What is Zapier?
Zapier is a self-service tool which can automate processes between two or more apps. On the Zapier interface, apps can include four different features, known as Triggers, Actions, Filters, and Searches. These features are combined to create something called a Zap, which is comparable to CloudTalk's Workflow Automation. In addition to CloudTalk, Zapier connects to over 3,000 other apps, including:
800+ Sales apps and CRMs
600+ Marketing and Campaign apps
350+ Productivity apps
150+ eCommerce apps
100+ Support apps
70+ Talent Acquisition & HR apps
Learn more about connected apps via Zapier's documentation, or view Zapier pricing plans.
I. Add CloudTalk to "My Apps"
Log into Zapier and from the Dashboard, navigate to My Apps and search CloudTalk, clicking the blue button to Connect the app. You can follow this link directly to connect CloudTalk through your Zapier account.
II. Create & Authorize Zaps
For new Zaps, you can click the black button in the top left corner to
Create Zap. View or edit existing apps by navigating to the Zaps tab first.
The first element of a Zap to decide on is the Trigger (detailed in the next section of this article). Search the app you would like to trigger the automation—in this case, CloudTalk.
There will be different Trigger Event options depending on the app chosen. For CloudTalk, we can choose:
New Contact,New Call, orNew SMS.
The first time CloudTalk is requested for use within a Zap, you will need to connect and authorize a CloudTalk account. In order to do this, open a separate tab or window and log into the dashboard of the CloudTalk account you wish to link. Navigate to the Account -> Settings tab from the lefthand toolbar, and select the API Keys header. From here, generate a new set of API Keys by clicking the
+ Add API Keybutton. This pairing of an Access Key ID and Access Key Secret is what you will copy and paste into Zapier's authentication prompt within Zap setup.
Back on the Zapier tab, continue your Zap creation by choosing a CloudTalk account or adding a new one. Be sure it is the same account from which you just retrieved the API Keys.
Copy/Paste the Access Key ID and Access Key Secret from the CloudTalk tab, and click
Yes, Continue.From this point, you can continue customizing your Zap in the Action step, detailed in the next section of this article. The linked CloudTalk account should pull up in the dropdown list for future Zaps so that you don't need to retrieve authentication keys each time.
III. Parts of a Zap
1. Trigger
Triggers are always the first step in a Zap, and serve as an inciting incident for the automation. A Zap will receive information from the Trigger's connected app which will be used in the following steps. For example, a New Call could trigger a Zap each time a new call was registered in your linked CloudTalk account, and from each new call, all relevant information would be forwarded to Zapier.
⚠️Test Trigger
Be aware that our triggers will only show example data when tested, not real company data.
Note: Zaps will not run immediately unless the Trigger Event is instant. All CloudTalk Trigger Events are instant, but this is not the case for all Zapier apps.
New Call
- example use case: Log CloudTalk calls to your company system.
- info shared:
Field | Description |
ide | CloudTalk call id, "_cloudtalk" |
contact_ide | CloudTalk contact id |
subject | possible values == |
type | value == |
due_date | call date |
due_time | call time |
external_number | contact number |
internal_number | CloudTalk number |
duration | total call duration in seconds (wait + talk + wrap up times) |
notes | call notes at time of call ended |
tags | call tags, separated by comma |
recording_url | link to recording in CloudTalk |
date | ISO call timestamp |
wait_time | caller wait time in seconds |
agent_email | agent's CloudTalk user email |
timezone | call timezone |
direction | possible values == |
campaign_disposition | when call was part of Power dialer campaign, includes campaign disposition |
survey_answers | when call was part of Power dialer campaign, includes survey questions/answers |
New SMS - info shared:
Field | Description |
internal_number | CloudTalk number |
external_number | contact number |
text | message |
direction | possible values == |
agent | when |
date | ISO date & time message was sent/received |
New Contact
- example use case: Synchronize CloudTalk contacts to a 3rd party system.
- info shared:
Field | Description |
ide | CloudTalk contact id |
name | contact name |
title | contact title |
company | contact company |
industry | contact industry |
website | contact website |
address | contact street address |
city | contact city |
zip | contact zip/postal code |
state | contact state (multiple formats allowed) |
tags | contact tags |
contact_email | contact emails |
contact_number | contact phone numbers |
custom_fields | *varies |
2. Action
Actions are the subsequent step in a Zap. Once an automation has been triggered, the Action represents the process which will take place in a connected app. For example, after a Trigger Event takes place in a CRM app, a contact could be updated in CloudTalk. The following Zapier Action types are connected to the CloudTalk app:
Create or Update Contact
Create a new CloudTalk contact or update an existing one.
- example use case: Synchronize contacts from a 3rd party system into CloudTalk.
Create or Update Activity
Create or update a contact's activity in CloudTalk. Be aware, this does not update the call or SMS records within CloudTalk.
- example use case: Log tickets/orders from your system to CloudTalk so they are visible to agents.
Note: For all actions, sending a recognized activity/contact id will
update the matching activity/contact for each Zap run, rather than
creating new activities or contacts each time.
Send SMS
In cases where the sender's number can support this function, send an outbound SMS from this CloudTalk number.
3. Search
Searches make it easier to access specific data while setting up an Action step. When chosen as the app for an action step, CloudTalk offers a Find Contact keyword search. Search existing CloudTalk contacts by entering an email, phone number, or name. In a partial search, only the first matching contact will be returned.
Find Contact - return data:
Field | Description |
most recently input contact email | |
phone | most recently input contact number |
name | contact name |
company | contact company |
id | CloudTalk contact id |
custom contact field name(s) | custom contact field value(s) |
4. Filter
Only available through Zapier's higher plans, filters are a more complex version of searches. CloudTalk's app does not offer these currently.
5. Template (Pre-made Zap)
Templates are Zaps between two apps that have already been created for common use cases. Within the CloudTalk Zapier app, there is a selection of CRM templates clients can choose from to save time.
If you need further assistance or have any questions, you can contact our Support team. We are always here to help you!