What Is Make.com? How to Use It to Automate Workflows

Beyond automated flows like these, Vietnamese businesses also use AI follows up with customers automatically, to handle whole conversations with customers.

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What is Make.com?

Make.com (formerly known as Integromat) is an automation platform no-code, helping you easily build effective workflows without writing a single line of code. It launched in 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic under the name Integromat, and in 2022, the company decided to restructure and rename it Make.com to expand the platform's potential even further.

Although it's a “latecomer”, Make.com quickly won users over with its intuitive, good-looking interface and very easy operation. You can connect hundreds of popular apps and services such as Google Sheets, Gmail, Notion and Slack yourself and streamline your daily work in just a few clicks.

Thanks to this, Make.com has become a favorite of many automation agencies, such as SlimAI, when they build workflow optimization solutions for business clients. If you're looking for a tool that makes work run smoother and saves time, Make.com is definitely a useful one.

How does Make AI automation work?

See more: What is an AI chatbot: how it differs from a scripted chatbot and how to choose the right one

Make.com helps users automation work by connecting familiar apps such as CRM, cloud storage platforms, marketing tools, sales tools and more. Instead of entering or converting data by hand, Make AI automation lets these apps talk to each other through a preset process, making sure every step runs smoothly and accurately. The process follows these steps: Our article on AI for customer care is recommended further reading. The article stop hiring and automate is recommended further reading.

• Choose the apps to connect: Users link accounts from the tools they already use so data can flow between them.
• Create an automation scenario: Use Make.com's visual drag-and-drop interface to set up a process between apps without knowing how to code.
• Configure the operating rules: Define the trigger conditions and actions so data is processed exactly the way you want.
• Test and launch: Run a test, adjust if needed, then let the system run on its own.

What are the standout features of Make.com?

If you're looking for an automation platform that is visual and easy to use but still powerful, Make.com is definitely worth considering. Besides streamlining your workflow, the platform offers a smooth experience with a set of useful features:

Make.com's clear and striking interface

Many automation platforms today have a rather dry interface, which makes the user experience dull and unappealing. With Make.com, it's completely different. From your very first contact, you'll notice the modern, intuitive and lively design that makes it enjoyable and easy to use.

Make.com doesn't just focus on powerful features, it also polishes every detail of the interface. The mix of bright colors, a logical layout and smooth motion effects makes building a workflow easier and more intuitive.

In particular, instead of showing data as dry numbers or tables, Make.com AI Automation uses charts and lively icons to depict the workflow directly. That way you quickly grasp how the system works, and you get more inspiration for the automation itself.

Module mechanism

Make.com works on a module mechanism, so you can build workflows in the most visual way. Each module represents one specific action, and you simply drag, drop and connect them to create the automation you want.

The nice part of this mechanism is that you can flexibly edit, add or delete any module without interrupting the whole system. You can also group modules into separate areas, which makes managing and optimizing the workflow easier.

Fast drag-and-drop operation

Make.com AI automation delivers a visual automation experience with quick drag-and-drop. With a few simple steps, you can connect apps and add conditions, loops or filters without touching a line of code.

Make.com has a huge template library

Make.com gives users a huge library of thousands of ready-made templates, along with preset scenarios (automation scripts). This saves setup time, especially for people without much experience. More importantly, all templates are free, so you can customize them and build workflows to your own needs without much effort.

Easy data management with Make.com

You can manage data on Make.com without much trouble. The platform supports importing data from many different sources and converts formats quickly, so you don't have to edit by hand. Its data filtering is also well tuned, helping you sort and categorize information efficiently. This is a big advantage if you need to process complex data, set up automated workflows, or feed analysis and reporting.

What are the pros and cons of Make.com?

Make.com helps connect and streamline tasks across many different apps without manual intervention. However, like any platform, Make AI automation has its own strengths and limits. Below are the pros and cons of Make.com to weigh before you use it.

