n8n Webhook: Generate Research PDF with OpenAI GPT-4.1 & Gmail

Turn any research topic into a polished PDF—automatically—then email it via Gmail

This n8n Webhook workflow generates research reports end-to-end: it accepts a topic through a POST request, uses OpenAI (GPT-4.1) to generate search queries and summarize articles, compiles the findings into an HTML report, converts it to a PDF, and emails the PDF attachment using Gmail.

What this workflow does

• Receives a webhook request and expects a topic field; if topic is missing, it returns an error response.
• Generates search queries with OpenAI: creates five detailed Google search queries for the given topic and parses them into individual query items.
• Searches the web using the Serper Google Search API, extracts top organic results, and processes up to 10 articles per workflow run.
• Reads full article content via Jina Reader, cleans and truncates the text, then sends it to OpenAI for a structured JSON summary (key insights, tools, trends, and a conclusion).
• Performs cross-article analysis with OpenAI to identify common trends, compared findings, repeated insights, key tools/platforms, and an overall research conclusion.
• Builds the report and delivers it: formats the analysis into a Markdown-style report, converts it to HTML, sends it to a PDF-generation HTTP API, downloads the PDF, and emails it as an attachment via Gmail.

Use cases

• Quickly generate a “research brief” PDF for SaaS decisions or product discovery.
• Create repeatable market or competitor research packets on demand through an API call.
• Automate internal summaries for analysts and ops teams—delivered directly to email.

Technical details

• Webhook input validation: webhook, if, set
• Control flow and iteration: code, limit
• Email delivery: gmail (PDF attachment)
• AI-driven research: OpenAI GPT-4.1 for query generation, article summaries, and cross-article synthesis
• Web research sources: Serper (Google Search) and Jina Reader