Back-office work often carries an invisible weight. Routine approvals, whether for attendance corrections or workcation requests, keep businesses fair and accurate, but they can also feel repetitive, draining time that could be spent on bigger things. What if those processes could flow seamlessly in the background, handled with speed and consistency by AI?
That was the question we explored by bringing together Zapier, Google tools, and AI-driven prompts. The outcome was an approval system that trimmed away manual effort and gave employees faster, clearer responses.
Let’s look at how this experiment unfolded, and why it could signal a new way forward for business operations.
In This Article, You Will Learn:
- Why approval processes are ready for automation
- How Zapier’s AI differs from traditional manual review
- The experiment with Zapier, Google tools, and Slack
- The results, challenges, and unexpected benefits of AI-driven approvals
- How enterprise productivity can benefit from this experiment
Why Routine Approvals Deserve a Second Look
Approvals don’t always get the spotlight, but they shape trust and accuracy across organisations. At Clickr, processes requiring approvals follow strict rules – perfect for automation, yet still handled by HR manually.
The opportunity was clear: with well-defined criteria, AI could step in to reduce workload while ensuring decisions remained consistent and accurate.
Inside the Automation Flow
The setup linked Google Forms, Google Drive, Google Spreadsheets, Slack, and Zapier’s AI tools.
- Applications were submitted via Google Forms.
- Supporting documents for attendance corrections were stored in Google Drive.
- Zapier converted attachments into text and sent all inputs to its AI app.
- Zapier AI checked the details against company rules for workcations or attendance.
- Approval or denial results were then logged in Google Spreadsheets and notified instantly via Slack.
The only manual task left was setting up the automation and monitoring outcomes. After that, decisions flowed directly to employees within seconds.
Where Zapier Improved Things
Manual reviews once consumed HR time and sometimes produced uneven results. With Zapier’s AI, approvals became faster, fully aligned with company rules, and transparent, giving managers greater confidence in every decision.
For workcations, the AI evaluated factors like timing, number of days taken, time-zone differences, and even the safety of the location. For attendance corrections, it checked payroll cut-offs, missing entries, and supporting files.
The system didn’t just say “yes” or “no.” It also logged the reason for each decision, ensuring applicants received clear feedback while HR had a reliable audit trail.
Refining the System Through Iteration
No automation journey is without its quirks. Here are the hurdles we worked through:
-
Crafting the Right Prompts
Every condition, like excluding weekends when calculating workcation days, had to be phrased meticulously. Subtle wording tweaks shaped the AI’s accuracy.
-
Teaching Context
From reading arrival times in uploaded images to decoding free-text reasons, the AI sometimes needed extra help to interpret context correctly.
-
Continuous Adjustments
As with any AI system, occasional misreads required adjustments to prompts and rules. Each round of refinement improved accuracy and made the system more reliable.
The Experiment Didn’t Just Save Time
The impact went deeper than efficiency. Employees appreciated faster responses, while managers gained confidence in consistent, rule-based decisions. And HR teams were spared the discomfort of rejecting colleagues face-to-face, since the AI handled rejections with clarity and neutrality.
The reasons for denials were logged automatically, making them easier to review, learn from, and share across teams.
A New Look at AI-Powered Approvals
The entire system came together in just a week, proving that automation doesn’t have to mean complex integration projects. Clear rules plus AI = fast results.
Looking forward, the potential is huge: broader applications, smarter prompts, and even fewer manual steps. It won’t be long before end-to-end approval flows become hands-free.
Where Smarter Work Begins
Zapier has shown us a future where approvals are quicker, fairer, and more transparent. When automation and intelligence come together, back-office teams can move beyond repetitive tasks and focus on strategic growth.
At Clickr, we believe every business deserves workflows that feel lighter and smarter. Get in touch and let’s shape the next wave of business productivity together!
