Zapier Whiteboard Video Automation: 5 Zap Recipes

Make narrated whiteboard videos automatically with Zapier: connect KolaVid with an API key, then use these Zap recipes for blogs, forms, sheets and sharing.

To make whiteboard videos automatically with Zapier, connect your KolaVid account with an API key, then build a Zap whose action is Make Whiteboard Video. Any trigger can start it: a new blog post, a form response, a spreadsheet row. A second Zap with the Video Finished trigger picks the video up a few minutes later and sends it wherever your team watches.

KolaVid's Zapier app is in Zapier's beta, so for now you add it through an invite link rather than the public app directory. Below: setup, the three building blocks, five Zap recipes you can copy, and what to check when a Zap fails.

What the KolaVid Zapier app can do

The app has three parts. The names below are exactly what you will see in the Zap editor.

Kind	Name	What it does
Action	Make Whiteboard Video	Starts a narrated whiteboard video from a topic, some text or a web page, and returns at once with the video's ID
Trigger	Video Finished	Starts a Zap when a video in your KolaVid account has finished and is ready to download or share
Search	Find Video	Looks up one video by its ID: status, progress and, once finished, its links

A video takes a few minutes to make, and Make Whiteboard Video does not wait for it: it hands back an ID, a status of "queued" and a link to open it in KolaVid. So most setups use two Zaps, one that starts videos and one that reacts when they finish.

Set it up in five minutes

Accept the invite. Open the KolaVid invite link for Zapier while signed in to Zapier and accept it. KolaVid then shows up when you search for apps in the Zap editor.
Create an API key in KolaVid. Go to Account, API keys, and make a new key. It starts with `kv_live_` and is shown once, so copy it straight away. A free KolaVid account can make one.
Connect the account in Zapier. Add a KolaVid step, choose to connect an account, and paste the key into the API Key field. Zapier labels the connection with your email and plan.
Add the action. Choose Make Whiteboard Video and fill in the fields (next section).
Test it. Zapier's test starts a real video, so it uses real credits. Set Length (minutes) to 1 for the test.

The fields in Make Whiteboard Video

Topic or Instructions: what the video should explain, and for whom. "How do vaccines work?" or "Explain our refund policy to new customers".
Text to Explain: an article, notes, a lesson or a script for KolaVid to turn into a video.
Web Page URL: a public page (article, blog post, help page) for KolaVid to read. It must start with http:// or https://.
Length (minutes): 1 to 5. Free accounts make videos up to 2 minutes.
Shape: Landscape 16:9 (YouTube, lessons), Vertical 9:16 (Reels, TikTok, Shorts) or Square 1:1.
Narration Language: for example English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Swahili. Empty means English.

Fill in at least one of the first three. Combining the topic with a text or a page works well: the topic then steers how the material is explained. Use either Text to Explain or Web Page URL in one step, not both.

Five Zap recipes

Each recipe lists the steps in order. Map fields from earlier steps with Zapier's usual insert-data menu.

1. New blog post to explainer video

Trigger: RSS by Zapier, New Item in Feed (your blog's feed), or your blog platform's "new post" trigger.
Action: KolaVid, Make Whiteboard Video.
Web Page URL: the post's link.
Topic or Instructions: `A 2-minute explainer of this blog post for people who have not read it. End with one sentence telling viewers where to read the full post.`
Shape: Vertical 9:16 if the video is for Reels and Shorts, Landscape 16:9 for YouTube.

For more on the format, see our guide to whiteboard videos for marketing.

2. Form request to custom lesson

A teacher or trainer collects requests through a form and gets a video back for each one.

Trigger: Google Forms, New Form Response (questions: topic, audience, language).
Action: KolaVid, Make Whiteboard Video.
Topic or Instructions: `Explain {{topic}} for {{audience}}. Use one worked example and plain words.`
Narration Language: map the language answer.
Length: 2.

3. Spreadsheet row to training video

Good for a backlog of procedures you want turned into short videos.

