Build Your Own AI Assistant: Automate Emails, Dashboards, and Voice Alerts in Minutes
Section 1: Automate Email Replies Like a Pro
✉️ Why Automate Email Replies?
Email is still the backbone of professional communication, but manually replying to repetitive messages can drain your time and energy. Whether you’re handling customer inquiries, internal requests, or student questions, automating your email replies can save hours each week — and ensure consistent, timely responses.
With tools like n8n, ChatGPT, and Google Sheets, you can build a smart email assistant that reads incoming messages, understands the context, and replies with personalized, AI-generated content — all without writing a single line of code.
🛠️ Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1: Set Up the Email Trigger
Use n8n’s IMAP Email Trigger or Gmail Node to monitor your inbox. You can filter by:
- Subject line (e.g., contains “quotation” or “leave request”)
- Sender domain (e.g., only reply to @company.com)
- Time received (e.g., only during office hours)
This node acts as the starting point of your workflow.
Step 2: Analyze the Email Content
Use an AI Agent Node (e.g., ChatGPT or Gemini) to interpret the email body. You can set a system prompt like:
“You are a polite and helpful assistant. Read the email below and generate a professional reply.”
This allows the AI to understand the tone and context before crafting a response.
Step 3: Apply Conditional Logic
Use an IF Node to determine whether the email requires a reply. For example:
- If the email is a thank-you note, no reply needed.
- If the email contains a question, proceed to reply.
You can also route different types of emails to different AI prompts or templates.
Step 4: Send the Reply
Use the SMTP Node or Gmail Send Node to send the AI-generated reply. You can customize:
- Sender name and signature
- Attachments (e.g., brochures, PDFs)
- CC or BCC recipients
Make sure to include a fallback message in case the AI fails to generate a response.
Step 5: Log the Interaction
Use the Google Sheets Node to record:
- Sender email
- Subject line
- Timestamp
- AI-generated reply
This helps you track interactions and improve your prompts over time.
Section 2: Turn Data into Dashboards Automatically
📊 Why Automate Chart Generation?
Data is only as powerful as your ability to understand it. But manually creating charts every day or week? That’s a productivity killer. Whether you’re tracking sales, student performance, or social media engagement, automating your data visualization process can save time and deliver insights faster.
With tools like n8n, Google Sheets, and QuickChart, you can build a workflow that pulls data from your sources, formats it, and generates beautiful charts — all without writing code.
🛠️ Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1: Connect to Your Data Source
Start by pulling in your data. n8n supports:
- Google Sheets: Use the Google Sheets node to fetch rows from a spreadsheet.
- APIs: Use HTTP Request nodes to pull data from platforms like Shopee, Lazada, or your internal CRM.
- CSV Uploads: Use a webhook or form to upload CSV files.
You can schedule this step to run daily, weekly, or on-demand.
Step 2: Clean and Format the Data
Use a Function Node or AI Agent to:
- Remove empty rows or columns
- Convert text to numbers or dates
- Aggregate data (e.g., total sales per day)
This ensures your chart is accurate and easy to read.
Step 3: Generate the Chart
Use the QuickChart API to create charts like:
- Line charts (e.g., daily revenue)
- Bar charts (e.g., top 5 products)
- Pie charts (e.g., sales by category)
You can pass the cleaned data into a JSON chart config and get back a chart image URL.
Example config:
{
"type": "bar",
"data": {
"labels": ["Mon", "Tue", "Wed"],
"datasets": [{
"label": "Sales",
"data": [120, 150, 180]
}]
}
}
Step 4: Share the Chart
Once the chart is generated, you can:
- Send it via Email using the SMTP or Gmail node
- Post to Slack or Telegram
- Embed it in a dashboard or report
You can even automate a full PDF report with multiple charts and send it to your team every Monday morning.
💡 Pro Tips
- Use AI to Summarize: Add an AI Agent node to generate a short summary of the chart insights.
- Dynamic Chart Titles: Include the date or metric in the chart title for clarity.
- Multi-Chart Reports: Use looping nodes to generate multiple charts from different datasets.
✅ Use Case Examples
| Use Case | Chart Type | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales Report | Line Chart | Every morning |
| Student Grades | Bar Chart | End of semester |
| Website Traffic | Area Chart | Weekly |
Section 3: Let Your Assistant Speak — Voice Broadcasting with AI
🔊 Why Automate Voice Alerts?
Imagine getting a spoken summary of your daily sales, a voice reminder for meetings, or even a chatbot that talks to your customers — all generated automatically. Voice broadcasting adds a human touch to automation, making your AI assistant more interactive and accessible, especially for users who prefer audio over text.
With tools like n8n, ChatGPT, and Text-to-Speech APIs (like Google Cloud TTS or Amazon Polly), you can turn any text into natural-sounding speech and deliver it via email, messaging apps, or embedded players.
🛠️ Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1: Generate the Text
Use an AI Agent Node to create the message you want to broadcast. Examples:
- “Good morning! Your total revenue yesterday was RM 12,450.”
- “Reminder: Your next appointment is at 3:00 PM with Dr. Lee.”
You can customize the tone, language, and length using prompt engineering.
Step 2: Convert Text to Speech
Use a Text-to-Speech API such as:
- Google Cloud TTS
- Amazon Polly
- Microsoft Azure TTS
Configure:
- Language (e.g., English, Mandarin, Malay)
- Voice type (e.g., male/female, formal/friendly)
- Audio format (MP3, WAV)
The API returns a downloadable audio file.
Step 3: Deliver the Voice Message
You can send or embed the audio file using:
- Email: Attach the MP3 file or link
- WhatsApp/Telegram: Send as a voice message
- Web Dashboard: Embed with an HTML audio player
- IoT Devices: Broadcast via smart speakers or mobile apps
You can also schedule voice alerts to run at specific times (e.g., daily briefings at 8 AM).
💡 Pro Tips
- Multi-language Support: Use different voices for different regions or user groups.
- Personalization: Include user names, dates, or metrics in the message.
- Fallbacks: If TTS fails, send a text version instead.
✅ Use Case Examples
| Use Case | Voice Message | Delivery Method |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales Briefing | “Yesterday’s sales hit RM 15,000.” | Email + WhatsApp |
| Elder Care Reminder | “Time to take your medication.” | Smart speaker |
| Student Alert | “Your class starts in 10 minutes.” | Telegram |
🎯 Bonus: Combine with Other Workflows
You can chain this with your email and chart workflows:
- AI generates a report → Chart created → Summary spoken → All sent in one package.
This turns your AI assistant into a full-fledged productivity partner.
@lerlerchan by LerLer Chan
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