Looking for use case inspiration specific to your AI client? Check out our guides to using Zapier MCP with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and OpenClaw. Otherwise, keep reading for ways to use Zapier MCP that work across any AI.
I love being able to hook up Claude and my other AI tools to apps I use, but I'm picky about how I establish that connection. If I switch AI harnesses, I don't want to rebuild my app connections every time. And I really don't want my AI poking around in tools it has no business touching.
That's why Zapier MCP is one of my favorite tools right now. It plugs into every AI I chat with, giving them access to a governed library of more than 9,000 apps and 30,000 actions.
If you, too, want your AI to act in your apps but aren't sure where to begin, you're in the right place. Keep reading to learn about seven popular ways people are using Zapier MCP right now, and grab some templates (complete with suggested prompts) to help you get started.
To use any of the templates in this post, click Try it and follow the guided setup instructions on each page. For more templates, check out the Zapier MCP templates page.
Table of contents
Zapier is the most connected AI orchestration platform—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use forms, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated, AI-powered systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack. Learn more.
What is MCP?
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It's a way to let your AI tools connect to other apps, like a universal adapter. So instead of your AI only being able to chat with you, MCP lets it actually do things, like send emails, update your CRM, and create tasks.
You could build your own MCP server to do this, but that would mean getting a developer to write and maintain integrations for every app you want to connect. Or you could just use Zapier MCP instead.
Why should I use Zapier MCP?
Zapier MCP is our implementation of the MCP standard. With it, you get access to more than 9,000 apps and 30,000 actions, including any private integrations your team builds.
And it's secure. Zapier MCP is SOC 2 Type II certified and handles authentication through OAuth, which is a safe way for apps to connect without exchanging passwords. That means your app credentials will never touch the actual AI model, so the model can't leak or misuse them. You also decide which apps and actions your AI can reach, and you can revoke that access at any time.
It also works with any AI client that supports MCP—like Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor—so you can switch AI harnesses tomorrow without having to reconnect everything and set your access rules from scratch.
Ways to use Zapier MCP
I've grouped these use cases into three buckets: getting prepared, creating drafts, and triaging messages. Every template comes preloaded with apps, but you can easily swap out any one out for another from our directory.
Start your day prepared
You start every day sorting through your inbox, calendar, and Slack messages. You want AI to scan all three, surface what needs your attention, and deliver a single brief to help kick off your day.
Pull your calendar, check your goals, triage Slack threads, and surface urgent emails into a prioritized morning briefing -- with draft replies ready to send.
You're getting ready for a prospect call. You want AI to do some online research, then add relevant notes to the corresponding HubSpot record.
Search for recent company news and add a research summary to their HubSpot record before your call
Before you walk into a meeting with an existing client, you want to pull the latest activity from Salesforce, recent emails, and open support tickets.
Get a complete Salesforce account briefing with contacts, opportunities, and activity history in one AI conversation
Create a draft
You want to create a document that flags any anomalies or trends from the data you're tracking in Google Sheets and Looker.
Pull data from Google Sheets and Looker, flag anomalies, and write a summary to your Google Doc template
You just finished a blog post, and you want AI to draft an email and some social posts to distribute it across multiple channels.
Turn a blog post into scheduled social posts and an email draft, all aligned with your brand guidelines
Sort and route messages
You're drowning in incoming messages. You want to collect what's in your Gmail and Slack, identify what needs your immediate attention, then route the rest to the right teammate or thread in Jira.
Prioritize emails and Slack messages, summarize them, and route to the right channel or create Jira tickets
Tickets are piling up in your Zendesk queue. You want AI to read every one, classify it by topic and urgency, then assign them to the right teammate.
Read unassigned Zendesk tickets, classify by type, and route to the right team automatically
Bring an action layer to your AI of choice
These templates are an excellent starting point, but there's so much more you can do with Zapier MCP. Grant it access to all the apps and actions you want, and you can automate any of the work you usually start in AI.
Ready to get started with Zapier MCP? Pick a template or start from scratch by jumping right into the MCP dashboard today.
