10 Ways to Automate Microsoft Outlook with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

Microsoft Outlook is a popular choice for businesses who are using the Microsoft suite of tools and trying to keep their organization streamlined. Of course, there are several other email tools and calendar apps available today and some people use multiples, which means trying to juggle everything can prove to be quite the challenge. Not only that but how much of the work you do in Outlook could stand to be automated and streamlined to be more efficient for your day-to-day operations?

Microsoft Outlook offers plenty of integrations with Zapier, giving you the ease of automation that you desire. Thanks to Zapier, you can set up pre-built or custom “zaps” (automations) that will take routine tasks and set them to the power of AI. This can reduce your man-hours, save your team a lot of tedious busywork, and help improve your business operations on so many levels. 

Think about all of the things that you do with Outlook in a day—sending emails, receiving notifications, setting up meetings, RSVPing to events and meetings, planning your day, week, and so much more. There is some of the to-do list that deserves your undivided attention. However, there is a lot of the list that can be automated, and that’s where you need to take initiative to come up with a strategy that works. 

If that strategy includes Zapier, you’ll have access to integrations with thousands of different apps, an open API so you can customize just about anything, and tons of pre-built workflows so that you can set them and forget them and get back to the business that needs your attention. Plus, Zapier currently integrates with more than 3,000 apps and counting, meaning you can automate just about everything in your tech stack if you take the time to learn how.

Automation is your key to survival

It wasn’t long ago that automation was something that was used only by the most successful and biggest enterprise brands because of its high cost and lack of availability. Today, however, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of apps, tools, and processes dedicated entirely to embracing everything that AI (artificial intelligence) and automation can do. So many people research the “benefits” of automation or ask why they need automation—that isn’t the information you should be seeking out. 

It can help you to know the perks and benefits of automation, of course, and might even help key decision-makers jump the fence and finally decide to get on board with the latest and greatest in automation. First, know that you need automation, regardless of the pros and cons you think you might know. Now, consider these factors. 

• Automation can improve efficiency, streamline productivity, and reduce expenses significantly. If you want a lot of improvement without a big investment of time and effort, integrating with a tool like Zapier can be a great starting point. 

• Automation increases quality control and eliminates the risk of human error. When you automate your various business processes, whether It's scheduling or emailing, or even managing a database of your customers, you’re improving the systems you use by embracing the oft error-free nature of technology. 

• Automation can give you the chance to get back to your customers and spend less time behind the desk handling tedious busywork and piles of paper. All those reports you used to run? They're automated now. It’s going to be easy for you to feel good about your time with the people in your business now that the administrative tasks are busy. 

• Automation makes it easy for your business to provide visibility across the board. Consistency is key and people like seeing what they are getting from a reliable company that they can depend on. Use automation to your advantage and watch your reputation soar. 

There are so many different ways that your brand can benefit from automation, but these are a few of the highlights. If you’ve never thought about it before, or you just don’t understand how valuable it can be, now is the time to think again. And, if you’re thinking of better ways to do business, find out what the virtual receptionists here at Smith.ai can do to assist you. 

Without further ado, here are ten great ways to automate with Zapier and Outlook to help you get started on your automation strategy. 

1. Add Outlook events to your Google Calendar     

With this automation, it will be easy to keep all of your calendars synced without having to do the work yourself. Simply set up the zap so that whenever Outlook has an event created or shared, it automatically gets sent to your Google Calendar. Then, you can share it with the team or your clients from there and keep everyone on the same page. It takes seconds to set up and will save a ton of time for you when it comes to scheduling, and you can even tweak it to do more if you want. 

2. Copy Google Contacts to Outlook    

If you use Google Contacts, you don’t have to give it up when the team transitions to Outlook. Perhaps your phone is a Google phone and you use Outlook at the office. Either way, you can use Zapier to connect your Google Contacts and Outlook account to transfer everything seamlessly. Then, whenever contacts are updated or added, you can simply send them to outlook without even having to lift a finger because the integration is in place. 

3. Add new Outlook events as tasks in Todoist    

Todoist is a great tool to keep track of your to-dos. By taking the time to explore everything that this tool has to offer, you’ll see that automation is only going to make it better. This particular automation allows you to add all Outlook events to your to-do lists by letting Zapier send them along so that you’re not going back and forth between applications trying to fit everything in and not miss anything along the way. Simply set up the automation and every time a new Outlook event is created, it’s going to be automatically sent to Todoist so that you can take care of any related tasks that need your attention. 

