Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets

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1. Workflow Overview

Quick Overview This workflow processes incoming chat messages, uses Google Sheets to deduplicate and track escalation status by session, and calls OpenAI to decide whether to answer or escalate to ...

Best for

Support Chatbot automation workflows
AI Chatbot automation workflows
advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.manualtrigger, n8n-nodes-base.set, n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets, n8n-nodes-base.if, n8n-nodes-base.noop, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenai

Source and attribution

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

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title: Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets
Workflow name: Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets

Quick Overview

This workflow processes incoming chat messages, uses Google Sheets to deduplicate and track escalation status by session, and calls OpenAI to decide whether to answer or escalate to a human, muting the bot during active handoffs and re-enabling it after a timeout.

How it works

Runs manually (replace with your chat webhook in production) and maps the incoming message fields like sessionId, messageId, channel, and userMessage.
Checks a Google Sheets “processed_messages” sheet to detect whether the messageId was already handled and stops if it is a duplicate.
Logs the messageId to Google Sheets for idempotency and looks up the session’s escalation status in an “escalations” sheet.
If the escalation status is PENDING and the configured timeout has not expired, the workflow stays silent so a human can continue the conversation.
Otherwise, it sends the user message to an OpenAI-powered agent to either generate a normal reply or return the signal ESCALATE_TO_HUMAN.
If escalation is needed, it upserts a PENDING escalation record in Google Sheets, sets a holding message for the user, and prepares a notification payload for a human agent.
If escalation is not needed, it outputs the AI’s response for you to send back via your messaging provider.

Setup

Add an OpenAI API credential and select the chat model in the OpenAI Chat Model node.
Add a Google Sheets OAuth credential and create a spreadsheet with two sheets named “processed_messages” (messageId, processedAt) and “escalations” (sessionId, userMessage, channel, status, escalatedAt, resolvedAt).
Update the Google Sheets document URL/ID and sheet references to point to your spreadsheet.
Replace the manual trigger and sample input mapping with your real inbound webhook payload (for example from Evolution API, Twilio, or WhatsApp Cloud).
Replace the “Notify Human” placeholder with a real notification action (for example Slack or email) and connect the normal and escalation responses to your messaging provider to reply to the user.
Adjust the workflow config values (escalationTimeoutMinutes and holdingMessage) to match your handoff process.

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 - When clicking ‘Execute workflow’

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

Block 2 - Set — Input Mapping

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 3 - Sticky Note

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

Block 4 - Sheets — Lookup Processed Message

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

Block 5 - If — Already Processed?

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

Block 6 - NoOp — Duplicate Ignored

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

Block 7 - Set — Normalize Lookup Result

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 8 - Sheets — Lookup Escalation Status

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

Block 9 - Set — Normalize Escalation Status

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 10 - If — Is Bot Muted?

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

Block 11 - NoOp — Human is Handling

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

Block 12 - Set — Workflow Config

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 13 - Sticky Note1

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

Block 14 - Sticky Note2

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

Block 15 - AI Agent

Type / Role: @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent - agent
Config choices: Version 3.1

Block 16 - OpenAI Chat Model

Type / Role: @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi - lmChatOpenAi
Config choices: Version 1.3

Block 17 - Sticky Note3

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

Block 18 - Simple Memory

Type / Role: @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.memoryBufferWindow - memoryBufferWindow
Config choices: Version 1.3

Block 19 - Set — Extract AI Response

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 20 - If — Needs Escalation?

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

Block 21 - Set — Normal Response

Type / Role: n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices: Version 3.4

Block 22 - Sticky Note4

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

Block 23 - Sheets — Upsert Escalation

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

Block 24 - Sticky Note5

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

Showing the first 24 of 29 workflow blocks. Download the JSON for the full node graph.

3. Summary Table

Workflow	Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets
Complexity	advanced
Nodes	29
Categories	Support Chatbot, AI Chatbot
Author	Luis R.
Published	12 Jun 2026

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

1. Download the workflow JSON

Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/16315/16315.json as the source template for this automation.
2. Import the template into n8n

Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.
3. Configure credentials and variables

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

Download workflow JSON Original n8n.io source Support Chatbot workflows AI Chatbot workflows

Frequently asked questions

What does Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets do?

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 Support Chatbot, AI Chatbot use case.

Luis R.

3 workflows

Nodes

n8n-nodes-base.manualtrigger n8n-nodes-base.set n8n-nodes-base.stickynote n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets n8n-nodes-base.if n8n-nodes-base.noop @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenai

Complexity

advanced

Published 12 Jun 2026

Likes 0

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Install path: /data/workflows/16315/16315.json

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Route chatbot requests to humans with OpenAI and Google Sheets

Workflow preview

1. Workflow Overview

Best for

Tools used

Source and attribution

1.1 Workflow description

Quick Overview

How it works

Setup

1.2 Logical Blocks

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - When clicking ‘Execute workflow’

Block 2 - Set — Input Mapping

Block 3 - Sticky Note

Block 4 - Sheets — Lookup Processed Message

Block 5 - If — Already Processed?

Block 6 - NoOp — Duplicate Ignored

Block 7 - Set — Normalize Lookup Result

Block 8 - Sheets — Lookup Escalation Status

Block 9 - Set — Normalize Escalation Status

Block 10 - If — Is Bot Muted?

Block 11 - NoOp — Human is Handling

Block 12 - Set — Workflow Config

Block 13 - Sticky Note1

Block 14 - Sticky Note2

Block 15 - AI Agent

Block 16 - OpenAI Chat Model

Block 17 - Sticky Note3

Block 18 - Simple Memory

Block 19 - Set — Extract AI Response

Block 20 - If — Needs Escalation?

Block 21 - Set — Normal Response

Block 22 - Sticky Note4

Block 23 - Sheets — Upsert Escalation

Block 24 - Sticky Note5

3. Summary Table

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

1. Download the workflow JSON

2. Import the template into n8n

3. Configure credentials and variables

4. Test with sample data

5. Activate and monitor

5. General Notes & Resources

Frequently asked questions