Resources · Make integration

Bird Make integrationAutomate Bird with Make.

Can Make handle your Bird SMS, contacts and lists without a developer? The Bird Make integration gives you 14 modules: one scheduled trigger, 11 actions and two searches. This guide shows how to link your account, build a first scenario and choose the right module for each job.

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What you can automate

What can the Bird Make integration automate?

The Bird Make integration links your Bird workspace to Make, a visual tool where you chain apps into a scenario (the automation you build) without writing code. Each Bird module handles one job, such as sending a text, filing a contact or spotting a new SMS message, and hands its result to the next step.

A welcome text for every new lead. A form or CRM in another app opens the scenario, Create a contact files the person in your Bird workspace, and Send an SMS message greets them from the channel you picked. A clinic confirming a first visit or a shop thanking a buyer can use the same pattern.

A clean audience before each campaign. Create a list opens a fresh segment, Add contacts to a list fills it, and Remove contacts from a list takes out people who should no longer receive it. Your SMS team works from lists that match reality.

A record of every conversation. Watch SMS messages spots texts that were sent or received, Read an SMS message pulls the full detail, and you can copy it into a sheet or a CRM. If your data lives in Airtable, the Airtable Make integration covers that side.

What the Bird app does not do for you: it needs a paid Bird account, and the Bird documentation lists no numeric limit to plan around. When a Bird API feature has no dedicated module, Make an API call reaches it with the same connection. Before you commit, the Make review gives an honest view of the tool, and n8n vs Make sets out the criteria if you are also weighing n8n.

Connect

How do you connect your Bird account to Make?

  1. 01

    Create an access key in Bird

    In Bird, open your Organization Settings, go to Access Roles and click Add new access key. Give it a name, pick a Role, click Create access key and copy the Access Key value somewhere safe.

  2. 02

    Copy your Workspace ID

    Click your organization's logo in the upper left corner, then Organization settings and Workspaces. On the workspace you want Make to use, click the three dots, choose Edit workspace and copy the Workspace ID.

  3. 03

    Paste both into Make

    Add any Bird module to your scenario and click Create a connection. Name it if you like, paste the key into API Key and the ID into Workspace ID, then click Save. Every Bird module reuses this connection afterwards.

First scenario

Your first scenario: greet every new lead by SMS

GoalWhen a new lead appears in another app, Make files the person as a Bird contact and sends a welcome SMS.

  1. 01

    Start a new scenario

    On the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the +. Pick the app where your leads land first, such as your form tool or CRM, and choose its module for new entries.

  2. 02

    Add Create a contact

    Click the + on the right of that first module, search for Bird and pick Create a contact. Select your Bird connection, then map the lead's details from the previous module into the contact.

  3. 03

    Add Send an SMS message

    Add one more module with the + and choose Send an SMS message. Pick the channel to send from, map the new contact as the recipient and write a short welcome text.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once, then create a test lead with your own phone number. Open each module to read the bundle it received (one bundle is one item passing between modules, here one lead).

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch it on

    Set the schedule on the first module. A new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default, and the Free plan cannot go below that. Switch the scenario on and new leads get their text without you.

Triggers

What starts a Bird scenario?

1 module starts a scenario when something happens in Bird. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by Bird as soon as it happens.

Bird1Watch SMS messages

Watch SMS messages

Scheduled trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new SMS message is sent or received.”

Watch SMS messages hands your scenario each new text from your Bird workspace, whether your team sent it or a customer wrote in. Each message arrives as its own bundle, ready for the next module.

How it fires
it is a scheduled trigger, so Make checks Bird on the scenario's schedule (every 15 minutes by default, one minute at the shortest on paid plans).
When to use it
you want every conversation logged in a sheet or a CRM, or a teammate alerted when a customer replies to a campaign.
Watch out
it catches sent messages as well as received ones, so a scenario that sends an SMS after this trigger can feed on its own texts. Keep sending out of such scenarios.
Modules

What can Make do in Bird?

Bird gives you 13 modules in 4 groups. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Contacts

5 modules
Bird1

List contacts

Search

In Make“Retrieves a list of contacts.”

List contacts pulls the contacts of your Bird workspace into the scenario, one bundle per person, so you can export them or run a step on each one.

When to use it
you need a copy of your Bird audience in a spreadsheet before a campaign review.
Watch out
every contact returned counts as a bundle, and each later module runs once per bundle, which adds operations.
Bird2

Get a contact

Action

In Make“Retrieves the information of an existing contact.”

Get a contact brings back the stored details of one person you already have in Bird, so later modules can use the name or number on file.

When to use it
a support ticket names a contact and you want the Bird record beside it before replying.
Watch out
it needs to know which contact you mean, so map the identifier from an earlier module.
Bird3

Create a contact

Action

In Make“Creates a contact in a workspace.”

Create a contact adds a new person to your Bird workspace, which makes them reachable by SMS and ready to join a list.

When to use it
a lead fills in a form on your site and you want them in Bird without retyping anything.
Watch out
this module always creates; to avoid duplicates, look the person up first with List contacts.
Bird4

Update a contact

Action

In Make“Updates an existing contact.”

