In an era where staying ahead in business requires timely and accurate insights, an AI-powered company research assistant becomes an indispensable tool. This assistant streamlines your research efforts and saves valuable time by automating the process of gathering, analyzing, and updating information on your target companies. It scours the internet for the latest data, including financial reports, news updates, and industry trends, ensuring you stay informed about the key developments that matter most. Whether you're monitoring competitors, potential partners, or market leaders, this automated solution provides a reliable and efficient way to maintain a strategic edge.

The most effective way to highlight the incredible value of a company research assistant is by walking you through a hands-on tutorial using one of our favorite AI tools—Lindy.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a company research AI assistant in Lindy that automatically searches the web for updates about companies listed in a Google Sheet and delivers those updates straight to your Slack workspace—all without writing a single line of code.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

• Set up a scheduled trigger to scan a Google Sheet
• Search the web for the latest company updates
• Populate the Google Sheet with new insights
• Deliver company updates directly to Slack
• Conduct a workflow test to ensure functionality

Tools required for this tutorial:

• Google Sheets
• Lindy
• Slack

Let's dig in!

Step 1 - Set up a scheduled trigger to scan a Google Sheet

Lindy AI allows you to set up triggers and actions based on a specific workflow. For example, you can set up a scheduled trigger that starts an action at a particular time. You can also set up a scheduled trigger in Lindy that scans a Google sheet, retrieves the data, and uses AI to create a report that can be sent to a Slack channel. The marketing team can use that information to maintain a strategic edge over your competitors.

Start by accessing Lindy.ai. After logging in, click ‘New Lindy.’

Select ‘Start from Scratch.’

Locate and click ‘Add Trigger’ in the top right corner of the automation screen.

Search/Select ‘On recurring schedule.’ Lindy will add the trigger to the automation scenario. 

Set up the recurring schedule task.

Specify when you want the trigger to initiate scanning a Google sheet—type At {hour: minutes AM/PM on {weekday}. 

Now, click the ‘+’ sign at the bottom of the trigger box to add a step. Click ‘Perform an action.’

Search for Google Sheets and click ‘Get Spreadsheet.’

Create a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Specify a name for it. We used ‘research assistant.’ Go back to Lindy, connect it with your Google account, and specify the Google spreadsheet and sheet names where you’ll list company updates. Now, set the maximum limit for the rows to return.

Click 'Save'.

Step 2 - Search the web for the latest company updates

Now, we must populate the sheet with the company’s updates. Search the web for the company pages with the latest updates. Usually, the updates are in the news section. You can also list the latest blog posts for the updates. 

Step 3 - Populate the Google Sheet with new insights

Gather the URLs and populate the Google sheet connected with the trigger in the Lindy flow editor. Add as many details as possible to ensure your marketing team can see all the info in one place. 

Step 4 - Deliver company updates directly to Slack

Once you have gathered everything, connect Google Sheets with Slack in the Lindy workflow editor. 

Click the ‘+’ and select ‘Perform an action.’ Search for Slack and choose ‘Send channel message.’

Choose the Slack channel connection.

We also need to mention the exact channel ID. To do so, go to Slack, right-click the channel name, and click ‘View channel details.’

Click ‘Edit’ to copy the channel name. 

Now, paste it into Lindy editor settings for Slack. 

Click ‘Prompt AI’ in the message box, and write a prompt to format the Slack message. Once you have configured these settings, click ‘Save.’

Prompt:

List the company updates with URLs as headings and the content below them.

Step 5 - Conduct a workflow test to ensure functionality

Let’s test the workflow. Click ‘Test’ at the top of the screen in Lindy. 

The test will run in the right sidebar. 

It’s a success. Go to the Slack channel you mentioned in Lindy’s workflow editor. The messages will be displayed in the channel’s message area. 

There you have it. Lindy successfully sent a Slack message with properly formatted data. Your marketing team can now consume the content and take appropriate actions.