Trigger: Google Sheets, New Spreadsheet Row. Columns: Title, Steps, Audience.
Action: KolaVid, Make Whiteboard Video.
Topic or Instructions: `Training video for {{audience}}: {{title}}. Explain why it matters, then each step in order, then the common mistake.`
Text to Explain: map the Steps column.
Length: 2 or 3.

KolaVid makes one video at a time per account. Rows that arrive while a video is still being made get a "too many requests" answer, and Zapier retries them after a short wait, so add rows a few at a time. Our guide on turning an SOP into a training video covers how to write the Steps column so it sounds right when spoken.

4. Finished video to a Slack channel

This is the second half of recipes 1 to 3.

Trigger: KolaVid, Video Finished.
Action: Slack, Send Channel Message.
Message: `New explainer ready: {{Title}}. Watch or download: {{Video File URL (MP4)}}`

The MP4 link needs no sign-in, so anyone in the channel can play it, but it expires after 24 hours (more on that in recipe 5). Open in KolaVid is better for yourself: it opens the video in your own KolaVid library.

Video Finished fires for every finished video in your account, including ones you make by hand on kolavid.com. If you only want automated ones, add a Filter step, for example on a word you always put in the title instruction.

5. Finished video into Google Drive, then email

Trigger: KolaVid, Video Finished.
Action 1: Google Drive, Upload File. File: map Video File URL (MP4).
Action 2: Gmail, Send Email with the Drive link.

Why upload first? The Video File URL (MP4) link works for 24 hours: fine for a step that runs straight away, not for an email opened next week. The Share Link field is only filled when you have shared the video in the KolaVid app; otherwise it is empty.

Young woman with a long black braid in a green blazer at a cafe table, looking at a phone that shows a play button, with an envelope and a bell joined by a dotted arrow

Waiting for one specific video

To act on the exact video a Zap started, add a Delay step after Make Whiteboard Video, then Find Video with the Video ID mapped from the action. It returns the Status (queued, making, completed or failed), Progress (%) and, once completed, the MP4, thumbnail and share links. If the video is not done yet, the two-Zap pattern above is more reliable.

Credits, limits and privacy

Credits: a video uses your account's credits, 60 credits per minute of video, charged when it finishes. A video that fails costs nothing. A free account starts with 120 credits, enough for one 2-minute video. Plans are on the pricing page.
Length: 1 to 5 minutes; free accounts up to 2.
One at a time: each account makes one video at a time, and each key can send up to 60 requests a minute.
Where videos go: your KolaVid library, like videos made in the app.
Your key: the API key acts as your account. If it leaks, revoke it under Account, API keys; it stops working at once. Then make a new one and reconnect.

Troubleshooting

"KolaVid didn't accept the API key." The key was mistyped, revoked or deleted. Make a new key and reconnect KolaVid in Zapier.

"Your KolaVid account doesn't have enough video minutes." Your balance is too low for the length you asked for. Ask for a shorter video, add minutes or choose a plan.

"KolaVid couldn't use these settings." A field is wrong or the page could not be read. The message names the problem, field by field. A common one: both Text to Explain and Web Page URL filled in.

"KolaVid is getting a lot of requests from this account." Another video is still being made, or too many requests came in a minute. Zapier tries again after the wait KolaVid asks for (60 seconds by default).

"KolaVid had a problem on its side." Try again in a few minutes; if it repeats, contact support.

FAQ

Do I need a paid KolaVid plan to use Zapier?

No. A free account can create an API key, and its 120 credits cover one 2-minute video. Longer videos and more volume need a paid plan.

Can I choose the voice?

The Zapier action has no voice field. If you need a male voice or a named voice, the developer API accepts a `voice` field.

Is KolaVid on other automation tools?

Yes. There is a Make app, a REST API and a connector for AI assistants. Our overview of all the ways to use KolaVid lists each one with its install link.

Start with one Zap

Wire your busiest source, a blog feed or a sheet of procedures, to Make Whiteboard Video with a 1-minute test. Once the Video Finished Zap posts the result, raise the length and let it run.

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