How to Automate Personalized Email Replies with n8n

Why Bother Automating Email Replies?

If your inbox is constantly filling up with new leads or inquiries, you know how hard it is to keep up and still sound personal in every reply. You want to respond quickly, but you also want each person to feel like you actually read their message, right?

This is where n8n can really shine. With a simple workflow, you can:

• Pull lead details from a Google Sheet
• Use OpenAI (or another language model) to write a personalized reply
• Send that reply automatically through Gmail in a nicely formatted HTML email

So instead of typing out the same kind of responses over and over, you set things up once and let the workflow handle the heavy lifting.

What This n8n Workflow Template Actually Does

Let’s start with the big picture. This n8n workflow template connects three main tools you probably already use:

• Google Sheets – where your lead data lives
• Gmail – your email sending engine
• OpenAI’s language model – the brain that writes the personalized replies

The workflow follows this basic flow:

1. Read lead data from a Google Sheet
2. Fetch your Gmail sender identity so your name appears correctly
3. Generate a tailored HTML email reply using an LLM
4. Send the personalized email through Gmail

Once it is set up, you just add new leads to the sheet, trigger the workflow, and n8n takes care of everything else.

When Should You Use This Template?

This workflow is ideal if you:

• Get a lot of similar inbound emails from leads or prospects
• Want to respond faster without sacrificing personalization
• Already track leads in a spreadsheet or CRM that can export to Google Sheets
• Use Gmail as your main email account

Think of use cases like:

• Replying to demo or trial requests
• Following up with people who filled out a “contact us” form
• Responding to common inquiries about pricing, features, or availability

If you are doing any of that manually right now, this n8n template will make your life a lot easier.

Why This Workflow Makes Your Life Easier

• Time-saving – No more copying, pasting, and rewriting nearly identical replies all day.
• Consistent personalization – Every email uses the lead’s name, intent, and message context to feel human and relevant.
• Scalable – Got 10 leads? 100? Just drop them into the Google Sheet. The workflow does not need to change.
• Professional look – Your Gmail display name is used in the signature so everything stays on-brand and polished.

Step-by-Step: How the n8n Workflow Works

Step 1: Lead Intake with Google Sheets

The whole process starts with a simple Google Sheet. Think of it as your “inbox” for the automation.

Your sheet should have columns like:

• Email ID
• First Name
• Intent (for example, “Requesting a demo” or “Asking about pricing”)
• Why They Sent Email (the message or context they provided)

In n8n, you use the Google Sheets node to read this data. When you trigger the workflow manually, this node pulls in each row as an item that the rest of the workflow can use.

At this stage, n8n is basically gathering everything the AI will need to write a meaningful reply: who the person is, why they reached out, and what they care about.

Step 2: Fetch Your Sender Identity from Gmail

Next, you probably want your replies to look like they came directly from you, not from some generic system. That is where the Gmail sender identity comes in.

Using an HTTP Request node, the workflow calls Gmail’s API to fetch your sendAs profiles. This gives you details like your Gmail display name.

Why does this matter? Because that display name can be used in the signature of your AI-generated emails. It keeps everything consistent and professional, and it feels more personal to the recipient.

Step 3: Generate a Personalized Draft with a Language Model

Now comes the fun part: letting the AI write the email for you.

With the lead data and your sender identity in hand, the workflow calls a language model such as OpenAI’s GPT using an LLM node.

The prompt passed to the model usually includes things like:

• The lead’s first name
• Their intent or reason for contacting you
• Their original message or context from the sheet
• Details about how you want the email to sound and how it should be signed

The model then returns a complete email reply in HTML format. Using HTML is important because it lets you use formatting like paragraphs, links, and bold text, which looks much better in email clients.

Step 4: Send the Personalized Email via Gmail

Once the AI has written the draft, the final step is to send it out through Gmail.

In n8n, you configure a Gmail node with settings such as:

• Recipient – Set dynamically from the Email ID column in your Google Sheet.
• Subject line – Often something like Re: [Intent], where the intent is pulled directly from the lead data.
• Email body – The HTML content generated by the language model.
• emailType – Set to html so the email renders with rich formatting.

Once this node runs, your lead receives a personalized, nicely formatted response that looks like you sat down and typed it yourself.

How to Get Started With This n8n Template

Ready to try this out in your own setup? Here is a simple checklist to follow:

1. Prepare your Google Sheet
   Create a sheet with columns for Email ID, First Name, Intent, and Why They Sent Email. Add a few test leads so you can see the workflow in action.
2. Connect your accounts in n8n
   Set up credentials for:
   • Google Sheets – so n8n can read your lead data
   • Gmail – so it can send emails on your behalf
   • OpenAI (or your chosen LLM) – so it can generate the email replies
3. Import the workflow template
   Bring the template into your n8n instance, then replace any placeholder document IDs and sheet identifiers with your own Google Sheet details.
4. Run a manual test
   Use the manual trigger in n8n, watch the workflow run, and then check your Gmail “Sent” folder and the test recipient’s inbox to confirm everything looks right.

FAQ

Can I customize the email signature?

Absolutely. You can edit the prompt in the LLM node to change how the signature is written. You might include your full name, role, company, or any standard footer you usually add to emails.

Is this setup secure?

Security depends on how you manage your credentials. Make sure your API keys and account credentials are stored safely within n8n, and limit access to your n8n instance to trusted users only.

Wrapping Up

This n8n workflow is a simple but powerful way to bring together Google Sheets, OpenAI, and Gmail so you can handle email communication more efficiently without losing the personal touch.

Instead of juggling a crowded inbox and typing the same responses over and over, you set up the automation once, keep your sheet updated, and let n8n and the AI handle the rest.

Want to try it yourself? You can start exploring n8n here:

Start building your workflow with n8n today