If you do it twice, automate it. Wire apps together with webhooks and put AI steps in the middle.
Automations are workflows that run without you touching them. Something happens (a trigger), conditions are checked, and actions run automatically. The most powerful ones run while you're asleep.
"When a new row appears in Airtable (trigger) → if the Status field is 'New' (condition) → send me an email summary (action)." Or: "Every Monday at 9am (trigger) → pull last week's Airtable rows → send a digest email."
Make.com (formerly Integromat) is a visual automation builder. You drag and drop "modules" and connect them. It has pre-built connectors for hundreds of apps :: Gmail, Airtable, Slack, Notion, and more.
Go to make.com → sign up → New Scenario. A "scenario" is Make's word for an automation workflow.
Click the empty circle → Search for "Airtable" → choose "Watch Records." Connect your Airtable account and select your base and table.
Click the + button after your trigger → search "Gmail" → choose "Send an Email." Fill in the recipient, subject, and body :: using data from your trigger.
Click Run Once to test. Add a row to Airtable. Watch Make process it. Check your email.
A webhook is a URL that you give to one app so it can notify another app the instant something happens :: no polling, no waiting. "Call this URL when a payment goes through." The other app receives the call and reacts immediately.
Make.com has a Claude/OpenAI module. You can add an AI step to any automation: summarize the incoming data, classify it, draft a reply, generate content. This is where automations get seriously powerful.
Trigger: every Monday 9am → Get last week's Airtable rows → Send all rows to Claude with prompt "Summarize these submissions in 5 bullet points, highlight any urgent ones" → Send Claude's summary as an email. You built an AI assistant for yourself.