Make Review 2026: The Best AI Automation Tool for Small Business?

Our verdict in one sentence: Make is one of the most powerful and flexible automation tools in 2026. Its visual builder makes complex workflows easy to understand, and its free plan is generous enough to automate real tasks. It takes a little more learning than the simplest tools, but it rewards you with far more control.

If you spend your days copying data between apps, sending the same emails or updating spreadsheets by hand, automation can give you hours back every week. In this Make review we look at what it does, how it works, what's new with AI agents, its strengths and weaknesses, and who it's best for.

Make at a glance

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What is Make?

Make (formerly Integromat) is an automation platform that connects your apps so they work together automatically. Each automation is called a scenario. You build it on a visual canvas by dragging and connecting modules: for example, "When a new order arrives in Shopify → add a row to Google Sheets → send a thank-you email → post a message to Slack." Once it's switched on, Make runs it for you 24/7.

Key features

1. The visual scenario builder

This is what makes Make special. Instead of a list of steps, you see your whole automation as a flow chart, with every module, route and filter visible. You can follow your data step by step, which makes troubleshooting much easier than in many competitors.

2. 3,000+ integrations

Make's directory lists more than 3,000 pre-built integrations, including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Shopify, WooCommerce, HubSpot, Slack, Notion, Airtable, OpenAI and many more. If an app is missing, the HTTP and webhook modules let you connect almost any service with an API.

3. Logic that grows with you

Routers split one automation into several paths, filters decide which data continues, iterators handle lists, and error handlers decide what happens when something fails. You can start simple and add power as you need it.

4. AI agents

Make AI Agents are reusable, intelligent agents that can reason and act inside your workflows, for example reading incoming emails, deciding what each one needs and taking the right action. Make also offers help building automations through a natural conversation, which is great for beginners.

5. Teams and security

The Teams plan adds shared templates, roles and team connections, and Enterprise adds features such as SSO/SAML for larger organisations.

Make pricing in short

Make uses credits: every action a module performs uses credits. The free plan includes 1,000 credits per month and up to 2 active scenarios with no time limit, which is enough to automate a few useful tasks. Paid plans add more credits, more active scenarios and team features. Check Make's pricing page for current plans in your currency.

Pros and cons

What we like

• The clearest visual builder on the market
• Huge library of 3,000+ integrations, plus HTTP for everything else
• Powerful logic: routers, filters, iterators and error handling
• AI agents and AI-assisted building
• Useful free plan with no time limit

What could be better

• A short learning curve for complete beginners
• Credits can run out fast on busy automations, so design efficiently
• Some advanced features and templates require paid plans

5 automations you can build this week

1. New website form → CRM + email: add the lead to your CRM and send an instant welcome email.
2. New Shopify order → Google Sheets + Slack: keep a live sales sheet and get notified.
3. Incoming invoices → folder: save email attachments to Google Drive automatically.
4. Blog post published → social media: share it on your pages with an AI-written caption.
5. Customer email → AI agent: classify the message and route it to the right person.

Make vs Zapier

Zapier is famous for being very simple. Make is the choice when you want more control: complex branches, data transformations and a visual overview of everything happening. Many businesses start with simple automations in Make and grow into advanced ones without changing tools.

Who should use Make?

• Small business owners tired of repetitive admin
• Marketers who move leads and content between tools
• E-commerce sellers managing orders, stock and customer messages
• Agencies and freelancers building automations for clients

Frequently asked questions

Is Make free?

Yes. The free plan includes 1,000 credits per month and 2 active scenarios, with no time limit.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You build automations visually. Developers can still use advanced features like HTTP requests, webhooks and APIs.

Can Make use ChatGPT and other AI models?

Yes. Make connects to popular AI models, and its AI agents can reason and act inside your scenarios.

Is Make better than Zapier?

For complex, multi-step workflows and visual control, many users prefer Make. For the very simplest automations, both work well.

Final verdict

Make is the automation tool we recommend to most small businesses that want to grow. Start with one annoying, repetitive task, build it on the free plan and see how many hours you get back. Once you see your first scenario run by itself, you'll find ten more to automate.

Start automating with Make for free →

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