n8n Workflow & AI Automation

AI-Powered Email Response Assistant

Portfolio Build

An n8n workflow that classifies incoming customer emails, generates draft responses, and routes sensitive or uncertain cases for human review.

Overview

This workflow helps support teams process incoming customer emails more consistently. It uses AI to classify each message, calculate a confidence score, determine whether human review is needed, and generate a professional draft response.

The Problem

Manual triage is slow and inconsistent

Manually reviewing and categorizing every customer email takes time and can lead to inconsistent responses. Fully automated replies can also create risk when messages involve refunds, billing concerns, or unclear customer requests.

The Solution

AI drafting with human oversight

I built an n8n workflow that combines AI-assisted classification and response drafting with rules for human review. The system stores every processed message and its results in Airtable, creating a clear support queue and audit trail.

  • AI email classification
  • Confidence-based routing
  • Human review for sensitive cases
  • Automated draft-response generation
  • Duplicate-processing prevention
  • Airtable tracking and status management
  • Workflow execution testing
  • Clear escalation reasons

How It Works

From inbox to reviewed draft.

  1. 1

    New email received

    Gmail receives a new customer email.

  2. 2

    Duplicate check

    The workflow checks the message to help prevent duplicate processing.

  3. 3

    AI classification

    AI classifies the email into the appropriate support category.

  4. 4

    Structured AI output

    AI returns a confidence score, review decision, review reason, and draft response.

  5. 5

    Save to Airtable

    The message and AI results are saved in Airtable.

  6. 6

    Approved automated path

    High-confidence, low-risk messages can continue through the approved automated path.

  7. 7

    Human review routing

    Refunds, billing concerns, and unclear messages are routed for human review.

  8. 8

    Status update

    The workflow updates the record status after processing or sending.

Categories

Six support categories

  • Billing
  • Access
  • Scheduling
  • Technical Support
  • General Question
  • Refund Request

Refunds, billing concerns, and lower-confidence messages always stop for a human before anything is sent.

My Contribution

I designed and built the workflow, created the AI prompt and structured output, configured the Gmail and Airtable connections, mapped the fields, set the routing conditions, tested multiple customer scenarios, and reviewed the execution data to confirm that each message followed the correct path.

Testing

I tested the system using both clear and ambiguous customer messages. High-confidence general enquiries followed the normal route, while refunds, billing issues, and lower-confidence messages were flagged for manual review.

Outcome

The workflow demonstrates how AI can reduce repetitive support work while preserving human oversight for situations that require judgment.

Skills Demonstrated

  • n8n
  • OpenAI
  • Gmail
  • Airtable
  • AI Automation

Want AI handling your inbox — safely?

I build practical AI workflows that reduce repetitive work while keeping people in control of the decisions that matter.