Testing two automation platforms side-by-side — Zenphi and Google Workspace Flows — to see how they handle document workflows in Google Drive.
Table of Contents
If you use Google Drive to manage proposals, invoices, or employee files, you’ve probably spent hours moving documents, chasing approvals, and renaming folders.
Until recently, hands down the best options to automate these workflows were scripting (using Apps Script) or no-code tool native to Google Workspace — Zenphi. But with Google Workspace Flows now entering alpha, Google is signaling a serious move into process automation.
We tested both Zenphi and Google Workspace Flows to see how they compare when it comes to automating everyday document workflows inside Drive. One might say that we’re prejudiced — however, we have recorded videos to let you see the outcome of every automation test with your own eyes.
What Counts As a “Document Workflow”
But first, let’s try to understand what is a document workflow in Google Workspace — specifically, a document workflow on Google Drive — and why would somebody need to automate it. A document workflow is any process that moves, approves, or generates files in a structured way — usually across Drive, Docs, and Gmail. Typical examples include:
- Submitting and approving contracts or proposals.
- Generating HR documents from forms.
- Managing permissions and archiving finalized files.
Let’s see how Google Flow and Zenphi — the #1 Google Flow alternative – handle some of these use cases.
The #1 Google Drive Workflow Automation Solution
Zenphi is a go-to platform for Google Drive organization and automation. Zenphi’s workflows scale with our document workflows, and allows your team to automate multiple document management tasks without switching platforms, natively and securely within Google Workspace environment — no coding required.
Document Workflow In Google Drive: Zenphi vs Google Flow
Use Case 1: Sequential Approval Workflow (the classic “multi-step review” use case)
So, this is our scenario. When a new Google Doc link is submitted through a form, send it to Manager for approval. Once approved, forward to Marketing. When all approvals are complete:
- Move the file to the “Approved” folder,
- Log details in a Google Sheet, and
- Notify the requester via Gmail.
What we’re going to test
- Can a workflow include sequential routing?
- Is there a way to embed conditional logic?
- How deep is the integration of the tool with Google Workspace apps?
To make the test fully fair, we recorded a real-time demo — follow along to see how Zenphi and Google Flow can handle document workflow on Google Drive — specifically, an approval workflow automation.
Use Case 2 — Automated Document Generation and Filing
This is another scenario that we’d like to test.When a new Google Form is submitted:
- Generate a proposal document from a Google Docs template.
- Merge dynamic fields (name, date, client, etc.).
- Save it as a PDF in Drive under the correct folder.
- Notify the requester by email.
What we’re going to test
- The ability of both tools to create and populate Docs from templates.
- Ability for Drive organization (saving the file in the certain folder).
- How flexible each tool is with dynamic content and file formats.
Here’s the video — please follow along to see how both Google Flows and Zenphi handle these automations.
Use Case 3 — Automated Permissions and Access Revocation
Finally, we have this scenario in mind that is being used quite actively by multiple Zenphi customers. When an employee leaves — removed from a Google Group or a form from HR is submitted:
- Identify Drive files owned or shared with that user.
- Transfer ownership to a manager or archive folder.
- Remove the user’s access and suspend the user.
What we’re going to test
- Administrative and security functions of Zenphi and Google Flow.
- How deeply both tools are integrated with Google Admin APIs or Drive permissions.
Watch this video to learn the details of the test.
What We Learned
Now, let’s summarize our findings based on three automation tests objectively.
To cap it up, Google Workspace Flows will likely be a great lightweight tool for simple internal automations when it launches publicly. While Zenphi already covers enterprise-grade document workflows in Google Workspace — with AI, compliance, and visibility features that Workspace Flows doesn’t yet have.
FAQ
Google Workspace Flow (often referred to as Google Flow) is Google’s upcoming workflow automation tool designed to connect Google Workspace apps like Drive, Forms, Sheets, and Gmail. It uses Gemini AI to help users create automated workflows through natural language prompts. As of now, it’s still in early development and limited in scope compared to established automation tools.
Absolutely! You can automate some document-related workflows using Google Flow. Currently, it can handle simple triggers and notifications. However, if you need dynamic routing, sequential approvals, and deep integration with Google Directory, Google Flow won’t be able to fit your requirements, at this stage. This means it can’t yet support multi-step document approval workflows involving multiple managers or departments. Platforms like Zenphi can automate these end-to-end within Google Workspace, including Drive file management and Gmail automation & notifications.
Google Flow is promising, but in its current version it can’t connect directly to Google Directory for user lookups, lacks conditional or sequential approval logic, offers no native file ownership or permission management for Drive, and has limited control over document templates or PDF generation.
Zenphi extends Google Workspace capabilities by automating complex document processes — without coding. With Zenphi, you already can automatically generate documents from templates or/and using AI models, route approvals based on user roles or conditions, save and organize files in Drive dynamically, manage access permissions automatically and so much more. It’s built specifically for Google Workspace users who want full control over document workflows.
