How to Build an AI Automation Workflow with n8n (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

August 27, 2025

How to Build an AI Automation Workflow with n8n (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Introduction

Automation becomes powerful only when you can see it in action. Instead of theory, this tutorial will walk you through building a working AI automation workflow with n8n.

By the end, you’ll learn how to:

  • Set up n8n locally (or on the cloud).
  • Create a Cron-based trigger that runs daily.
  • Collect articles from an RSS feed.
  • Summarize them into bullets with AI.
  • Categorize them by topic.
  • Send yourself a daily email digest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

  • n8n installed (via Docker, npm, or hosted n8n.io).
  • An OpenAI API key (or similar LLM API key).
  • An email service connected in n8n (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, SMTP).

Step 1: Create the Trigger

  1. Open your n8n dashboard.
  2. Add a Cron Node.
  3. Set it to run at 08:55 AM IST so the digest lands in your inbox by 9.

📸 Screenshot Suggestion: n8n Cron node setup.
ALT Text: Cron node configuration in n8n for daily AI automation workflow.

Step 2: Collect Content Sources

Add an RSS Feed Read Node.

  • Example feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

(Optional) Add multiple feeds → merge with a Merge Node.

Extract fields: title, link, contentSnippet.

Step 3: Clean the Data

Add a Function Node.

Paste this simple script:

return items.map(item => {
  return {
    json: {
      title: item.json.title.trim(),
      link: item.json.link,
      snippet: item.json.contentSnippet || ''
    }
  };
});

This ensures clean, uniform data for AI input.

Step 4: Summarize with AI

  1. Add an OpenAI Node.
  2. Use this prompt:

“Summarize the article below in 3 concise bullet points (under 60 words). Highlight one fact, one quote, and one key takeaway. Return in markdown.”

  1. Input: title + snippet.
  2. Output: summary.

Step 5: Categorize by Topic

  1. Add another OpenAI Node.
  2. Prompt:

“Assign this article summary to one category: AI, Business, Education, Finance, or Other. Return only the category name.”

  1. Output: category.

Step 6: Send the Digest

Add an Email Node (Gmail).

Subject: “Your Daily AI Digest – {{date}}”

Body Template:

Hello, here’s your daily digest:

{{$json["category"]}}  
- {{$json["summary"]}}  
(Link: {{$json["link"]}})

You just built a working AI automation workflow with n8n.

👉 Want the ready-to-use Novamind Labs agent? It’s coming soon.
👉 Prefer learning hands-on? Join my next live workshop where I’ll walk you through builds like this.

Either way, you save hours daily—and that’s the power of automation.

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