Auto-classify Gmail emails with AI and apply labels for inbox organization

Who is this for?

Professionals and individuals who receive high volumes of emails, those who want to automatically organize their Gmail inbox using AI classification.

What problem is this workflow solving?

Manual email sorting is time-consuming and inconsistent. This workflow automatically categorizes incoming emails into 8 predefined labels (To respond, FYI, Comment, Notification, Meeting update, Awaiting reply, Actioned, Marketing) to help maintain inbox zero and prioritize responses.

What this workflow does

• Monitors Gmail for new incoming emails
• Uses AI to analyze email content and classify into appropriate categories
• Automatically applies the corresponding Gmail label
• Runs on a schedule to process emails consistently

Setup

Prerequisites

• n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted)
• Gmail account with API access enabled
• Access to an LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, or similar)

Step-by-Step

1. Configure Gmail Credentials
2. Create Gmail Labels
3. Configure LLM Chain
4. Set Email Polling Schedule
5. Test the Workflow

Create Gmail Labels

Before running the workflow, create these 8 labels in your Gmail account:

1. To respond
2. FYI
3. Comment
4. Notification
5. Meeting update
6. Awaiting reply
7. Actioned
8. Marketing

How to customize this workflow to your needs

Modify Classification Categories

To change the email categories, update two places:

In the AI prompt (Basic LLM Chain node):

1. Your new category - Description of what emails fit here
2. Another category - Description
[... continue with your categories]

In Gmail labels: Create corresponding labels in your Gmail account with the exact same names and numbering.

Adjust Classification Rules

The AI prompt contains specific rules for each category. To modify:

• Edit the "Key classification rules" section in the LLM prompt
• Add examples of emails that should go into each category
• Specify edge cases and how they should be handled

Change Email Sources

Currently monitors all incoming emails. To filter specific emails:

In the Gmail Trigger node, add filters such as:

• from:[email protected]
• subject:contains-keyword
• -label:already-processed

You can also change this use Outlook

Modify Polling Frequency

• More frequent: Add multiple poll times (e.g., 9 AM, 12 PM, 6 PM)
• Less frequent: Change to once daily or weekly
• Real-time: Switch to webhook-based triggering (requires Gmail API setup)

I choose daily for cost.