Create Your First Automation with Make

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Author

Jack Roberts
July 07, 2025

A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Howdy future AI Automator,

Right, let's dive straight in.

I'm going to demonstrate leveraging AI in an automation using Google Sheets and ChatGPT. By following along, you'll learn to set up triggers, connect to Google Sheets, and receive AI-generated responses. It's a simple yet if you do this, you’ll be on the path to becoming an AI Automator.

This is how you become the 1%.

What We're Building

Before we start, let me explain what this automation will do:

  1. You add a row to a Google Sheet (this is our trigger)

  2. Make detects the new row and grabs the information

  3. It sends that information to ChatGPT for processing

  4. ChatGPT responds with AI-generated content

  5. The response gets added back to your Google Sheet automatically

Brilliant, right? Let's build it.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Google Sheet

First things first - we need a Google Sheet to work with.

  1. Go to Google Sheets and create a new sheet

  2. Name it: "AI Automation Test" (or whatever you fancy)

  3. Set up your columns:

    • Column A: "Input Text"

    • Column B: "AI Response"

    • Column C: "Date Created"

  4. Add a test row in row 2:

    • A2: "Write a short marketing email about coffee"

    • Leave B2 and C2 empty for now

Save this sheet - we'll need it in a moment.

Step 2: Creating Your Make Scenario

Now let's hop into Make.com:

  1. Click "Create a new scenario" (top right corner)

  2. Search for "Google Sheets" in the module search

  3. Click on Google Sheets and select "Watch Rows"

Why "Watch Rows"? This module will monitor your Google Sheet and trigger whenever a new row is added. Perfect for our needs!

Step 3: Setting Up Your Google Sheets Trigger

Now we need to configure this module:

  1. Click on the Google Sheets module you just added

  2. Create a connection:

    • Click "Add" next to Connection

    • Sign in with your Google account

    • Give it a name like "My Google Sheets"

    • Click "Save"

  3. Configure the module:

    • Spreadsheet: Select your "AI Automation Test" sheet

    • Sheet: Usually "Sheet1" (unless you renamed it)

    • Table contains headers: Set to "Yes"

    • Limit: Set to "1" (we only want to process one row at a time)

  4. Click "OK" to save

Step 4: Adding ChatGPT to Your Automation

Right, now for the exciting bit - let's add ChatGPT:

  1. Click the little circle to the right of your Google Sheets module

  2. Search for "OpenAI" (this is ChatGPT's service)

  3. Click on OpenAI and select "Create a Chat Completion"

Setting up your OpenAI connection:

  1. Create connection (you'll need an OpenAI API key)

  2. Go to openai.com → Sign in → Go to API → Create new secret key

  3. Copy the key and paste it into Make

  4. Name your connection "ChatGPT" and save

Configure the ChatGPT module:

  1. Model: Select "gpt-3.5-turbo" (it's cheaper and perfect for this)

  2. Messages:

    • Role: "user"

    • Content: Click in the box and you'll see options from your Google Sheets module

    • Select the "Input Text" field from your Google Sheets data

  3. Click "OK"

Step 5: Writing Back to Google Sheets

We need to send ChatGPT's response back to our sheet:

  1. Add another module by clicking the circle after ChatGPT

  2. Search for "Google Sheets" again

  3. Select "Update a Row"

Configure this module:

  1. Connection: Use the same Google Sheets connection

  2. Spreadsheet: Your "AI Automation Test" sheet

  3. Sheet: Sheet1

  4. Row number: This is important - select the "Row number" from your first Google Sheets module (this ensures we update the same row)

  5. Values:

    • Input Text: Keep the original text (select from first module)

    • AI Response: Select the "Content" from your ChatGPT module

    • Date Created: You can add the current date/time

  6. Click "OK"

Step 6: Testing Your Automation

Right, let's see if this works:

  1. Click "Run once" at the bottom left of your scenario

  2. Go back to your Google Sheet

  3. Add a new row with some text like "Write 3 tips for productivity"

  4. Back in Make, click "Run once" again

  5. Check your Google Sheet - you should see the AI response appear!

If it worked - congratulations! You've just built your first AI automation.

If it didn't work - don't worry, let's troubleshoot.

Step 7: Making It Live

Once you're happy with your test:

  1. Click the toggle at the bottom left to turn it "ON"

  2. Set the schedule:

    • Click on "Scheduling"

    • Set to "Every 15 minutes" (or whatever suits you)

    • Click "OK"

  3. Name your scenario: Click "Untitled scenario" at the top and give it a proper name

Now your automation will check for new rows every 15 minutes and process them automatically!

Common Problems (And How to Fix Them)

Problem 1: "Connection failed"

  • Solution: Double-check your API keys and make sure you're signed into the right Google account

Problem 2: "No data found"

  • Solution: Make sure your Google Sheet has the headers in row 1 and data in row 2

Problem 3: "OpenAI API error"

  • Solution: Check you have credit in your OpenAI account and your API key is correct

Problem 4: "Automation not triggering"

  • Solution: Remember, it only triggers on NEW rows added after the automation is live

Problem 5: "Wrong row being updated"

  • Solution: Make sure you're using the "Row number" from the first Google Sheets module in your "Update Row" module

What You've Just Achieved

Bloody brilliant! You've just:

  • ✅ Created your first Make automation

  • ✅ Connected Google Sheets to AI

  • ✅ Built a system that processes data automatically

  • ✅ Joined the elite 1% mastering AI automation

This simple automation can be the foundation for incredible things:

  • Content creation workflows

  • Customer service responses

  • Data analysis and insights

  • Email marketing automation

  • Social media content generation

The possibilities are literally endless.

What's Next?

Now that you've got the basics down, you're ready for more advanced automations. In my next email, I'll show you how to:

  • Add conditional logic to your automations

  • Connect multiple AI services together

  • Build more complex workflows that can handle different types of input

But for now, play around with this automation. Try different prompts, see what ChatGPT comes up with, and get comfortable with the process.

You're no longer just learning about automation - you're actually doing it.

Love and Automation,

Jack 🩵🤖

PS - Once you’re ready, head over to my community, AI Automations by Jack, and share what you’ve built.

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