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n8n for AI and LLM automations

· 6 min read
Serhii Hrekov
Serhii Hrekov
software engineer, creator, artist, programmer, projects founder

As the automation landscape evolves, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) into workflows has become a game-changer. n8n is particularly well-suited for this, thanks to its open, flexible architecture that allows you to connect AI services to virtually any other tool in your stack [2]. This article will explore how to leverage n8n for AI and LLM automations, providing practical examples and use cases.

How n8n Integrates with AI and LLMs 🧠

n8n simplifies the process of building AI-powered automations by providing dedicated nodes for popular AI services. These nodes act as connectors to services like OpenAI, Google Gemini, and Anthropic, among others [1, 3]. This allows you to perform complex AI tasks—like text summarization, content generation, and data analysis—without writing a single line of API code.

The real power of n8n lies in its ability to combine these AI capabilities with its extensive library of over 500 integrations and its custom code functionality. This means you can:

  • Pull data from a source (e.g., an email or a database).
  • Process it with an AI node.
  • Use the AI's output to trigger an action (e.g., sending a Slack message, creating a task in a project management tool).

Practical Use Cases and Examples đź’ˇ

Content Generation and Marketing Automation​

You can build a workflow that automates your content creation process. For example, you can create a blog post generator that takes a headline from a Google Sheet, uses a large language model to write the body, and then automatically publishes it to a WordPress blog. This allows you to scale your content output while still maintaining control.

AI-Powered Support and Sales​

Automating customer support responses is a great use case for n8n. You can create a workflow that listens for new emails in your support inbox. When an email arrives, you can send the message content to an LLM to analyze and summarize it. The AI's summary is then used to create a support ticket in a tool like Zendesk or to send a personalized reply back to the customer.

Data Analysis and Classification​

For businesses that handle large volumes of unstructured data, n8n can automate data analysis. You could set up a workflow that monitors a shared folder for new documents. When a new PDF is added, you can use an AI node to extract key information from it and then classify the document. The workflow can then store the classified data in a spreadsheet or database for easy access and reporting.

Building RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Systems​

One of the most powerful use cases for n8n is building RAG systems. This involves retrieving relevant information from a knowledge base (e.g., a PDF, a database) and providing it to an LLM to generate a more accurate response [1]. You can build a workflow that takes a user's question, searches a vector database for relevant documents, and then sends the documents along with the question to an LLM. This is a powerful way to build a custom chatbot that can "chat with your own data."

The Future: AI Agents

n8n is also evolving to support AI agents, which are sophisticated automations that can make decisions and use tools to achieve a goal. You can build a workflow that defines an agent's objective (e.g., "Find the latest news on a specific topic and summarize it"). The agent can then autonomously decide which tools to use, such as a web scraper to find data or an LLM to summarize it. This represents the next level of automation, where workflows are no longer rigid but can adapt to new information [4].

The ability to use both a visual UI and custom code gives you the flexibility to build any AI automation, from simple content generation to complex, multi-agent systems [2].

Sources

  1. n8n Docs - AI Agent integrations
  2. n8n.io - Flexible AI workflow automation for technical teams
  3. n8n.io - Best AI apps & software integrations
  4. Your Practical Guide to LLM Agents in 2025 (+ 5 Templates for Automation)

This video provides a tutorial on how to connect n8n to OpenAI, which is a foundational step for building many AI-powered automations.