Skip to main content

Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack

Workflow preview

Workflow preview
100%
Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack preview
Open on n8n.io

Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

Automate News Discovery & Publishing with GPT 4, Google Search API & Slack Overview Automated content publishing system that discovers industry news, transforms it into original articles usin...

Best for

  • Content Creation automation workflows
  • Multimodal AI automation workflows
  • intermediate n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.code, n8n-nodes-base.httprequest, n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.openai, n8n-nodes-base.slack, n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Kalyxi Ai.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack
Workflow name
Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack

πŸš€ Automate News Discovery & Publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack

🎯 Overview

Automated content publishing system that discovers industry news, transforms it into original articles using GPT-4, and publishes across multiple channels with SEO optimization and intelligent duplicate prevention.

✨ Key Features

  • πŸ€– Smart Query Generation - AI agent generates unique search queries while checking Google Sheets to avoid duplicates
  • πŸ” News Discovery - Uses Google Custom Search API to find recent articles (last 7 days)
  • 🧠 Content Intelligence - Processes search results and skips anti-bot protected sites automatically
  • πŸ“ GPT-4 Article Generation - Creates professional, SEO-optimized news articles in Reuters/Bloomberg style
  • πŸ“’ Multi-Channel Publishing - Publishes to CMS with automatic Slack notifications
  • πŸ“Š Comprehensive Tracking - Logs all activity to Google Sheets for analytics and duplicate prevention

πŸ”„ How It Works

  1. ⏰ Scheduled Trigger runs every 8 hours to maintain consistent content flow
  2. πŸ€– AI Agent generates targeted search queries for your niche while checking historical data
  3. πŸ” Google Search finds recent articles and extracts metadata (title, snippet, source)
  4. πŸ›‘οΈ Smart Content Handler bypasses sites with anti-bot protection, using search snippets instead
  5. ⚑ GPT-4 Processing transforms snippets into comprehensive 2000+ word articles with proper formatting
  6. πŸš€ Publishing Pipeline formats content for CMS with SEO metadata and publishes automatically
  7. πŸ“± Notification System sends detailed Slack updates with article metrics
  8. πŸ“ˆ Activity Logging tracks all published content to prevent future duplicates

πŸ”§ Setup Requirements

πŸ“‹ Prerequisites

  • Google Custom Search API key and Search Engine ID
  • OpenAI GPT-4 API access
  • Google account for tracking spreadsheet
  • Slack workspace for notifications
  • CMS or website with API endpoint for publishing

πŸ› οΈ Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: πŸ”Ž Google Custom Search Configuration
  1. Go to Google Custom Search Engine
  2. Create a new search engine
  3. Configure to search the entire web
  4. Copy your Search Engine ID (cx parameter)
  5. Get your API key from Google Cloud Console
Step 2: πŸ“Š Google Sheets Template Setup

Create a Google Sheet with these required columns:

  • Column A: timestamp - ISO date format (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS)
  • Column B: query - The search query used
  • Column C: title - Published article title
  • Column D: url - Published article URL
  • Column E: status - Publication status (success/failed)
  • Column F: word_count - Final article word count

Template URL: Copy this Google Sheets template

Step 3: πŸ”‘ Credential Configuration

Set up the following credentials in n8n:

  1. πŸ“Š Google Sheets API - OAuth2 connection to your Google account
  2. πŸ€– OpenAI API - Your GPT-4 API key
  3. πŸ“± Slack Webhook - Webhook URL for your notification channel
  4. πŸ” Custom Search API - Your Google Custom Search API key
Step 4: βš™οΈ Workflow Customization

Modify these key parameters to fit your needs:

  • 🎯 Search Topic: Edit the AI agent prompt to focus on your industry
  • ⏰ Publishing Schedule: Adjust the cron trigger (default: every 8 hours)
  • πŸ“ Article Length: Modify GPT-4 prompt for different word counts
  • 🌐 CMS Endpoint: Update the publishing node with your website's API

🎨 Customization Options

🎯 Content Targeting

  • Modify the AI agent's search query generation to focus on specific industries
  • Adjust date restrictions (currently set to last 7 days)
  • Change the number of search results processed per run

✍️ Article Style

  • Customize GPT-4 prompts for different writing styles (formal, casual, technical)
  • Adjust article length requirements
  • Modify SEO optimization parameters

πŸ“‘ Publishing Channels

  • Add additional CMS endpoints for multi-site publishing
  • Configure different notification channels (Discord, Teams, etc.)
  • Set up social media auto-posting integration

πŸ’‘ Use Cases

  • πŸ“° Automated news websites
  • πŸ“ Industry blog content generation
  • πŸ” SEO content pipeline automation
  • πŸ“Š News aggregation and republishing
  • πŸ“ˆ Content marketing automation

πŸ› οΈ Technical Notes

  • Workflow includes error handling for anti-bot protection
  • Duplicate prevention through Google Sheets tracking
  • Rate limiting considerations for API usage
  • Automatic retry logic for failed requests

πŸ†˜ Support

For setup assistance or customization help, refer to the workflow's internal documentation nodes or contact the template creator.

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - πŸ“‹ Setup Instructions

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 2 - Prepare Publishing Data1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 3 - Publish to CMS1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 4.1

Block 4 - Daily Schedule Trigger

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger - scheduleTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 5 - Search Recent Articles

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 4.2

Block 6 - Extract Best Article

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 7 - Generate Original Article

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.openAi - openAi
Config choices
Version 1.8

Block 8 - Send Slack Notification

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.slack - slack
Config choices
Version 2.3

Block 9 - Log to Google Sheets2

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 10 - AI Agent

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent - agent
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 11 - Get row(s) in sheet in Google Sheets

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool - googleSheetsTool
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 12 - OpenAI Chat Model

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi - lmChatOpenAi
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 13 - πŸš€ Setup Instructions

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 14 - Skip problems

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

3. Summary Table

Workflow Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack
Complexity intermediate
Nodes 14
Categories Content Creation, Multimodal AI
Author Kalyxi Ai
Published 07 Sept 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/8360/8360.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does Automate news discovery & publishing with GPT-4, Google Search API & Slack do?

Automate News Discovery & Publishing with GPT 4, Google Search API & Slack Overview Automated content publishing system that discovers industry news, transforms it into original articles usin...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your Content Creation, Multimodal AI use case.