# AI & Automation

Almost everything you can do in Studio can be controlled via the [Control API](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api). 

You can also create [Mica Workflows](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/how-to-build-a-mica-workflow). Mica is the interface you can use to create assistants powered by AI. This is the recommended mechanism because it gives Studio users visibility and control. 

You may want to use your preferred scripting language: Python, Node.js or shell scripts. However, we recommend [Zapier](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/connecting-to-zapier) or [n8n.io](https://n8n.io/) for low code automations and our official Monterosa n8n node is due to be released soon. 

## **What can I achieve with automation?**

Some example outcome scenarios:  

1. Automate the generation of trivia games
2. Use AI processing to edit or adapt images - removing or pixellating a player's face for example
3. Bulk ingest quiz questions from a Google Sheet to Studio
4. Connect to automation tools such as n8n or Zapier and use RSS feeds to create polls with OpenAI
5. Use sports fixture data to auto-create predictions
6. Create a plug-in for your CMS so that you can create new Polls without the user logging into Monterosa / Studio

In this guide we'll focus on rules-based automation and you'll learn how to create Events, Elements and programmatically control your Projects. We will also cover how to ingest data into the Asset Library dynamically. 

You can use LLMs to power these automations if you wish, but we recommend creating Mica workflows to give Studio users access to parameters, triggers and general control over the automation workflows. To learn how to create a Mica workflow, check out [how-to-build-a-mica-workflow](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/how-to-build-a-mica-workflow "mention")

## How does programmatic automation work? 

Automation is achieved primarily using the [Control API](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api), a backend API that gives you access to most functions you can achieve in Studio. 

You can use almost any tool to create automations. Some of our favourites are [Zapier](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/connecting-to-zapier), [Google Sheets & Scripts](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/creator-guide/spaces/content/automation) and Node.js.

If you really wanted to, you could even have iOS Shortcuts automate actions in the platform, but that one's on you. 

## What does the API let me do? 

Control API allows you to do things such as: 

* [Create a new Project](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/projects/create-project)
* [Create new Event with settings](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/events/create-event)
* [Trigger an Event to start and stop](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/events)
* [Create new Element ](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/elements/create-element)with content such as a Prediction
* [Revoke an Element](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/elements/update-element)
* [Upload an Image](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/assets) to the Asset Library
* [Create an Event Template](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/event-templates)
* [Get the URL for an Event](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/control-api/events/get-events) and trigger another system to publish it
* [Change styling settings](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/creator-guide/spaces/projects/project-settings)

When you put the actions together you can achieve complex and powerful outcomes using whatever your preferred method of automation might be. 

Learn more about: 

* [discovering-events](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/discovering-events "mention")
* [connecting-to-google-sheets](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/connecting-to-google-sheets "mention")
* [connecting-to-zapier](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/connecting-to-zapier "mention")
* [connecting-to-sports-feeds](https://products.monterosa.co/mic/developer-guide/content-automation/connecting-to-sports-feeds "mention")