AI Email Autoresponder for Gmail: Summarize & Approve Replies

Turn Gmail inbox replies into AI-assisted, human-approved responses—automatically.

This n8n automation workflow listens for new emails in Gmail, summarizes each message with AI, drafts a concise reply, and requires approval before sending. It’s designed to reduce response time while keeping humans in control of what gets sent.

What this workflow does

• Receives incoming emails via an IMAP trigger using an Email Trigger (IMAP) node configured for your inbox.
• Summarizes the email content with AI by converting HTML to plain text (via a Markdown node when needed) and then running an Email Summarization Chain to generate a concise summary.
• Generates a professional draft response using a Write email node that follows predefined templates/guidelines—keeping replies short (under 100 words) and formatted correctly in HTML.
• Routes drafts to Gmail for double-approval using a Gmail node configured with double-approval settings.
• Sends only approved replies back to the original sender with a Send Email node; if not approved, the workflow loops back for further edits or manual intervention.

Use cases

• SaaS support teams who want faster first responses while ensuring accurate, approved wording.
• Sales inbox management—summarize inbound messages, draft responses, and get human sign-off before outreach replies.
• Customer success follow-ups where consistency and review are required for every response.
• Automation engineers validating an AI-in-the-loop email approval workflow inside n8n.

Technical details (n8n nodes & integrations)

• Email Trigger (IMAP) for receiving new Gmail inbox emails
• Markdown to process HTML into plain text when needed
• Email Summarization Chain to produce AI summaries
• Write email to generate HTML-formatted replies (kept under 100 words)
• Gmail node with double-approval before sending
• Send Email to deliver approved messages to the original sender
• Additional workflow logic nodes such as if, set, and a sticky note for guidance