How to Scrape Google Maps Leads & Send AI Emails (Make.com Guide)

The Ultimate Make.com Guide: Scrape Google Maps & Send AI Cold Emails

Build an automated "AI Salesman" that finds local businesses, reads their websites, and writes hyper-personalized cold emails in seconds.

You have an amazing AI service to sell. But there is a massive problem: you have no one to sell it to.

Most agency owners waste hundreds of dollars buying static, outdated lead lists, or they spend hours manually copying and pasting emails from Google Maps. Worse, when they finally send a cold email, it looks like a generic spam template, so it gets deleted instantly.

According to HubSpot's cold email statistics, personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates than generic ones. But personalization takes time... unless you automate it.

In this comprehensive, click-by-click Make.com tutorial, we are going to build an AI Lead Generation Machine. We will scrape fresh leads directly from Google Maps, use Artificial Intelligence to actually read their websites, and generate hyper-personalized cold emails for every single prospect automatically.

📋 Table of Contents

• Phase 1: The Tech Stack & Account Setup
• Phase 2: Scraping Google Maps with Apify
• Phase 3: Building the Make.com Automation (Step-by-Step)
• Phase 4: The "Secret Sauce" - AI Email Personalization
• Phase 5: The Exact Email Template to Use
• Phase 6: Getting Paid & Scaling Your Agency
• Crucial Rules to Avoid the Spam Folder
• Frequently Asked Questions

Phase 1: The Tech Stack & Account Setup

To build this automated pipeline, we need four specific tools. Do not skip any of these; they each play a critical role.

1. Make.com (The Glue): The visual automation platform that connects everything together.
2. Apify (The Data Source): A powerful web scraping platform. We will use their pre-built "Google Maps Scraper" so you don't have to write any code.
3. OpenAI (The Brain): The AI model that will read the prospect's website and write the custom email.
4. Gmail (The Sender): To actually deliver the email to the prospect.

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Make.com is the engine that will power your entire AI Automation Agency. You will use it for lead generation, client fulfillment, and internal operations. Don't build on a shaky foundation.

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Phase 2: Scraping Google Maps with Apify

While Make.com has native HTTP modules, scraping Google Maps directly is difficult because Google blocks automated bots. That's why we use Apify. They have a pre-built "Google Maps Scraper" that bypasses these blocks effortlessly.

1. Create an Apify Account: Go to Apify.com and sign up for a free account. (The free tier gives you $5/month in credits, which is enough to scrape roughly 5,000 leads!).
2. Find the Scraper: In the Apify dashboard, search for the "Google Maps Scraper" (created by Apify or a trusted partner like "Junglee"). Click on it.
3. Configure the Search: In the "Search strings" box, type exactly what you want to find. For example: Med Spas in Austin Texas or Roofers in Dallas Texas.
4. Run the Scraper: Click "Start". Apify will go to work, pulling business names, website URLs, phone numbers, and sometimes emails directly from Google Maps.
5. Get your Dataset ID: Once the scrape is finished, click on your "Dataset". Look at the URL in your browser. It will look like this: apify.com/app/datasets/XXXXXX. Copy that XXXXXX ID. You need it for Make.com!

Phase 3: Building the Make.com Automation (Step-by-Step)

Now we move to Make.com to build the actual workflow. This is where the magic happens.

Module 1: Fetch the Scraped Data

1. Create a new Scenario in Make.com.
2. Click the big plus (+) button to add your first module. Search for the Apify app.
3. Select the action "Download Dataset Items".
4. Connect your Apify account (you'll need your Apify API token, found in Apify Settings -> Integrations).
5. Paste the Dataset ID you copied in Phase 2. Click OK.

Module 2: The Iterator (Crucial Step!)

Apify sends all the leads to Make.com at once in a massive list. We need to process them one by one.

1. Add a second module and search for "Flow Control".
2. Select the Iterator action.
3. Click inside the "Array" field. A popup will appear showing data from the Apify module. Select the array of items (usually called items or data). Click OK.

Now, Make.com will take the first lead, run it through the rest of the steps, then come back and do the second lead, and so on.

Module 3: Clean the Website Text (Pro Tip)

🚨 The "Raw HTML" Problem

If you just send raw website HTML to OpenAI, the AI will get confused by code, menus, and footers, and it will write terrible emails. We need to convert the website into clean, readable text first. We will use a free tool called Jina AI Reader to do this instantly.

1. Add an HTTP module and select "Make a Request".
2. Set the URL to: https://r.jina.ai/{{website_url}} (Replace {{website_url}} by mapping the "Website" field from your Iterator module).
3. Set the Method to GET.
4. Click OK. This module will now fetch the website and strip away all the junk code, leaving only pure text for the AI to read!

Phase 4: The "Secret Sauce" - AI Email Personalization

This is where 99% of agency owners fail. They scrape the leads and send a generic template: "Hi, I do AI automation, do you want to buy?" That goes straight to the spam folder.

We are going to use AI to make every single email look like you spent 20 minutes researching the prospect.