Update a contact changes the details of someone already in Bird, so your SMS audience stays in step with your CRM or billing tool.

When to use it
a customer changes their phone number in your shop account and Bird should follow.
Watch out
it only edits an existing contact; for someone new, pick Create a contact instead.
Bird5

Delete a contact

Action

In Make“Deletes a contact.”

Delete a contact removes a person from your Bird workspace for good, which keeps your audience free of people who asked to leave.

When to use it
a customer closes their account and your process says their data goes too.
Watch out
a deletion cannot be undone from Make; test it with Run once on a dummy contact first.

Lists

4 modules
Bird6

Create a list

Action

In Make“Creates a list of contacts.”

Create a list opens a new list of contacts in Bird, so a segment exists before you fill it or send to it.

When to use it
each new event or product launch needs its own SMS audience, created when the event is added to your planning tool.
Watch out
the list starts empty; follow it with Add contacts to a list.
Bird7

Add contacts to a list

Action

In Make“Adds contacts to a list.”

Add contacts to a list places existing Bird contacts in a list you already have, which turns a loose audience into a targeted segment.

When to use it
a buyer completes an order and should join your after-sales list.
Watch out
the contacts must exist in Bird first, so place Create a contact before it for new people.
Bird8

Remove contacts from a list

Action

In Make“Removes contacts from a list.”

Remove contacts from a list takes people out of one list while keeping them as contacts in Bird, so they stop receiving that campaign only.

When to use it
a trial user becomes a paying customer and leaves the trial reminder list.
Watch out
to erase the person entirely you need Delete a contact, not this module.
Bird9

Delete a list

Action

In Make“Deletes a list.”

Delete a list removes a whole list from Bird, which tidies your workspace once a campaign is finished.

When to use it
an event is over and its dedicated SMS list has no further use.
Watch out
nothing brings the list back from Make; check with Run once that the scenario targets the right one.

SMS

3 modules
Bird10

Search SMS messages

Search

In Make“Search SMS messages that were sent or received.”

Search SMS messages finds texts your workspace sent or received and returns each match as a bundle, handy when you need past exchanges rather than new ones.

When to use it
you are rebuilding the message history of a customer before a sales call.
Watch out
a search can return zero, one or many messages, so plan what the next module does with each case.
Bird11

Read an SMS message

Action

In Make“Get details of an SMS message.”

Read an SMS message fetches the full details of one text you already point to, so the scenario works with the complete record.

When to use it
Watch SMS messages or Search SMS messages gave you a message and you want every detail before filing it in your CRM.
Watch out
it reads one message per run, so map its identifier from the previous module.
Bird12

Send an SMS message

Action

In Make“Sends a SMS message from choosen channel.”

Send an SMS message texts a recipient from the Bird channel you choose, which is how your scenario actually reaches people.

When to use it
an appointment is booked, an order ships or a quote is signed, and the customer should hear about it by text.
Watch out
run tests with your own number, since every Run once sends a real SMS.

Other

1 module
Bird13

Make an API call

Action

In Make“Perform an arbitrary authorized API call.”

Make an API call reaches any endpoint of the Bird API with your existing connection, so you are not stuck when no module covers a feature.

When to use it
you need a Bird feature outside contacts, lists and SMS, and none of the other Bird modules offers it.
Watch out
you write the request yourself, so keep the Bird API documentation open while you set it up.
Need help

Need help automating Bird with Make?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Bird and Make: common questions

01Is the Bird Make integration free?
On the Make side, yes: Bird is a standard app, available from the Free plan. That plan allows two active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between scheduled runs, runs of five minutes at most, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) drop the interval to one minute and count usage in operations per month. On the Bird side, though, the Make documentation requires a paid Bird account, so budget for that subscription.
02What do you need to connect Bird to Make?
You need a paid Bird account and two values from it. The first is an access key, created under Organization Settings, then Access Roles and Add new access key, with a role attached. The second is the Workspace ID, found in Organization settings under Workspaces through Edit workspace. In Make, click Create a connection on any Bird module, paste the key and the ID into their fields, and save. Every Bird module in your scenarios then reuses that single connection.
03Does the Bird Make integration trigger fire instantly?
No. Watch SMS messages is a scheduled trigger: Make checks Bird on the scenario's schedule rather than waiting for Bird to call it. A new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default, and that is also the minimum on the Free plan. Paid plans let you go down to one minute. If a few minutes of delay would hurt, for instance on a support line, keep that in mind before promising customers a reply by text right away.
04What if the Bird module you need is missing in Make?
Use Make an API call. It sends any authorized request to the Bird API with the connection you already set up, so you reach features the listed modules skip without adding a second login. The Bird documentation in Make lists no numeric limit, so any cap would come from the Bird API itself: check its own documentation if volume matters to you. If the task sits outside Bird altogether, add the module of another app to the same scenario and pass the data along.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Bird?
It depends on how you prefer to build. On Make, Bird comes with 14 ready modules covering contacts, lists and SMS, a scheduled trigger and Make an API call for everything else, all set up in a visual editor. The same app often has an n8n node too, so check what that node offers for your case. Compare the modules you actually need, the way each tool starts a workflow and how your team likes to work, then pick the one that fits.
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