Overview

A proof-of-concept automation that demonstrates how small businesses can use AI to respond to inbound inquiries instantly — without manual effort and without sounding like a bot.

The Brief

Build an end-to-end workflow that captures contact form submissions, generates a personalized AI reply, sends it automatically via Gmail, and logs everything to Google Sheets — all within seconds of the inquiry arriving.

The Challenge

Most small business owners either ignore contact form submissions for hours (losing momentum with warm leads) or send generic auto-replies that feel impersonal and fail to move the conversation forward.

The goal was to design a system that:

• Responds within seconds of a form submission
• Reads and understands the specific inquiry
• Generates a reply that sounds like the business owner wrote it personally
• Logs every interaction for follow-up and tracking

The Workflow

1. Webhooks (Trigger)

A custom webhook listens for form submissions from the portfolio contact page. When triggered, it captures the sender's name, email, service of interest, and message — and passes all four fields downstream.

2. HTTP Module — Claude API Call

Make sends a POST request to Anthropic's API (claude-haiku model) with a structured prompt. The prompt includes the sender's name, selected service, and message, and instructs Claude to generate a warm, personalized reply in the voice of the business owner — no subject line, no preamble, ready to send.

3. Gmail — Send Reply