Learning Timeline
Key Insights
Safety Best Practice
Configure the agent to 'Create a Draft' rather than 'Send Email'. This allows you to manually review AI-generated emails for hallucinations or formatting errors before they go out.
Preventing Data Hallucination
When configuring Google Sheets tools, always manually select the specific Spreadsheet and Worksheet. If you allow the AI to 'guess' or search your entire Drive, it may edit the wrong files.
Improving Email Quality
Include a 'Description' column in your lead source sheet. The agent uses this context to write tailored emails rather than generic spam, significantly increasing response rates.
Prompts
System Instructions for Outreach Agent
Target:
AI Agent Builder (System Prompt)
You are an Outreach Agent. Your goal is to find leads and draft tailored emails.
1. Search the web for leads based on the user's request.
2. Add the lead information to the connected Google Sheet.
3. Look up the specific row in the Google Sheet to read the business description.
4. Using the business description, draft a tailored HTML email in Gmail addressing their specific needs. Do not send the email; only create a draft.
5. After drafting the email, update the corresponding row in the Google Sheet to change the status column from 'No' to 'Yes' to indicate the draft is ready.
Step by Step
Configuring the Gmail Tool in Zapier
- Navigate to the Zapier MCP (Model Context Protocol) server configuration page.
- Click 'Add a new tool'.
- Search for 'Gmail' and select it.
- In the action dropdown, select 'Create a draft'.
- Under the 'Configuration' section, ensure the correct Gmail account is connected.
- Locate the 'Body Type' advanced option.
- Change 'Body Type' from default to 'Specific'.
- Select 'HTML' from the dropdown menu to enable better formatting (headings, bold text) in generated drafts.
- Click 'Save' to confirm the tool configuration.
Configuring Google Sheets Tools for Lookup and Updates
- Click 'Add a new tool' in the Zapier configuration interface.
- Select 'Google Sheets'.
- Choose the action 'Find a Row' (or 'Look up a specific row').
- In the configuration settings, manually select the specific 'Spreadsheet' and 'Worksheet' you want the agent to access (do not leave as 'guess').
- Click 'Save'.
- Click 'Add a new tool' again.
- Select 'Google Sheets'.
- Choose the action 'Update Spreadsheet Row' (ensure it supports line items if required).
- Repeat the configuration step: manually select the specific 'Spreadsheet' and 'Worksheet' to limit the agent's scope.
- Click 'Save'.
Connecting Zapier Integration to the AI Agent
- On the Zapier configuration page, click the 'Connect' button.
- Copy the generated 'Secret Key'.
- Navigate to your Agent Builder interface.
- Select the option to add an external action or tool (specifically the Zapier MCP integration).
- Paste the 'Secret Key' into the connection field.
- Change the 'Approval' setting to 'Never require' to allow autonomous operation.
- Uncheck the two default restricted permission boxes (if checked).
- Click 'Add' or 'Save' to finalize the connection.
