Why Google Apps Script is the Most Underrated Tool in Your Enterprise Stack

In a world obsessed with the “Next Big Thing,” we often ignore the solutions sitting right in front of us. We spend thousands on SaaS licenses and over-engineer custom infrastructure, all while tolerating clunky, manual processes that could be automated in an afternoon.

But while looking for the perfect solution, most organizations are sleeping on the now 16-year-old powerhouse they already pay for: Google Apps Script.

As a developer who has spent years building solutions within the Google Workspace ecosystem, I’ve seen firsthand how much friction this tool can remove from a business. I’ve worked with enterprises to replace manual IT offboarding checklists with custom scripts that instantly revoke access and transfer files, ensuring security and data retention are handled perfectly every time. I’ve also helped specialized insurance firms reclaim hours of their week by turning manual data entry from Gmail into an automated background process that feeds directly into their case tracking system.

Whether you’re looking to bridge the gap between niche tools or trying to cut down on administrative bloat, Apps Script is often the simplest way to get your tech stack to actually work together.

What is Google Apps Script?

At its core, Apps Script is a serverless JavaScript platform included in your Workspace license. Think of it as the modern, cloud-native successor to Excel’s VBA/Macros.

But unlike the macros of the 90s, Apps Script isn’t stuck inside a spreadsheet. Apps Scripts can live independently on Drive and are capable of morphing into serverless automations, webhook listeners, fullstack webapps, workspace add-ons, data connectors, and more. 

And because Apps Script runs on the V8 runtime, if your team can write JavaScript, they can already write Apps Script.

4 Ways You Can Use  Apps Script to Solve Real Problems.

1. Create A Offboarding Automations
   One of the biggest money pits for any company is license bloat. A solid employee offboarding process can help minimize unused licensing costs. But beyond the cost, offboarding is a security risk. When an employee leaves, oftentimes IT and HR perform manual checklists to revoke access to systems, transfer files, and manage licensing.
   
   We use Apps Script to create flexible offboarding automations, unique to your organization’s needs.
   
   It can be triggered however you want, whether that’s manually via form submission, or maybe automated via a webhook from your HR System. Once triggered, the script executes your security protocols. It can reset passwords, revoke session cookies, hide users from the directory, remove them from chat spaces, and even transfer their Drive files. The workflow combinations and options are virtually endless, which allows organizations to make offboarding workflows completely unique to them.
   
   Here is a demo of the offboarding Apps Script in Action.
   
   

2. Build Custom Sidebar Add-ons
   Context switching is the enemy of productivity. Every time your sales team leaves Gmail to look up a client in the CRM, they lose time and focus.
   
   Google Apps Script allows you to build custom sidebars that live directly inside Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, and more.
   
   Imagine a sidebar in Google Calendar that automatically pulls up an attendee’s recent support tickets as soon as you click on a meeting. Or perhaps an approval workflow built right into Google Docs that once approved, it automatically uploads the document into your CRM or HR system. 
   
   Apps Script sidebars are able to use the context of the user’s screen to determine what UI is displayed, so you can present them with data or features relevant to the action they are currently performing. You aren’t forcing your employees to learn a new tool; you can use sidebars to extend the tools they already use daily.
   
3. Integrate Gemini AI
   Most enterprises struggle to bridge the gap between their isolated data and powerful models like Gemini.
   
   Apps Script interacts effortlessly with all of your workspace tools like Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides so it’s easy to bring the AI model directly to the data employees actually interact with. 
   
   Imagine a script that reads a row of raw sales data in Sheets, sends it to an LLM to generate a personalized proposal, and immediately populates a Google Doc template with the result. Or maybe a script running on a timer, scanning unread emails in Gmail, sending that text to an AI model for categorization, and applying the appropriate labels automatically.
   
   The script acts as a lightweight, secure connector, so the organization only pays for the API tokens used by the AI models, the script itself remains free. 
   
4. Leverage Custom Connectors & Middleware To Save Money
   Enterprises often spend a fortune on integration platforms or tools like Zapier or Boomi to simply move data from Point A to Point B. Google Apps Script is a free, code-first alternative to these expensive products.
   
   Apps Script can act as lightweight middleware that connects Google Workspace to the rest of your tech stack. It handles HTTPS requests, parses JSON, and manages authentication headers with ease. This allows your organization to build custom automations and integrations between virtually any system.

Conclusion

In the modern enterprise, the problem isn’t usually a lack of software; it’s a lack of connection. Your CRM is powerful, and your inbox is essential, but they don’t speak the same language. This integration gap is where efficiency goes to die and where Apps Script thrives.

Stop forcing your team to adapt to rigid external software and start molding the software to fit your unique team.

Google Apps Script makes deeply capable custom solutions surprisingly accessible. It empowers you to build secure, serverless, personalized tools that live right where your team works.

Need help automating your Workspace?

Wursta’s team specializes in building custom internal tools using Google Apps Script. Whether your organization needs to orchestrate a complex offboarding workflow, integrate AI, or build custom sidebars, we can help you get more out of the tools you already have. Schedule time with a Solutions Expert to find out how you can optimize your tool box.

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About the Author: Andrew Baxter

Baxter is a software developer at Wursta, who has spent the last 3 years developing Google Workspace integrations, automations, & applications for clients and Wursta.

His background is in web development, but he has found a passion for working with Google’s low-code/no-Code tools Apps Script & AppSheet. One of his favorite things to build are Google Workspace Add-ons. He has an add-on publicly available in the Google Workspace Marketplace, with ideas for many more in the future. He loves extending the functionality of the tools users already use. He’s lucky that during his career he’s been able to work with clients from all different sizes & industries; it’s given him a lot of perspective on the problems all organizations face and the impact software can make.