Editorial · 5 Nov 2026
Best AI automation tools
Workflow runtimes for operators and for people building agents.
Automation here means a product that runs a process between systems. A chatbot that suggests a process is not on the list.
- 1
n8n
Own the runtime, including agent-style steps.
- 2
Zapier
The default when you will not self-host.
- 3
Make
Hosted scenarios with real branching.
- 4
Dust
Internal assistants over company tools.
Bottom line
n8n if you can operate it. Zapier if you cannot. Make for complex hosted scenarios. Dust when the thing you are deploying is an internal assistant rather than a pure integration.