zapier-explore

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# Zapier explore

Help the user expand beyond the first action — figure out what Zapier MCP can do for them based on their role and apps, then walk them through enabling a starter set of actions tailored to that work.

This is the natural follow-on to `zapier-demo`. Demo proves one action works; explore turns that into a real toolkit for the user's day-to-day.

For how the Zapier MCP server itself works, see [docs.zapier.com/mcp](https://docs.zapier.com/mcp/home).

## When to use vs. other skills

- **zapier-explore** (this skill) — *role-tailored expansion.* Interview + use cases + configuration.
- **zapier-demo** — *one app, one action, run it live.* Run this first if the user hasn't seen Zapier work yet.
- **zapier-onboard** — *pitch + connect.* Server-level authentication only. Run this before demo if the server isn't connected.
- **zapier-status** — *health checks and audits* on an existing setup.

If the user hasn't run their first action yet, route to **zapier-demo** first — explore works best after a win.

## Step 1: Interview

Keep it short — two or three questions, not a survey. Adapt follow-ups based on answers.

Open with:

> "Let's figure out what to add to your Zapier toolkit. Quick context first — what do you do for work, and what apps are you in every day?"

Listen for:
- **Role / function** (engineer, PM, sales, marketing, founder, support, creator, ops, recruiter, finance, exec, personal)
- **Named apps** (Slack, Gmail, Jira, HubSpot, etc.)
- **Industry signals** (sole automation builder vs. on a team, B2B vs. consumer, startup vs. enterprise)

If they give you only role *or* only apps, ask one follow-up. If they give you both, optionally ask:

> "Is there a task you keep redoing manually that you'd love to delegate?"

Don't push past three questions. Move on with what you've got.

## Step 2: Suggest use cases

Pick the **role library** below that best matches the user's answers (multiple is fine — combine for hybrid roles). For each, surface 4–6 use cases tailored to the apps they mentioned. If they named an app you don't have in the library, default to the closest equivalent (e.g., "Outlook" → use the Gmail patterns; "Monday.com" → use the Asana patterns).

For each use case, output:

- **The prompt** — exactly what the user can say to their AI, in quotes
- **What it does** — one-line explanation
- **Actions needed** — the specific Zapier actions they'd enable to make it work

Format as a short prose block per use case, not a table. Don't list more than 6 use cases at once. If you have more, present them in waves — give 4, see if any land, then offer "want more?"

## Step 3: Pick and confirm

For the use cases the user reacts to ("yes that one"), produce a consolidated **enable list** grouped by app:

> "To make those work, you'll need to enable:
> - **Slack:** Send Channel Message, Find Message
> - **Jira:** Find Issue by Key, Create Issue
> - **Google Calendar:** Find Events"

Cross-reference the **Recommended actions by app** table below to fill any gaps — aim for 2–4 actions per app (1–2 search, 1–2 write).

## Step 4: Walk them through enabling

Direct the user to their Zapier dashboard:

- If the server exposes a `get_configuration_url` tool, call it first and give them the direct link.
- Otherwise, point them at [mcp.zapier.com](https://mcp.zapier.com).

Then tell them what to do:

> "Open [that link], find your server, and add the actions in the list above. You'll also need to connect each app's account when prompted (OAuth). Come back and say **done** when everything is added."

Wait for confirmation. If they hit issues:

- **"It's not showing up after I added it"** — they need to restart their MCP client so it re-reads the tool list (Cursor: Cmd+Shift+P → "Reload Window"; Claude Desktop: quit and reopen; Claude Code: quit and restart).
- **"It says I need to authenticate [App]"** — that's the OAuth flow on mcp.zapier.com. Have them complete it and retry.

## Step 5: Verify

Re-inspect the available Zapier MCP tools and confirm the new actions are present. If anything is missing, troubleshoot with the user — most often a client reload is enough.

## Step 6: Celebrate and offer the next move

Once everything is enabled, name the win and offer a natural next step:

> "You're set up with [N] tools across [App list]. Try one now — say something like '[example prompt tailored to their setup]' and I'll run it. Or run **/zapier-status** anytime to check the health of your tools."

## Use case library

Don't read the user every use case verbatim. Pick the most relevant ones for their context and present them as natural recommendations.

### Engineer

- "Find the Jira tickets assigned to me that are still open this sprint." *— Jira: Find Issues via JQL*
- "Get the GitHub PRs waiting on my review." *— GitHub: Find Pull Request*
- "Pull the on-call schedule and tell me when my next shift is." *— PagerDuty: Find On-call*
- "Create a Linear issue from this Slack thread." *— Slack: Get Message + Linear: Create Issue*
- "Find the latest Sentry error for my service and file it as a Jira bug." *— Sentry: Find Issues + Jira: Create Issue*
- "Summarize this week's activity on my GitLab MRs." *— GitLab: Find Merge Requests*

### Product manager

- "Summarize this week's customer feedback from #product-feedback into a Notion doc." *— Slack: Find Messages + Notion: Create Page*
- "Find all Jira tickets tagged 'this-sprint' and post a Slack update for standup." *— Jira: Find via JQL + Slack: Send Channel Message*
- "Look up the HubSpot deal for [customer] and draft a follow-up email." *— HubSpot: Find Deal + Gmail: Create Draft*
- "Convert this Slack thread into a Linear feature request." *— Slack: Read Thread + Linear: Create Issue*
- "Pull my calendar for next week and highlight customer calls." *— Google Calendar: Find Events*
- "Find Linear issues mentioning [feature] and summarize their statuses." *— Linear: Find Issues*

### Sales (AE / SDR)

- "Find the HubSpot contact for [email] and log this call as a note." *— HubSpot: Find Contact + HubSpot: Create Note*
- "Look up [company] in Salesforce and draft a personalized outreach email." *— Salesforce: Find Account + Gmail: Create Draft*
- "Search Pipedrive for deals closing this month." *— Pipedrive: Find Deals*
- "Pull tomorrow's calendar and tell me which meetings are with prospects." *— Google Calendar: Find Events + HubSpot: Find Contacts*
- "Find recent emails from [prospect] and summarize the relationship." *— Gmail: Find Email*
- "Add this LinkedIn profile to HubSpot as a new contact." *— HubSpot: Create Contact*

### Marketing

- "Find the latest Mailchimp campaign stats and post a summary to #marketing." *— Mailchimp: Find Campaign + Slack: Send Channel Message*

From zapier/zapier-mcp, MIT.

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