They're not AI Agents, it's just Automation: Start Here

You can’t automate judgment before you’ve automated rules.
Start with flows. Then layer intelligence.

In this post:

1. Automation vs. Agent (what's the difference)

2. Step-by-step: Build your first automation with Make (0 cost)

3. What to Automate next

Let’s clear the basics.

A rule-based workflow.
Runs when conditions are met. No reasoning, just execution.

Example: New email with attachment → Upload to Drive. That’s automation.

A system powered by a language model.
Can reason, decide, and act based on goals.

Example: If an email has an attachment, decide: Is it a contract (→ legal), invoice (→ extract total) or report (→ summarize). That’s an agent.

Tools like Make and Zapier are great for automations.
Agents need LLMs like GPT-4, Claude or Gemini.

Start with automation first.

We’ll log every new Google Doc into a Google Sheet.

You’ll need:

• Gmail account

• Google Drive folder (where to create new documents)

• Google Sheet (you can use this template)

• Make (free plan)

Go to Make → Click “Create a new scenario”

1. Click the "+" icon

2. Search "Google Docs" → Choose “Watch Documents”

   

3. Connect your Google account

4. Pick a folder (e.g. “AI’m In”) in Folder ID section

• Add Google Sheets module → Choose “List Sheets”

• Select your spreadsheet (e.g. AI’m In template)

• File Name → Name

• Date → Created Time

• Link → Web View Link

• Click “Run once”

• Create a new Doc → Check the sheet → Row added

• You ran your first automation. Well done 🙌

Click “ON” → Now it runs on schedule.
Every new doc = new row.

Build 3–5 flows like this:

• Form to Notion

• Tweet to Airtable

• New calendar event → Slack reminder

This helps you understand structure, limits and edge cases.

No corporate account? No problem. Set up Make with a personal Google account, done in 5 minutes. ⏱️

Transform simple automation into a smart AI agent that:

• Auto-classifies files

• Instantly summarizes contracts

• Precisely extracts invoice data

• Dynamically routes workflows

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Nina

Tap the heart ❤️ if this got you excited to build something.