Pros of Make.com

With deep customization and support for many integrations, Make.com brings the following standout benefits:

• Easy workflow setup: Make.com AI automation offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to set up and manage automated processes without writing code.
• Wide range of app integrations: The platform supports connections with 1,000+ apps, expanding what you can automate and letting you optimize workflows as you need.
• Real-time monitoring: Users can watch execution as it happens, keeping the process running smoothly and letting them react quickly if something goes wrong.
• Flexible data transformation: Make.com supports data operations between apps, so you can process and shape data precisely to fit your automation needs.
• Flexible plan options: With many options, including a free version, the platform suits a range of needs and budgets.

Cons of Make.com

Despite its many useful features, Make.com has some limits that can affect the user experience:

• Hard to migrate data: If you currently use another automation tool and want to move to Make.com, the process may not be simple. Non-technical users in particular may struggle to rebuild their workflows, and may even need extra support or training to use it well.
• Limited customization: For complex processes that need a lot of flexibility, Make.com may not be the best choice. Compared with open-source platforms such as N8n, Make AI automation is somewhat more limited when it comes to customizing and extending for deep technical needs.

The most detailed guide to using Make.com

Now that you know what Make.com is and what it offers, it's time to start using it. Here is a detailed guide to using Make.com so you can set up and run automation scenarios effectively:

Step 1: Basic setup

To start using Make.com, you need to do a few key things: register an account, set up your personal details and get familiar with the dashboard.

Register an account

Go to the Make.com homepage and click “Get started free” to begin signing up. You can choose the free plan with 1,000 operations/month or upgrade to a paid plan if you need more. Which plan you choose depends on the scale of your operations and how much automation you want to roll out.

Set up your profile

After you finish signing up, Make.com asks for some basic information such as your name, email and password. This step lets the system personalize your experience and makes sure your account runs smoothly.

Get familiar with the Dashboard

After logging in, you'll land on the Dashboard – where all your automation scenarios are managed. Some important areas in the Dashboard to pay attention to:

• Organization: An overview of your account and teams.
• Teams: Manage members and access permissions.
• Scenarios: Shows all the automation scenarios you've set up.
• Templates: Ready-made automation templates to browse and apply.
• Connections: Configure connections to outside apps.
• Webhooks: An important tool for triggering scenarios through HTTP requests. 

Step 2: Open the scenario editor and choose the right Trigger

To start building an automation scenario on Make.com, you need to open the Scenario Editor. This is where you design, adjust and control your whole automation process.

From the Dashboard, click “Create a new scenario” to open the scenario editor. Make AI automation provides a visual interface that makes it easy to build scenarios by dragging, dropping and connecting modules. The main parts of the editor are:

• Trigger: Defines the event that starts the scenario.
• Act: The execution steps that follow after the Trigger fires.
• Conditions: Rules that control the flow of the scenario.
• Filters: Filter data before the next actions run.

Once the editor is open, the next step is choosing a Trigger that fits your automation goal. Make.com connects with a huge number of apps, and almost any app can act as a Trigger. For example:

• Google Sheets: The workflow runs when a new row is added, or when data is deleted or updated.
• Gmail: Fires when a new email arrives, when you send one, or when you delete one.
• Telegram: Reacts when a message is received or a new member joins a group.

Each app has many different Trigger options. You just need to be clear on this: “Which event should make the system run automatically?” and you can pick the right Trigger right away.

In this article, MONA will take an example workflow that creates SEO content automatically just by entering a keyword into Google Sheets. You can set Google Sheets as the Trigger. When a cell in the spreadsheet changes, the workflow fires, has AI write the article, and updates it on the platform you want.

Note: AI-generated content should be used for reference only. Check and edit it carefully before publishing it on your website to avoid content quality problems.

Step 3: Configure the actions in Make.com

As the earlier MONA article on AI Automation mentioned, to run this workflow you need to define clearly your daily process for producing content with AI.

