Zapier Perplexity AI OpenAI Google Sheets Content Creation

Automate AI News Video Content Ideas for Social Media

Generate daily viral short‑form video scripts, captions, and overlays using Perplexity & OpenAI. Save hours each week.

Download Template JSON · Zapier compatible · Free
AI News Video Content Ideas Automation workflow diagram

What This Workflow Does

This Zapier automation solves a critical problem for founders, thought leaders, and content teams: the daily grind of finding fresh, engaging topics for short‑form video content. Instead of manually scouring news sites and brainstorming scripts, this workflow automatically harvests the latest AI‑related news from Perplexity, synthesizes it, and uses OpenAI to craft complete video packages—including scripts, captions, and text overlays.

It runs daily at 6 AM IST (or your chosen time), delivering ready‑to‑use content ideas saved directly to a Google Sheet. You get a consistent pipeline of topical, professionally written material that aligns with your personal brand, helping you build authority and attract inbound leads without a dedicated content team.

The workflow is designed for scalability. Whether you’re a solo founder, an agency serving multiple clients, or a marketing team, it turns sporadic content creation into a reliable, automated system. It ensures you’re always posting relevant, timely insights about AI trends, business automation, and industry news.

How It Works

1. Scheduled Daily Trigger

The workflow activates automatically each morning. This scheduled trigger ensures you start your day with fresh content ideas, eliminating the need to manually kick off the process.

2. AI‑Powered News Gathering

Three separate HTTP Request nodes query Perplexity AI for the latest stories across three key topics: General AI News, AI Market & Industry Trends, and AI Business Automation. Perplexity curates summaries and citations from multiple sources, providing rich input for the next stage.

3. Content Organization & Merging

A Merge node combines the outputs from all three topic searches into a single, comprehensive dataset. This consolidated information forms the foundation for your personalized content generation.

4. Personal Brand Injection

A crucial “About me” node lets you define your personal brand details: your name, niche, business name, type, website, and key services. This context is fed into the AI to ensure generated scripts reflect your unique voice and business objectives.

5. AI Content Generation

OpenAI (acting as “CreatorAI”) takes the merged news and your personal details to produce a complete content package:

  • Unique Angle Identification: Finds a distinct, engaging perspective from the news that aligns with your content pillars.
  • Video Scripts: Generates concise scripts (under 700 characters) with powerful hooks, mini‑narratives (problem → AI solution → impact), and subtle references to your business as a thought leader.
  • Captions: Creates friendly, expert‑toned captions with engaging hooks, additional context, clear calls‑to‑action (e.g., “Comment ‘Workflow’ for more”), and relevant hashtags.
  • Text Overlays: Produces short, punchy overlay text (3‑7 words, ALL CAPS or Title Case) perfect for video thumbnails or opening screens.

6. Storage & Notification

Each generated package (Text Overlay, Video Script, Caption) is appended as a new row in your designated Google Sheet. A Gmail node then sends you a notification confirming new ideas have been saved, ready for your review and approval.

Who This Is For

This workflow is ideal for:

  • Founders & Entrepreneurs: Who need to build authority and attract leads through consistent content but lack a dedicated team.
  • AI Thought Leaders & Consultants: Who want to stay atop the latest AI developments and share insights effortlessly.
  • Content Marketing Teams: Looking to automate the ideation and initial drafting phases of their short‑form video strategy.
  • Digital Agencies: Offering AI‑powered content generation as a scalable service to multiple clients across different niches.
  • Social Media Managers: Responsible for daily posting across platforms and needing a reliable source of fresh, topical ideas.

What You'll Need

  1. Zapier Account: Access to Zapier to run the workflow.
  2. Perplexity AI API Key: Obtain from Perplexity AI and insert into the three HTTP Request nodes.
  3. OpenAI API Key: Connect your OpenAI credentials to the “Content Generation” node.
  4. Google Sheets: OAuth2 API credentials set up for the “Save Data” node.
  5. Gmail Account: OAuth2 credentials connected for the “Notify user” node.
  6. Google Sheet Template: Copy the provided template (with columns for Text Overlay, Video Script, Caption, Approval, Published) and update the document ID in the Zapier step.

Quick Setup Guide

  1. Import the Template: Download the JSON file and import it into your Zapier account.
  2. Configure API Keys: Replace the placeholder Bearer tokens in the three Perplexity HTTP Request nodes with your actual Perplexity API key. Connect your OpenAI API key to the content generation step.
  3. Set Up Google Sheets: Ensure OAuth2 credentials are connected. Copy the template sheet and update the document ID in the “Save Data” node.
  4. Personalize “About me”: Fill in your Name, Niche, Business Name, Business Type, Website, and Key Services & Products in the dedicated node.
  5. Set Notification Email: Update the “sendTo” field in the Gmail node with your email address.
  6. Adjust Schedule: Modify the trigger time if 6 AM IST isn’t suitable. Choose a time that fits your content review routine.
  7. Activate & Monitor: Turn on the Zap. Check your Google Sheet daily for new rows, mark ideas for approval, and track publication status.

