n8n Webhook Lead Qualification with OpenAI JSON Scoring

Turn every inbound lead into a scored, prioritized action—automatically

This n8n Webhook Lead Qualification with OpenAI JSON Scoring workflow receives new lead form submissions via a webhook, normalizes the contact data, and uses the OpenAI Responses API to return strict JSON scoring—including score, priority (HOT/WARM/COLD), status, summary, and a recommended next action.

What this workflow does

• Receives a POST request on a webhook endpoint with lead fields (name, contact details, service, and message).
• Normalizes and validates inputs by trimming text, lowercasing email, cleaning the phone number, and rejecting requests missing required data.
• Builds a JSON-only OpenAI request instructing the model to return strict JSON containing: score, priority, summary, and recommended action.
• Sends the lead to OpenAI, extracts the model’s JSON output, and merges results back into the lead record.
• Maps AI priority to workflow status (HOT/WARM/COLD into New - HOT, Follow-up, or Nurture).
• Responds to the webhook caller with a JSON payload containing the lead score, priority, status, summary, and recommended next step.

Use cases

• Qualify leads from a landing page form by email or phone and route them by priority.
• Convert “message + service interest” into an AI-generated summary and follow-up instruction.
• Give SaaS operators consistent lead triage using configurable OpenAI model instructions and scoring thresholds.

Technical details

• Nodes/steps used: code, webhook, sticky note, HTTP request, and respond to webhook.
• Integration: OpenAI via the OpenAI Responses API using an API key added as an HTTP Header Auth credential.
• Setup: deploy, copy the webhook URL, and configure your lead source to POST at least first_name, message, and either email or phone.
• Optionally adjust the OpenAI model name, prompt instructions, and scoring thresholds in the request-building step to match your business rules.