the drafting side isn't set up yet, start there: Claude Desktop configured around how each role works, with projects, custom skills, and connections to your systems.
Start with one win. Build a capability that lasts.
Describe what you're trying to figure out. You'll get an honest read on whether this is the right fit, and if it isn't, a pointer to who is.
Prefer email? hello@sunburydigital.com
Takes about two minutes. No pitch deck, no sales sequence.
Replies within one business day. The first conversation is a call, not a pitch.