Build an email assistant that drafts and follows up

A developer used n8n to sort email, draft replies, and remind them about messages still waiting on other people.

Done with n8n· Advanced

What they did
They set up an n8n flow with a webhook at the front, then used a GPT-4 step to send each request toward email, calendar, or task handling. Gmail nodes checked unread messages, and the model either wrote brief replies or marked items for human review. The system also added labels, sent urgent mail to Slack, and kept track of replies they were waiting on so it could nudge people later or escalate.
How it went
They say the assistant now covers about 70% of routine email work, and after two months of adjustments that rose to about 80%. Early versions caused odd mistakes, like emailing the developer’s mom about dinner and suggesting meetings at 2 AM.
Tips
Put limits in place before letting it act on live inboxes, including quiet hours, keyword-based approval, and webhook authentication. Keep a small monthly budget for API use, since they set aside $20-30.

Try it yourself with n8n

Help me build an n8n email assistant for [email address]. Route incoming messages into email, calendar, or task handling; for common email types like [scheduling / receipts / simple questions], draft short replies and label messages, and for anything uncertain, mark it NEEDS_HUMAN_REVIEW. Track messages where I am waiting on someone, send me a reminder after [number] days without a reply, and escalate overdue items. Before any action that would send, submit, delete, or pay for anything, stop and show me the exact text or action for approval. Also include safeguards such as [quiet hours], [approval keywords], and webhook authentication.

Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.

Read the original on dev.to ↗

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