Incantations 84 - IFTTT AI (Acronym Overload)

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Hello there, [NICKNAME GOES HERE],

So if you may have noticed the newsletter has arrived on Saturday rather than Friday (as it had done for every previous issue). No, I didn't suddenly forget :), but I thought I'd try something a little different and catch more of the weekend vibe. Let me know if you have any thoughts either way or even if it doesn't matter.

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I've been thinking recently, about how I need to get back into automating more and especially with AI. It's going to be more important to just stay ahead of everything not just keeping on top of tools like GPT but putting them into systems. I'm going to focus a lot on two automation tools, Zapier and IFTTT.

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Zapier and IFTTT

​Zapier and IFTTT (If This, Then That) are two powerful automation platforms that enable users to streamline and automate tasks across various applications and services. Zapier, a more business-focused tool, allows you to create complex, multi-step workflows, known as 'Zaps', that connect different applications, thereby automating repetitive tasks without the need for manual input.

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On the other hand, IFTTT offers a more user-friendly and simpler interface, perfect for personal use. It creates 'applets' or 'recipes', setting up straightforward conditional statements (if this, then that) to integrate different services, such as turning on your smart lights at sunset or saving your Instagram photos to Dropbox. Both platforms support a vast array of applications, from email and social media to productivity and IoT devices, enabling users to customise their digital environments and save time.

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Zapier is currently the real powerhouse in capability and number of users, it also is the one with an official plugin for ChatGPT. But Zapier is very expensive and I feel like IFTTT is often overlooked even though it's been around since the dinosaurs (well in terms of online automation).

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IFTTT Pricing

The top tier Pro+ is around $5/month for IFTTT, this compares to Zapier's first paid tier being $20/month and with IFTTT you get unlimited runs of your automations in the month whereas Zapier you have limits placed on those. This is why I think IFTTT is now often overlooked with the popularity and expanse of Zapier. I think we can use IFTTT not only as a starting point to get into automation but a foundation that we can use with Zapier when it make more sense to use that.

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Introducing IFTTT’s AI Services

IFTTT’s AI services are now a thing, as with may other tools online they are now incorporating AI in some way, but in this case it's about adding AI functions as part of the automations you can set up. These are three separate services: AI Social Creator, AI Content Creator and AI Summarizer.

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AI Social Creator

The AI Social Creator is an effective tool for generating concise and engaging content for your social media platforms. Compatible with Twitter and LinkedIn, it transforms your blog posts into compelling updates, enhancing your social media presence without requiring significant time investment.

For a technical side of things they are using GPT3 model on their back end as the AI engine.

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AI Content Creator

The AI Content Creator, another key feature of IFTTT’s AI services, can generate long-form content such as blog posts and outlines based on your drafts or ideas. It is an efficient tool to streamline the content creation process, making it particularly beneficial for those needing frequent, high-quality content.

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AI Summarizer

Lastly, the AI Summarizer offers a solution for digesting large volumes of content or drawing actionable items from your meeting notes. By creating concise summaries, this tool ensures that you grasp essential information without the need to peruse through extensive content.

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These do require IFTTT Pro+ subscription but for context and why I'm focused with IFTTT rather than Zapier at the moment here is the cost difference I mentioned earlier.

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Creating Magic

This newsletter is called Incantations because it's about making technology and systems just work like magic and I see no better opportunity for that than combining AI tools with automation. Cast your spells to let these magical systems do what you want (I was going to say exactly what you want but that you don't always get what you expect can also be part of the fun!).

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Have a look at what you think you could use the above-mentioned IFTTT AI tools for in your own workflows if at all and let me know if you think they could be useful or what you'd like to see from them (maybe this is where we then jump to Zapier).

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Until next week,

Andrew

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