Key Benefits

Save 10‑15 hours weekly: Manual research and scripting for daily videos can consume 2‑3 hours per piece. This automation condenses that to minutes, reclaiming time for filming and engagement.

Ensure topical relevance: Perplexity pulls the latest AI news, so your content is always based on current trends, not outdated articles. This boosts credibility and viewer interest.

Maintain brand consistency: By injecting your personal details, the AI tailors scripts to your voice and business goals, making output feel uniquely yours while being automatically generated.

Scalable for agencies: Clone the workflow for each client, adjusting only the “About me” node. Deliver daily AI‑powered content ideas across niches without increasing staff workload.

Turn sporadic posting into a reliable engine: Daily execution means you never miss a posting day. Consistency builds audience trust and accelerates growth.

Pro tip: Review the generated scripts each morning and select the most compelling one for filming. Even with automation, human curation ensures the highest quality output.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about AI content automation and social media integration

AI automation can drastically reduce the time spent researching and scripting content. By connecting tools like Perplexity for news discovery and OpenAI for script generation, you can produce daily, relevant video ideas without manual effort. This ensures consistency and allows you to focus on filming and engagement rather than ideation.

For example, a founder spending 2 hours daily on topic research can reclaim that time entirely. The automation delivers structured scripts with hooks, narratives, and calls‑to‑action, turning content creation from a chore into a streamlined process.

Founders often lack dedicated content teams. Automating video content ideas provides a steady stream of professional, topical scripts that build authority and attract inbound leads. It turns sporadic posting into a reliable content engine, boosting visibility and thought leadership without hiring extra staff.

The key benefit is scalability. As your audience grows, the workflow continues delivering daily ideas without additional effort. It also ensures your content is always aligned with the latest industry trends, making you a trusted source of timely insights.

Perplexity AI scans multiple sources simultaneously, delivering curated, up‑to‑date news summaries. It filters noise and highlights trends relevant to your niche. This ensures your content is based on the latest developments, not outdated articles, making your videos more timely and credible.

Manual research often leads to repetitive or superficial topics. Perplexity’s AI‑driven curation surfaces nuanced angles and emerging stories you might miss, giving your scripts a competitive edge and deeper insight.

Yes, by injecting your personal brand details (name, niche, business) into the workflow, the AI tailors scripts to your voice and goals. The output includes hooks, narratives, and calls‑to‑action that reflect your expertise, making the content feel uniquely yours while being automatically generated.

The “About me” node is crucial here. It provides context that steers the AI toward your specific perspective, ensuring scripts mention your business subtly as a thought leader rather than a direct pitch, maintaining authenticity.

You need Zapier (or n8n), Perplexity AI API access, OpenAI API key, Google Sheets, and Gmail. Zapier handles the orchestration; Perplexity fetches news; OpenAI writes scripts; Google Sheets stores outputs; Gmail sends notifications. Most are SaaS tools with simple API connections.

Setup involves obtaining API keys, connecting OAuth2 credentials, and copying a Google Sheet template. The workflow is designed for minimal configuration—you can have it running within 30 minutes if you already have the accounts.

Manual research and scripting can take 2‑3 hours per video. This automation condenses that to minutes. Daily execution means you save 10‑15 hours weekly, freeing you for filming, editing, and audience engagement. Over a month, that’s 40‑60 hours reclaimed for core business activities.

The savings compound over time. As you build a library of automated scripts, you can batch‑produce videos, further reducing production time. The workflow eliminates the most time‑consuming part of content creation: the initial ideation and drafting.

Absolutely. Agencies can clone the workflow for each client, adjusting the “About me” node for each brand. It becomes a scalable service—delivering daily AI‑powered content ideas across niches without increasing staff workload. It’s a competitive edge in content‑creation offerings.

Each client gets their own Google Sheet for output storage, ensuring data separation. Agencies can charge for this as a managed service, providing consistent, high‑quality content ideation that clients would otherwise struggle to produce manually.

Yes. GrowwStacks specializes in tailoring automation systems to your exact needs. Whether you need different AI models, additional platforms like LinkedIn or TikTok, or integration with your internal CRM, we design workflows that fit your workflow, brand voice, and business objectives.

Custom automations can include multi‑platform distribution, advanced filtering for niche topics, integration with your video editing tools, or compliance checks for regulated industries. We build solutions that scale with your growth and adapt to your unique processes.

  • Tailored to your specific content pillars and audience.
  • Integrated with your existing tools and databases.
  • Scalable across teams or client portfolios.

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