How to Auto-Reply to New Leads in Under a Minute with n8n and AI

Speed wins leads. The first person to reply to an enquiry is very often the one who gets the job, and as a one-person business you are not always at your desk. In this tutorial you will build a workflow in n8n that replies to every new lead within a minute, with a personal message written by AI, and logs the lead in Google Sheets.

What you need: an n8n account (cloud or self-hosted), a Gmail account, a Google Sheet for your leads and an API key for an AI model (OpenAI, Anthropic or Google). Time: about 20 minutes.

How the workflow works

1. Form Trigger: a visitor submits your contact form.
2. AI step: a language model reads their message and writes a personal reply.
3. Gmail: the reply is sent (or saved as a draft while you test).
4. Google Sheets: the lead and the reply are logged.

Step 1: Create the form trigger

Create a new workflow in n8n and add the n8n Form Trigger node (“On form submission”). Add three fields: Name (text, required), Email (email, required) and Message (textarea, required). n8n gives you a production URL for the form, which you can link from your website or embed on your contact page.

Already have a form on your site (WordPress, Typeform, Tally)? Use a Webhook node instead and send the form data to its URL. The rest of the workflow stays the same.

Step 2: Let AI write the reply

Add a Basic LLM Chain node after the trigger and connect a chat model to it, for example OpenAI Chat Model or Anthropic Chat Model, using your API key as a credential. Set the prompt to “Define below” and paste this template, replacing the parts in capitals:

You are the assistant of {{YOUR NAME}}, a solo {{WHAT YOU DO}}.
A potential client just sent this enquiry through the website form:

Name: {{ $json.Name }}
Message: {{ $json.Message }}

Write a short, warm first reply in English (max 120 words):
- Thank them by first name and mention one specific detail from their message.
- Explain in one sentence how {{YOUR NAME}} can help with exactly that.
- Suggest a 20-minute call and include this booking link: {{YOUR BOOKING LINK}}
- No hype, no emojis, sign off as {{YOUR NAME}}.
Return only the email body.

The expressions in double curly braces pull the name and message from the form. Run the node once with a test submission and read the output. If the tone is off, give the model one example of a reply you would actually send.

Step 3: Send the email with Gmail

Add a Gmail node and connect your Google account. Choose the operation to send a message. Map the fields:

• To: the Email field from the form trigger
• Subject: something like Re: your enquiry
• Message: the text output of the LLM node
• Email type: Text, so it looks like a normal personal email

Tip: start with drafts. For the first one or two weeks, use the Gmail operation that creates a draft instead of sending. You read each draft, fix anything odd and hit send. When you stop making edits, switch the node to send automatically.

Step 4: Log every lead in Google Sheets

Add a Google Sheets node with the operation to append a row. Create a sheet with the columns Date, Name, Email, Message and AI reply, and map each one. This log is your mini-CRM and your safety net: if something goes wrong, you can see exactly what was sent.

Step 5: Test and activate

1. Submit the form with your own email address.
2. Check that the reply (or draft) arrives and reads naturally.
3. Check the new row in Google Sheets.
4. Activate the workflow so the production form URL starts listening.

Make it smarter later

• Add a Text Classifier node to sort enquiries into hot, warm and cold, and only ping yourself on Telegram for the hot ones.
• Give the AI your price list or FAQ so it can answer simple questions directly.
• Add a follow-up branch that drafts a polite nudge if the lead has not booked a call after three days.

Data protection

You are sending the visitor’s name and message to an AI provider. Mention this in your privacy policy, send only what the AI step needs and check your provider’s data settings.

Want 24 more workflows like this one? Get our free playbook 25 AI Automations Every Solopreneur Should Set Up. Not sure n8n is the right tool for you? Read our n8n vs Make vs Zapier comparison.