About this recipe
A recipe for Gmail Ai Auto Responder Create Draft Replies To Incoming Emails
Recipe Template
{
"id": "aOQANirVMuWrH0ZD",
"meta": {
"instanceId": "b78ce2d06ac74b90a581919cf44503cf07404c11eda5c3847597226683145618"
},
"name": "Gmail AI auto-responder: create draft replies to incoming emails",
"tags": [],
"nodes": [
{
"id": "2a9ff08f-919a-41a8-980b-8c2bca3059e4",
"name": "Gmail Trigger",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmailTrigger",
"position": [
-332.809175564116,
566.0845437534399
],
"parameters": {
"simple": false,
"filters": {
"q": "-from:me"
},
"options": [],
"pollTimes": {
"item": [
{
"mode": "everyMinute"
}
]
}
},
"credentials": {
"gmailOAuth2": {
"id": "ofvBTX8A0aWfQb2O",
"name": "Gmail account"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "3ef14615-0045-404f-a21b-2c65a52f4be8",
"name": "If Needs Reply",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
"position": [
240,
560
],
"parameters": {
"options": [],
"conditions": {
"options": {
"leftValue": "",
"caseSensitive": true,
"typeValidation": "strict"
},
"combinator": "and",
"conditions": [
{
"id": "53849246-ad32-4845-9976-9f9688f5a6f2",
"operator": {
"type": "boolean",
"operation": "true",
"singleValue": true
},
"leftValue": "={{ $json.needsReply }}",
"rightValue": "true"
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "36968dd5-8d51-4184-a05a-587b6c95aa82",
"name": "JSON Parser",
"type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.outputParserStructured",
"position": [
100,
720
],
"parameters": {
"jsonSchema": "{\n \"type\": \"object\",\n \"properties\": {\n \"needsReply\": {\n \"type\": \"boolean\"\n }\n },\n \"required\": [\"needsReply\"]\n}\n"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "2a64dce8-e2f0-475e-a366-a02084293aad",
"name": "OpenAI Chat",
"type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi",
"position": [
-92.809175564116,
726.0845437534399
],
"parameters": {
"model": "gpt-4o",
"options": {
"temperature": 0,
"responseFormat": "json_object"
}
},
"credentials": {
"openAiApi": {
"id": "13ffkrNMlQMfvbZy",
"name": "OpenAi account"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "be892ff8-0981-4b34-9c93-7674ddd90360",
"name": "Sticky Note",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-429.809175564116,
461.08454375343996
],
"parameters": {
"width": 304.10628068244364,
"height": 394.42512272977456,
"content": "## When I receive an Email\n"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "9d92839a-9ff2-436c-8abb-2f43e07c1ace",
"name": "Sticky Note1",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-112.809175564116,
460.08454375343996
],
"parameters": {
"width": 556,
"height": 397,
"content": "## ... that Needs a Reply\n"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "3cd77609-684c-44e2-9cdc-9479cfd836bd",
"name": "Sticky Note2",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
460,
460
],
"parameters": {
"width": 333.19082443588354,
"height": 400.08454375343996,
"content": "## Generate a Reply"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "b123cf31-767d-48bb-a0ba-79a69f6da585",
"name": "Sticky Note3",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
807.190824435884,
461.08454375343996
],
"parameters": {
"width": 326,
"height": 395,
"content": "## ...as a Draft in the conversation"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "1a87c416-6b1c-4526-a2b6-20468c95ea0e",
"name": "OpenAI Chat Model",
"type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi",
"position": [
480,
680
],
"parameters": {
"model": "gpt-4-turbo",
"options": []
},
"credentials": {
"openAiApi": {
"id": "13ffkrNMlQMfvbZy",
"name": "OpenAi account"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "84b4d516-252e-444e-b998-2d4aa0f89653",
"name": "Gmail - Create Draft",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
"position": [
900,
560
],
"parameters": {
"message": "={{ $json.text.replace(\/\\n\/g, \"<br \/>\\n\") }}",
"options": {
"sendTo": "={{ $('Gmail Trigger').item.json.headers.from }}",
"threadId": "={{ $('Gmail Trigger').item.json.threadId }}"
},
"subject": "=Re: {{ $('Gmail Trigger').item.json.headers.subject }}",
"resource": "draft",
"emailType": "html"
},
"credentials": {
"gmailOAuth2": {
"id": "ofvBTX8A0aWfQb2O",
"name": "Gmail account"
}
},
"typeVersion": 2.1
},
{
"id": "86017ff4-9c57-4b2a-9cd9-f62571a05ffd",
"name": "Assess if message needs a reply",
"type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.chainLlm",
"position": [
-92.809175564116,
566.0845437534399
],
"parameters": {
"prompt": "=Subject: {{ $json.subject }}\nMessage:\n{{ $json.textAsHtml }} ",
"messages": {
"messageValues": [
{
"message": "Your task is to assess if the message requires a response. Return in JSON format true if it does, false otherwise.\nMarketing emails don't require a response."