When you have a keyword to write about, AI first creates an outline. Then AI uses the outline and the keyword you entered to write the full content. When the content is done, the system automatically updates it to Google Docs. Finally, the Google Doc link is recorded back in the Google Sheet so you can manage everything in one place and track it more easily.

To run this process, you'll need to integrate the following tools in Make.com:

• Google Sheet (manages input data and results)
• Google Doc (stores and edits the content)
• Claude AI/ChatGPT (AI that helps write the article)
• Perplexity (researches the topic and finds content ideas).

Step 1: Set up the trigger on Make.com

1. Create a new scenario, click the “+” → Choose Google Sheets 

Choose Watch Changes (Cell). Configure the Range to watch – this is the data area that will trigger the workflow when something changes.

2. Create a webhook: In the scenario, create a webhook to receive data from the Google Sheet → Copy the webhook link you just created.

3. Deploy Google Apps Script

• Open the Google Sheet you want to connect → Go to Features → Apps Script.

• Paste the script code from Make.com.
• Replace the parameters:
  • WATCH_CHANGE_WEBHOOK_URL: Paste the webhook link you copied.
  • Enter the sheet name and range (Range) to watch

4. Activate the automatic trigger

• In Apps Script, go to Triggers → Add Trigger → Set up
• Select event type: Choose Changing → Save

Step 2: Connect Perplexity to make.com

In the workflow MONA set up, once you have the article keyword, instead of researching on Google by hand, we let AI handle that part. It's fairly simple to do:

• Add tool Perplexity AI → Choose Create a chat completion.

• Connect Perplexity: Go to the Perplexity AI page to get the API key. Then enter the API Key to connect.

Note: If you sign up for the 20/month plan, you get 5 free API credits. Otherwise, you need to add a VISA card and top up at least $3 to use the API.

Configure the information on Perplexity:

• Model: You can choose Sonar (or another model depending on your needs).
• Messages:
  • Content: Fill in the prompt asking Perplexity to research. For example: “Research (drag in data from the Google Sheet → choose the column containing the keyword)”. If a long prompt needs several cells combined, just drag and drop the same way.
  • Role: Choose user.

When you're done, choose Save.

Step 3: Pass the collected data to Claude AI to create the article outline

Next, you'll need to do the steps below to connect Claude AI to Make.com and let the system automatically create an article outline from the data you already have. Specifically:

1. Add Anthropic Claude → Choose Create a Prompt.

2. Connect your Claude account by going to Anthropic's API page, choosing Start building → Get API keys → Create a new key and paste it into Make.com.

3. Set up the information on Claude:

• Models: Choose the Claude 3.7 sonnet model (a stable version that handles long content well).
• Max token: Set it to 8000 so Claude has enough “room” to process the prompt.
• Messages:
  • Role: User
  • Content: Enter the prompt asking Claude to create the outline (for example: “Based on the data provided, create an article outline about [topic X] with a clear structure…”).
  • System prompt: This is the default part that lets Claude understand the context (for example: “MONA is a company specializing in web design and marketing, and every article follows a friendly, easy-to-read style”).

Step 4: Write the full article on Claude AI 

Once you have the outline from step 3, you just adjust the prompt so Claude automatically turns it into a full article. The steps are the same as when creating the outline, only the requested content differs:

1. Keep the same connection structure: Claude API, Sonnet model, max tokens 8000, a system prompt if needed.

2. Change the prompt in the Messages section:

• Role: User
• Content: “Based on the outline created, write a detailed article in a (natural/professional/friendly…) tone, about (X) words long. Notes: (specific requirements, for example: insert the keyword ‘SEO services’, avoid hard-to-understand terms…)”.
• System prompt: You can keep it as is if you set it up earlier

Step 5: Export content from Claude AI to Google Docs automatically 

After Claude finishes the article, you can save the content to Google Docs automatically in a few simple steps on Make.com:

