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Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail

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Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail preview
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1. Workflow Overview

Who It's For Sales teams, agencies, and service businesses that follow up with inbound leads via email and want to automate the entire sequence without losing the personal touch. How It Works 1. We...

Best for

  • Lead Nurturing automation workflows
  • Multimodal AI automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.webhook, n8n-nodes-base.set, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenai, n8n-nodes-base.gmail, n8n-nodes-base.wait, n8n-nodes-base.slack, n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets

Source and attribution

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

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail
Workflow name
Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail

Who It's For

Sales teams, agencies, and service businesses that follow up with inbound leads via email and want to automate the entire sequence without losing the personal touch.

How It Works

  1. Webhook receives the new lead form submission
  2. Configure Variables node sets your sender name, email, company name, reply detection email, and wait time in one place
  3. OpenAI writes a personalized first follow-up email based on the lead's inquiry details
  4. Gmail sends the first email
  5. Wait node holds the workflow for 48 hours
  6. Gmail searches the inbox for any reply from the lead
  7. If the lead replied: Slack notifies your team and Google Sheets logs the reply status, name, email, and timestamp
  8. If no reply: OpenAI writes a second follow-up from a different angle and Gmail sends it

Set Up Steps

  1. Update the Configure Variables node with your sender name, email, company name, and reply detection email
  2. Connect your Gmail, OpenAI, Slack, and Google Sheets credentials to each node
  3. Create a Google Sheet with columns: Lead Name, Email, Reply Status, Date
  4. Activate the workflow and test with a webhook POST request

Requirements

  • Gmail account with OAuth credential
  • OpenAI API key
  • Slack workspace with a notifications channel
  • Google Sheet set up for reply logging

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 - New Lead Form Submission

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.webhook - webhook
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 2 - Configure Variables

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

Block 3 - Generate First Follow-Up Email

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

Block 4 - OpenAI Model

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

Block 5 - Send First Follow-Up Email

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 6 - Wait 48 Hours

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.wait - wait
Config choices
Version 1.1

Block 7 - Notify Team of Reply

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.slack - slack
Config choices
Version 2.4

Block 8 - Log Reply Status to Sheet

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

Block 9 - Sticky Note

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

Block 10 - Sticky Note1

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

Block 11 - Sticky Note2

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

Block 12 - Sticky Note3

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

Block 13 - Send Second Follow-Up Email

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 14 - Generate Second Follow-Up Email

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

Block 15 - Did Lead Reply?

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

Block 16 - Sticky Note4

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

Block 17 - Sticky Note5

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

Block 18 - Sticky Note6

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

Block 19 - Check for Lead Reply

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.2

3. Summary Table

Workflow Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail
Complexity advanced
Nodes 19
Categories Lead Nurturing, Multimodal AI
Author Andrew
Published 14 May 2026

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/15725/15725.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 Send GPT-4o follow-up emails to leads and detect replies with Gmail do?

Who It's For Sales teams, agencies, and service businesses that follow up with inbound leads via email and want to automate the entire sequence without losing the personal touch. How It Works 1. We...

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 Lead Nurturing, Multimodal AI use case.