4. Turn Outlook events into Trello cards    

If you use Trello for project management and collaboration, you will love all the ways that it integrates with Zapier. This particular workflow allows you to add any and all Outlook events to Trello as cards, just by setting up the Zap. You don’t have to transfer the details manually or even worry about copying and pasting them. Simply put the workflow in place and then watch as each event that comes up in Outlook also appears as a card on Trello in the right stack. You can use this for notifications, event management, and so much more. 

5. Send Microsoft Outlook email messages for Typeform submissions    

Typeform is a great tool to use for collecting information, leads, and even employee data or insights. With this workflow, you can use Zapier to turn all of your Typeform responses into emails, or even just to send you a notification in Outlook whenever a new form response comes in. This way, you can stay on top of submissions and lead generation while taking care of other things because you’ll be notified of anything that needs your attention. Bonus: you may find this workflow for other form fill apps and tools, too. 

6. Send email notifications in Outlook for updates in Google Sheets rows    

Google Sheets integrates in so many different ways with the 3,000+ apps and tools used by Zapier, including Outlook. Microsoft Outlook can easily be set up so that whenever Google Sheets rows are added or updated, an email will be sent to notify you. This can be done so that you get notifications about all the changes, you can set it up to notify the team, or you can even make sure that the right parties are informed about changes to Google Sheets to keep everyone on the same page. 

7. Add Acuity Scheduling blocks to your Outlook Calendar    

Acuity Scheduling is easily one of the best scheduling tools on the market today. Being able to integrate it with the everyday tools that you use, including Outlook, will allow you to get so much more out of your investment in the software. With this automation, it will be easy to add scheduling blocks from Acuity right to your Outlook Calendar and it can be done with your hands out of the way, thanks to Zapier’s automation. Just set up the workflow and watch as each new scheduling block is transferred to Outlook seamlessly and without so much as a second thought. 

8. Add your OnePageCRM contacts to Outlook    

If you use OnePageCRM, this integration will deliver everything that you need and more. You can simply set up the workflow through Zapier and then every time a contact is added to the CRM, it will be automatically added to Outlook, too, which saves you a step and saves the risk of contacts slipping through the cracks. OnePageCRM is a robust platform that does well on its own but when you use Outlook to stay in touch, you can integrate the two with Zapier and keep your contacts streamlined across the board. 

9. Create Microsoft Outlook contacts from Repsly clients    

If you use Repsly to handle client intake and lead generation, you’ll love this automation. Now, you can simply set it up so that whenever a client is created or modified in Repsly, they will be automatically sent to Microsoft Outlook as a contact in the right classification or category. That way, you’re not the one doing all the back and forth data transferring or wasting your team’s time making them do it. Just set up the workflow and then watch as Zapier handles the rest, keeping your contacts synced, streamlined, and updated no matter which platforms and tools you use.  

10. Send emails in Outlook for new submissions from Wufoo    

With this automation, Outlook will be able to send emails based on the parameters that you set forth every time that a Wufoo entry is submitted or received. Wufoo forms are a great way to collect information and learn about your audience, or even to gather information from employees or new hires that may be good for your company. Regardless of what you’re using Wufoo for, you will easily be able to get notified or send emails to the right team members through Outlook whenever Wufoo form submissions come in. You can even set it to email the people who handle these submissions and save the middleman. 

Take operations improvements further by partnering with Smith.ai 

We love automation and we really love being a part of what makes your business run better, smoother, and more efficiently. When you hire our virtual receptionists, we can act as the face of your company for anything that your customers or clients need, including after-hours calls and live website chat, among other services. Plus, we’ll work with you to develop the perfect strategy to field each and every need, regardless of what you have in mind. 

Zapier is one of our favorite tools in the software market right now because it makes it simple for anyone to generate smart workflows between their business software tools and platforms. It’s also due to Zapier that Smith.ai can integrate with more than 3,000 different apps to ensure each call, chat, and text gets logged in the right place, from your business CRM to your marketing platforms, and so much more. 

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

You’ll also get the full details by scheduling a consultation to chat about our 24/7 solutions for live website chat and phone answering, including scheduling and new client intake, after-hours and overflow answering, and more. You’ll also find us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.