1. Add the action “Google Docs – Create a Document”

2. Set up the document information:

• Name (file name):
  • Choose Row values → Choose the column containing the main keyword (for example: “SEO Guide 2024”) to name the file automatically.
  • Pro tip: Putting the keyword in the file name makes it easier to manage and helps SEO later.
• Content: Choose the Text response from the result returned by Anthropic Claude (the article Claude generated).
• Choose a Drive: Choose My Drive (or a specific folder if needed).
• New Document’s Location: Choose the storage folder in your Google Drive 

Click Save to finish

Step 6: Update the Google Docs link in Google Sheet automatically

Once you have the Google Docs file containing Claude AI's content, you need to save the link so it's easy to manage. Here is how to automatically update the docs link in the Google Sheet through Make.com:

Steps:

1. Add the action “Google Sheets – Update a Row“

2. Set up the connection information:

• Search Method: Choose Search by path
• Drive: Choose My Drive (or the folder where you saved the Google Sheet file)
• Spreadsheet ID: Choose the Google Sheet file to update (the file that holds the docs link from Step 4)
• Sheet name: Choose the specific sheet in the file (for example: “Content List”, “Data Output”)

Set where to update:

• Row number: Scroll down and choose Row start (or choose a specific row if you want to overwrite old data).
• Value (Value to update): Choose the column where you want to insert the link (for example: the “Google Docs Link” column). In the value field, choose Web View Link from the Google Docs result in the earlier step.

Click Save to finish

Step 4: Check and test-run the scenario

Once you've finished setting up the scenario on Make.com, the next important step is to check and test-run it to make sure everything works as expected. This is not only a way to verify the scenario runs, but also helps you spot things to optimize.

Run a test

Start by clicking “Run Once” to check whether Make.com handles the process the way you set it up. If you want to automate on a schedule, you can adjust the recurring run time, for example “Every 15 minutes” or a custom interval.

During the test run, you'll see how data moves through each step, from the moment the trigger fires to when the result is recorded, such as sending an email, updating a CRM or filling in a Google Sheet. If there's an error, Make.com AI automation shows a message so you can fix it right away.

Check the results

After the test run, go to the app or system you're integrating (Google Sheets, email, CRM…) to check whether the data was handled correctly. Pay attention to:

• Is the data recorded accurately?
• Do the steps happen in the order you want?
• Does any step take a long time or fail?

If everything runs smoothly, your scenario is ready to automate. If there are errors, adjust and test again until it's right. This helps you refine the process and keep the system running efficiently.

Step 5: Finish your automation scenario with Make.com

Once your first automated scenario is running reliably, you can add more features to streamline operations. This makes the system more flexible, for example automatically sending confirmation emails, notifying your team through Microsoft Teams, or integrating other apps. Here is a detailed guide to upgrading your scenario on Make.com:

Automatically send confirmation emails

One of the simplest yet most useful ways to improve a scenario is to set up an automatic confirmation email to the customer right after their order is processed. This not only gives the customer information quickly but also makes the business look professional. 

Just add a send-email action to the scenario and choose the “Answer Email” field to pull the address from the Google Form. Right after that, the customer receives an email with their order details or next steps, making it easy to follow along and take the steps they need.

Notify your team through Microsoft Teams

If your business has a customer support team, you can set up an automatic notification every time a new order comes in so they're always ready to handle it. You can connect Microsoft Teams to Make.com, then add a send-notification action to the scenario. Every time there's a new order, the system sends a message to the group so the team can act immediately, cutting response time and improving service quality.

Expand your customer communication options

Expanding the channels you use to talk to customers is another way to improve your automated scenario. Instead of only sending email, you can add SMS, a chatbot or mobile app notifications so customers have more choices for receiving information. 

For example, if a customer fills in a registration form, the system can send a confirmation SMS right away, which raises the response rate. If you have your own app, sending a push notification updates important information faster and more effectively.

Make.com doesn't just help you automate processes, it opens a new way to improve how you work. Whether you're an individual or a business, you can use this platform to save time, cut down manual work and focus on more important tasks. Once you have a firm grip on what Make.com is and how to use it, connecting apps will be simpler than ever. 

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