Generate workflows from text

Generating workflows using Zia(Text-to-flow)

Zia, Zoho’s intelligent AI assistant, makes it simple to start creating workflows in Zoho Flow. Instead of manually setting up triggers and actions, you can now describe the steps in your workflow in plain English, and Zia will generate a workflow template for you.

What is Zia?  

Zia is Zoho’s AI powered assistant, that can help you get more work done in less time and with greater efficiency that can in turn boost your productivity. Use Zia if you want to explore automation possibilities between your applications.

In Zoho Flow, Zia can:
  1. Understand natural language prompts.
  2. Suggest or create workflows automatically.
  3. Pick relevant applications, triggers, and actions based on your description.
This makes it easier to start building your workflows, even if you’re new to automation.

How to prompt

  1. Have a clear idea of when your workflow should start and what it should do (app actions).
  2. Define both the event that'll trigger your workflow and also the steps it should follow. Use clear, descriptive language (e.g., when a new row is added in Google Sheets, send a message in Slack).
Steps to generate a workflow using Zia  

To use Zia for generating workflows, ensure that all prerequisites are met.

Prerequisite:
  1. Navigate to Settings and choose AI Setup. Click 'Enable AI' to enable the option to let Zia generate workflows automatically. This is an essential step to start using AI-assisted workflow creation.
    2. Note: Only an organization admin or owner can enable or disable AI access.
      2. When you first access AI features, you’ll see a terms of use dialog. You must accept these terms to use the AI in your workflows.

Learn more about the tasks used in your workflows from Settings → Billing & Usage.



Once the prerequisites are met, follow these simple steps to generate a basic workflow using Zia:
  1. Navigate to the My Flows page and click Create Flow.
  2. Click Try It Now to start building your workflow using Zia.
  3. Type what you want your workflow to look like.
    Here are a few examples you can try with Zia:
                 When a customer fills out a Zoho Form, add the details to Zoho CRM.   
                  Create a flow where submitting a form in Zoho Forms creates a new lead in Zoho CRM, fetches a project from
                          Zoho Projects, and creates a task under it.
                  Post a message in Microsoft Teams whenever a new ticket is created in Zoho Desk.
                  Send a follow-up email through Zoho Mail when an invoice is paid in Zoho Books. 
  4. Once Zia generates your basic workflow, you can preview to make changes, if needed.



  5. Once you’re done, click Use this flow to customize your workflow further.

Notes
Note:

  1. You can disable AI features at any time from Settings → AI Setup and by clicking Disable AI if you prefer a non-AI experience.



  2. Zia credits - Each time you generate a workflow using Zia, it consumes your Zia credits. Make sure you have enough credits available in your organization to continue using this feature smoothly.

What next?

Once your flow is generated, you can:

  • Add conditions, delays, or custom functions for advanced logic.

  • Combine Zia-generated workflows with Zia utilities (AI-powered actions) (like summarizing text or detecting sentiment) to make your workflows more capable.