InstaMaps
Workflows / Driver routes

Driver routes from a Google Drive file to Google Sheets

Stops split across drivers, in the best order, with a Google Maps link for each driver. Ask your AI in plain English: it reads a Google Drive file, InstaMaps does the location work, and the results land in Google Sheets.

Google Drive file
InstaMapsInstaMaps
Driver routes
Google Sheets
Works inClaudeChatGPTCopilotGemini
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Free connector · sign in with Google · about a minute

The prompt

Using the rows in this CSV or Excel file in my Google Drive: <link to the file>, plan routes for 2 drivers starting from <your depot address>, with an 8-hour shift and 15 minutes at each stop, and put the results in a new tab of this Google Sheet: <link to a sheet>.

Replace the parts in <angle brackets>.

What comes back

  • Each driver's stops in order, with arrival times
  • A Google Maps link per driver to drive from
  • Any stops that don't fit the shift, with the reason
  • Anything that can't be placed or answered comes back with the reason. Nothing is dropped.

Set it up

Driver routes in Claude

Every plan, including Free. On Free, InstaMaps uses your one custom connector; Google Drive, Gmail and Google Calendar are directory connectors and don't count against it.

  1. In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, and choose "Add custom connector".
  2. Name it InstaMaps and paste https://get-instamaps.com/mcp. Click Add.
  3. Click Connect and continue with Google. You land back in Claude, ready to ask.
  4. Paste the prompt above.
Claude's own guide ↗

Before you start

Reading a Google Drive file

Share the file with InstaMaps, or set it to "anyone with the link can view". InstaMaps reads it straight from Drive.

Writing to Google Sheets

InstaMaps writes to the sheet itself: share it with the address the answer gives you, as Editor. It adds new dated columns or a new tab, and never overwrites a cell.

Run it on a schedule

Every weekday at 7am, for that day's stops: using the rows in this CSV or Excel file in my Google Drive: <link to the file>, plan routes for 2 drivers starting from <your depot address>, with an 8-hour shift and 15 minutes at each stop, and put the results in a new tab of this Google Sheet: <link to a sheet>.

  • Claude. Scheduled tasks run a prompt hourly, daily, on weekdays or weekly, with the connectors you've added. They need a paid plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise), and on Pro and Max they run in the cloud, so your computer can be off.
  • ChatGPT. ChatGPT has scheduled tasks, but OpenAI doesn't yet say whether they can use a custom connector. Run the prompt by hand until it does.
  • Microsoft Copilot and Teams. Copilot Studio agents can run on a schedule with a Recurrence trigger. The run uses the agent author's sign-ins.
  • Gemini. Google doesn't yet say whether scheduled actions can use a custom app. Run the prompt by hand until it does.

Good to know

  • Up to 100 stops and 10 drivers per plan, on roads in Great Britain and the US. Google Maps picks the roads when the driver opens the link.
  • The connector is free: 5,000 tool calls a day per person, and a whole sheet read by link counts as one call.
  • Rather do it without an AI? Use the free tool on our site.

Related workflows

Driver routes in Google SheetsDriver routes from Google Sheets to a Google Drive fileDriver routes from Google Sheets to GmailDriver routes from Google Sheets to Google CalendarDriver routes in Google Drive fileDriver routes from a Google Drive file to Gmail