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 1.3
},
{
"id": "cab1e7e5-93dc-4850-a471-e285cdbe2058",
"name": "Generate email reply",
"type": "@n8n\/n8n-nodes-langchain.chainLlm",
"position": [
500,
520
],
"parameters": {
"text": "=Subject: {{ $('Gmail Trigger').item.json.subject }}\nMessage: {{ $('Gmail Trigger').item.json.textAsHtml }}",
"messages": {
"messageValues": [
{
"message": "You're a helpful personal assistant and your task is to draft replies on my behalf to my incoming emails. Whenever I provide some text from an email, return an appropriate draft reply for it and nothing else.\nEnsure that the reply is suitable for a professional email setting and addresses the topic in a clear, structured, and detailed manner.\nDo not make things up.\n\nDetailed instructions:\n- Be concise and maintain a business casual tone.\n- Start with \"Hello,\", and end with \"Best,\"\n- When replying to yes-no questions, draft 2 responses: one affirmative and one negative separated by \" - - - - - - - OR - - - - - - - \"\n- If you don't know an answer, you can leave placeholders like \"[YOUR_ANSWER_HERE]\".\n- Don't use any special formatting, only plain text.\n- Reply in the same language as the inbound email."
}
]
},
"promptType": "define"
},
"typeVersion": 1.4
}
],
"active": true,
"pinData": [],
"settings": {
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"versionId": "c4448c34-1f75-4479-805e-20d8a69a7e00",
"connections": {
"JSON Parser": {
"ai_outputParser": [
[
{
"node": "Assess if message needs a reply",
"type": "ai_outputParser",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"OpenAI Chat": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "Assess if message needs a reply",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Gmail Trigger": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Assess if message needs a reply",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"If Needs Reply": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Generate email reply",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"OpenAI Chat Model": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "Generate email reply",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Generate email reply": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Gmail - Create Draft",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Assess if message needs a reply": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "If Needs Reply",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
}
}How to Use an n8n Template
1
Create a New Workflow
Click "New Workflow" in your n8n dashboard to get started.
2
Copy & Paste Template
First, copy this template:
Click here to copy the JSON
.
Then, in n8n, click the three dots (···) → "Import from file" and paste the JSON code.
3
Customize the Nodes
Go through each node in the workflow to update inputs like spreadsheet IDs, email addresses, or message content. Adjust field mappings to match your data.
4
Grant Access
For nodes that connect to external apps (like Google Sheets or Slack), you'll need to grant access. Connect your accounts using OAuth or an API key and save the credentials in the node.
5
Test It
Run the workflow by clicking "Execute Node" for each step or "Run Once" for the whole thing. Check the right sidebar to inspect data and debug any errors (they'll show up in red).
6
Activate Workflow
Once everything works as expected, click the "Activate" toggle to turn your workflow on. You're all set!