1. Add an OpenAI (ChatGPT) module. Select "Create a Completion".
2. Connect your OpenAI account and add your API key.
3. Choose the Model: gpt-4o-mini (It's incredibly fast, very cheap, and perfect for this task).
4. In the "Messages" section, set the System message to "User" and paste this exact prompt:

You are an expert B2B sales copywriter. I am going to give you the text from a local business's website. Business Name: {{business_name}} Your task: Write the first 2 sentences of a cold email to the owner. Rules: 1. Mention a specific service they offer that you saw on their website text. 2. Point out a minor, polite observation about their digital presence (e.g., "I noticed your booking form takes a few clicks," or "I love the before/after photos on your gallery"). 3. Keep it under 40 words total. Do not sound salesy. Sound like a helpful peer. Website Text: {{website_text}}

Make sure to map the {{business_name}} and {{website_text}} variables from the previous modules!

🎯 Wait, What Are We Actually Selling Them?

You have the leads, and you have the AI writing the emails... but what is the actual service you are pitching? If you haven't built your flagship AI product yet, you need to start there. Check out our complete, step-by-step guide on How to Build an AI Voice Agent for Med Spas. Once you build that voice agent, you can use this exact scraping method to find Med Spas and pitch them the AI receptionist!

Phase 5: The Exact Email Template to Use

The AI just wrote a brilliant, personalized opening hook. Now we need to wrap it in a proven email framework and send it.

1. Add a Router module. Why? Because some businesses on Google Maps don't have emails listed. We only want to send emails if we actually have an address! Set a filter on Route 1: Email Address -> Exists.
2. On Route 1, add a Gmail module -> "Send an Email".
3. Connect your Gmail account. (Use a dedicated agency email, not your personal one!).
4. Map the fields exactly like this:

To: {{email_address}} Subject: Quick question about {{business_name}} Body: {{ai_generated_hook}} I actually build AI automations that fix this exact issue. I recently built an AI voice receptionist that answers missed calls and books appointments 24/7 (similar to what you might need during your busy hours). Mind if I send over a 30-second video showing how it works? Thanks, [Your Name] Simple AI Stack

Hit the big red RUN ONCE button at the bottom of Make.com. Watch in real-time as the bubbles turn green: The scraper finds a business, Jina cleans the site, OpenAI writes a custom hook, and Gmail sends it out. Rinse and repeat for 100 leads a day.

Phase 6: Getting Paid & Scaling Your Agency

When this automation works, you will start getting replies. You will book demos. You will close clients at $1,500 to $3,000 per setup. But if you are an international agency owner, getting paid in USD, EUR, or GBP can be a nightmare with traditional banks taking 5-8% in hidden conversion fees.

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Crucial Rules to Avoid the Spam Folder

⚠️ Read This Before Sending 1,000 Emails!

Automated cold email is powerful, but it requires discipline. If you spam 1,000 people in one day from a brand new email address, Google will blacklist your domain. Follow these rules strictly:

• Warm Up Your Domain: Use a tool like Lemlist, Instantly.ai, or Warmbox to warm up your email address for 14 days before sending cold traffic. This builds your sender reputation.
• Daily Limits: Never send more than 30 to 50 cold emails per day from a single email inbox. If you need to send more, buy secondary domains (e.g., getsimpleai.com instead of simpleaistack.com).
• Include an Opt-Out: Always include a simple "P.S. If you aren't the right person to speak with, let me know and I'll stop emailing" at the bottom. It keeps you legally compliant and drastically reduces spam complaints.
• Plain Text Only: Do not use HTML templates, logos, or images in your cold emails. They look like marketing spam. Keep it looking like a plain text email you typed yourself from your phone.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is scraping Google Maps legal?

Yes, scraping publicly available business data (like names, addresses, and phone numbers listed on Google Maps) for B2B outreach is generally legal, provided you comply with local data privacy laws like GDPR or CCPA. Always include an opt-out mechanism in your emails and do not scrape personal consumer data.

What if the business doesn't have an email listed on Google Maps?

This is very common! If the scraper only finds a phone number or website, you can add an extra step in Make.com. Use an HTTP module to call the Hunter.io API (they have a free tier) using the domain name you scraped. Hunter.io will return the most likely email address for the owner, which you can then pass to your Gmail module.

How much does this Make.com automation cost to run?

Make.com's free tier gives you 1,000 operations a month, which is enough to test and process about 150-200 leads. Once you scale, the Core plan is roughly $10.59/month for 10,000 operations, which can generate thousands of leads for pennies per lead. Apify costs $5/month for enough credits to scrape 5,000+ leads.

Will the AI sound robotic or salesy?

Not if you use the exact System Prompt provided in Phase 4. By explicitly instructing the AI to "keep it under 40 words" and "sound like a helpful peer," it generates highly natural, conversational opening lines that drastically increase your reply rate.

Stop Chasing Clients. Let AI Hunt For You.

Building this Google Maps scraper and AI email writer is the fastest way to fill your AI Agency's pipeline. You have the blueprint. Now you just need to build it.

Start Building in Make.com for Free →

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