Introducing more ways for new users to explore Zapier

Categories: Product Updates
Introducing more ways for new users to explore Zapier

Hey folks! Kate here, a product manager at Zapier working to help new customers understand what Zapier is and how Zapier can be relevant to them. I want to share some updates we’ve made to our Explore experience, including an updated explore page to help users learn about Zapier by app, use case, or role. This also introduces new landing pages for different roles, giving users a way to browse how to use Zapier based on their job function. There’s a bunch more details below, but feel free to check them out here: Explore Zapier, Explore Zapier by Role

What we're doing

We know people come to Zapier with different needs and levels of understanding of our product. Our goal is to inspire users with new ways to think about automation and provide different jumping off points to learn how Zapier works. The new Explore experience aims to help users answer:

  • How can Zapier help me?

  • When do you use Zapier?

  • How do people like me use Zapier?

What does the new Explore page look like?

gif of explore home

Our new Explore home experience gives people different ways to see how Zapier might work for them by giving a variety of jumping off points to find inspiration and learn about our product. The new Explore home will provide:

  • Customer stories to provide real-world inspiration for how people like you are saving time with Zapier today, with links to our new Role Pages to dive deeper into recommendations for how you can sue Zapier

  • Popular Zap templates for people who are looking for inspiration as to how they can begin saving time today

  • Use cases that illustrate what we do without a specific app in mind

  • A new app picker to browse Zap templates based on the apps you use and sort those apps based on the ones most used by people in your role

What does the new Roles page look like?

gif of the Roles page

A portion of the Roles feature testimonials from customers in those roles sharing a quote about what they use Zapier for and how it has impacted their business, along with a selection of Zap Templates curated based on their workflows and apps they use. Our goal was to provide social proof and inspire folks with apps and workflows that are common in that role.

The rest of the page borrows from the Explore page but tailored to surface popular apps and templates relevant to each role.

 

What's next

We’re excited to continue working on surfacing better discovery options including popular apps and templates for people and figuring out how to make it easier to get started with Zapier. We would love your feedback too-- if something in our new Explore pages resonate with you, or if something misses the mark, please do feel free to share your thoughts with us!

The problem with “explore” is that it is application-centric.  Even the roles entry point is only 1 layer deep before it comes to users needing to make an application selection.

That is great if the user either knows what applications they are wanting to connect or recognises application that pops up. 

But that doesn’t help if I have a business problem and I am application-agnostic.

There is a good example of a post in the community 

@Dane is not specifying an application.  Presumably, they would go and buy an application that is recommended from within the community.  And the application is in the community because it has a zap.

So what does that mean?

Can you write an AI interface that people can “talk to” (type to), in natural language? 

“Tell me what you want to do”.  You would need to include “tell me if you have any application you want to us”.  Have the AI match requirement and suggest both apps and zaps.

 

The AI could learn from the interaction and look for new connection and usage.  It could then make connections.

“Hey, I see you use applications X and Y.  Have you thought about zap Z”
 

Also, if I went in and added all the apps I use in my business, could the AI come up with some zap ideas to save me time.  And even some app suggestions.

“42% of people who use X and Y also use Z.”

Just some thoughts.

David  

 


Thanks for this insight, David! It’s definitely on my mind to figure out more ways to help people get started with Zapier. You’re absolutely right that some folks may come with specific applications they have in mind, while other people may have more of a problem to solve and we aren’t able to serve that well just yet. 

 

We do have some ways to select the apps you use in your business to generate suggestions for you-- have you tried to select the apps you use on the Explore page and see what templates we recommend? I would be curious if that is useful for you know, or what we could do to make it more useful for you.