How to Build Your First AI Project Planning Automation with Make.com

Getting Started with AI Project Planning

Planning projects can be time-consuming. But what if AI could help? In this guide, we’ll show you how to build your first project planning automation using Make.com and Airtable.

This is part 3 of our 6-part series on building a complete project management system with AI components that even the biggest project planning tools don’t have.

Understanding the Project Flow

Before we dive into the automation, let’s understand how our project management system works:

1. We add project ideas to our Projects database in Airtable
2. We keep the information in the same table (not moving to a different database)
3. We trigger an automation to process this information
4. The AI helps plan the project

Setting Up the Webhook Trigger

Most of our automations start with a webhook. Here’s how it works:

• We create a button in Airtable that triggers our Make.com automation
• The button contains a formula that sends important information to Make.com
• This information includes table IDs, base IDs, and record IDs

This approach lets us send all the necessary information in one go, making our automation much more efficient.

The Button Formula Hack

Instead of using the standard “Get a record” or “Create a record” modules in Make.com (which require remapping fields every time), we use API calls with JSON. This makes installation much faster – taking seconds instead of 30 minutes.

Capturing Data from Airtable

Once our webhook is triggered:

1. The webhook captures all the information from Airtable
2. We use a “GET” method to pull in all fields from the database
3. This gives us access to all project details inside Make.com

Now we can use this information in our AI prompts and the rest of our workflow.

Setting Up Variables for Easier Management

A key tip for building better automations: set up variables at the beginning.

While it might seem like an extra step for small automations, it makes a huge difference when:

• Your automation grows larger
• You need to make changes later
• You have multiple modules using the same fields

By setting variables upfront, you only need to update information in one place if something changes.

Improving User Experience with Status Updates

Users need to know if the automation is working. We set an “AI Status” field to show “AI Writing” while the process runs.

This simple addition makes a big difference in user experience – people can see that something is happening behind the scenes.

Working with AI Models through Open Router

We use Open Router as an aggregator for AI models. This gives us flexibility to choose any AI model for our workflows.

The key components of our AI prompt include:

• Context about the brand, task, description, and hypothesis
• The project prompt structure (stored in Airtable so users can modify it)
• System instructions (backend settings users don’t need to see)

The Power of Storing Prompts in Airtable

A major difference between basic and great AI automation systems is where you store your prompts. Keeping prompts in Airtable instead of Make.com gives users more control and makes the system easier to update.

Sending Results Back to Airtable

After the AI generates output, we need to send it back to Airtable. Instead of using the standard “Create a record” module (which requires remapping), we use:

1. A JSON module to format the data correctly
2. An API call with the PATCH method to update the existing record

This approach is much more efficient and makes your templates easier to share or sell.

Next Steps in the Project Management System

This automation is just the first step in our project management system. In the next videos, we’ll cover:

• Creating a final project plan
• Setting up the distribution automation that automatically assigns tasks

This automation is part of our Project Command OS product. To learn more about how you can get access to the templates and more training, click here.

FAQ About AI Project Planning

What’s the benefit of using API calls instead of standard modules?

Using API calls with JSON instead of standard modules like “Get a record” or “Create a record” makes your automations much faster to set up. When you install the automation in a new account or for a client, you won’t need to remap all the fields manually. This can save you 30+ minutes of setup time per automation.

Why should I store prompts in Airtable instead of Make.com?

Storing prompts in Airtable gives users more control to modify the AI instructions without needing access to the automation tool. This makes your system more user-friendly and easier to update. It’s a small change that makes a big difference in how people can use and customize your system.

How do I get the table IDs needed for the automations?

You can find table IDs in the URL when you’re viewing a table in Airtable. Look for the part that starts with “tbl” after the forward slash. Store these IDs in your Brand Assets tab so you can easily reference them when setting up automations.

Why use variables at the beginning of the automation?

Setting variables at the beginning makes your automation much easier to maintain. If you need to change a field or update something, you only need to do it in one place instead of hunting through dozens of modules. This becomes especially important in larger automations with many steps.

Can I use this system for my client projects?

Yes! The system is designed to be easily installed for clients. If you purchase the Project Command 2.0 template, you’ll get all the automations, the Airtable template, and education on how to use it. Many users install this for client businesses at 10-20x the price they paid for the template.