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About Zoho

Zoho offers a wide array of applications designed to streamline various business operations, including sales, marketing, customer support, finance, human resources, and more.

This integration deals specifically with one of the features offered by Zoho, which is the Zoho Creator.

Zoho Creator offers a wide array of applications designed to streamline various business operations, including sales, marketing, customer support, finance, human resources, and more. Zoho Creator is a low-code application development platform designed to empower users to build custom business applications with minimal coding knowledge.

Zoho Creator key features:

  • Rapid Application Development: Accelerate app creation by up to 10 times using visual development tools and guided scripting.

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility: Applications built on Zoho Creator are natively compatible with web browsers, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring seamless access across platforms.

  • Pre-Built Templates: Access over 60 ready-to-use app templates to jumpstart development for various business needs.

  • Workflow Automation: Utilize drag-and-drop workflow builders and pre-written code snippets to automate business processes, schedule tasks, and manage approvals efficiently.

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Authentication Options

Below are possible authentication options you can choose:

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Generate a Zoho API Key

  1. Log in to your Zoho API console.
  2. Choose the type of application you want to create. In this example, we’ll create a Self Client app.

  1. Select Self Client and click Create.
  2. You’ll see the Client ID and Client Secret. Next, you’ll need to generate an authorization code.
  3. Go to the Generate Code tab. Under Scope, select the appropriate scopes for your app. You can find a full list in the Zoho Creator documentation.
  4. Set the validity duration for the authorization code, then click Create.

  1. Copy and save your authorization code.
  2. To get your access token, run the following request:
curl -X POST <BASE-URL>/oauth/v2/token \
  -d "grant_type=authorization_code" \
  -d "code=<AUTHORIZATION-CODE>" \
  -d "client_id=<CLIENT-ID>" \
  -d "client_secret=<CLIENT-SECRET>"

Replace the placeholders with your actual values. You can find the <BASE-URL> for your Zoho account here.

  1. The response will include your access token and refresh token.

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Integrate Zoho into xpander.ai

  1. In your xpander.ai dashboard, go to the Apps section in the sidebar.
  2. Select Zoho from the available integrations.
  3. Click Enable.
  4. Enter an Interface name, e.g., “xpander-zoho”.
  5. Choose API Key as the authentication mode.
  6. Select Integration User for the authentication scope.
  7. Paste your Zoho access token into the provided field.
  8. Set the Auth Type to Custom.
  9. In the Custom header name field, enter: Authorization: Zoho-oauthtoken.
  10. Save the configuration.

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Integration of Zoho into AI Agent

Once you’ve configured your Zoho account with the authentication option(s) described above, you can integrate it into your AI agent with xpander.ai:

  1. Go to the + sign located in the top right of the graph visualization of your xpander.ai agent.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Choose Zoho with the same Interface name you configured in the previous section (e.g., xpander-zoho).
  4. Select the available Zoho operations that suit your use case.

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Expose Zoho as MCP Server

Alternatively, you can also expose your Zoho account as an MCP server. To do so:

  1. Go to the Apps section in the sidebar of your xpander.ai dashboard.
  2. Select Zoho with the same Interface name you configured in the previous section (e.g., xpander-zoho).
  3. Click MCP Configuration.
  4. Enter the MCP configuration into the appropriate settings of the client app you want to use (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, etc.).

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AI Agent Zoho Prompt Library

Below are possible prompts or use cases you can try after integrating Zoho into your xpander AI agent:

Could you download the invoice PDF attached to record #{record_id} in the {report_name} report?

Can you add these 50 new employee records to the {form_name} form in our HR application?

Has the export job {job_id} for our sales data completed yet?

Could you export all customer records from the {report_name} report in my {application_name}?