Automate Sponsored Deal Emails with n8n + AI 🚀

Managing inbound emails can be exhausting — especially when your inbox is flooded with sponsored deal requests that don’t always fit your brand. Manually reading, filtering, and politely declining each one eats up valuable time.

That’s why I built a smart n8n workflow that automatically:

• Detects sponsored deal inquiries,
• Decides if they match my criteria,
• Drafts a professional, courteous reply,
• Or simply ignores irrelevant messages.

The best part? It runs on autopilot. Let’s break down every single node in this workflow.

🔔 1. Gmail Trigger – “Your Inbox Watchdog”

• Polls your Gmail inbox every minute.
• Detects new emails instantly.
• Hands over each email to the next step for analysis.

✂️ 2. Edit Fields (Set Node) – “Extract the Essentials”

• Pulls out the most important parts of the email:
  • From → Sender’s email address
  • Subject → The email subject line
  • Email Body → The main text content
• Keeps data structured and ready for AI to process.

🧠 3. AI Agent – “The Smart Classifier”

• Powered by LangChain + OpenAI.

• Reads the email content carefully.

• Outputs two things:

  • isSponsoredEmail → true/false
  • reason → why it decided that way

• Example:

  {
    "isSponsoredEmail": true,
    "reason": "The email mentions a paid collaboration opportunity."
  }
  
  

• Structured Output Parser – “Keep It Clean”

  Ensures the AI response is always structured properly.

  • Forces the output into this format:

    {
  	"isSponsoredEmail": true/false,
  	"reason": "string"
    } 
  
  

• Prevents messy AI replies from breaking the workflow.

🔀 5. Node – “Decision Maker”

Branches logic into two paths:

• If sponsored → moves on to draft a polite response.
• If not sponsored → sends it to “No Operation” (do nothing).

✍️ 6. AI Agent (Reply Writer) – “Crafts the Perfect Response”

If it’s a sponsored email, this node drafts a professional reply.

Reply includes:

• Thanking the sender for reaching out.
• Explaining sponsorship criteria:
  • Alignment with brand values
  • Relevance for your audience
  • Fit with internal planning cycles
• Politely declining if the timing isn’t right.
• Leaving the door open for future opportunities.

Tone: professional, warm, and courteous.

📤 7. Gmail Node – “Hit Send!”

• Takes the AI-generated reply.
• Sends it directly back to the original sender.
• No manual typing, no waiting — just instant professionalism.

🚫 8. No Operation – “Do Nothing, Gracefully”

• If the email isn’t a sponsored deal, the workflow stops here.
• No unnecessary actions are taken.
• Keeps your system clean and efficient.

📝 Sticky Notes (Workflow Documentation)

To make the workflow easier to understand inside n8n, sticky notes were added:

• Email Trigger → Explains inbox polling.
• Extract → Notes what fields are being pulled.
• Process and Validate → Describes how AI decides sponsorship.
• Prepare Email Body → Documents reply drafting process.
• Reply → Clarifies auto-reply step.
• Do Nothing → Notes what happens if it’s not sponsored.

🌟 Why This Workflow Rocks

• Saves Hours: No more manual email filtering.
• Consistent Replies: Always professional and brand-friendly.
• Scalable: Works for 5 or 500 inbound emails.
• Customizable: Easily adapt prompts and conditions to fit your brand.

⚡ Try It Yourself

This workflow is built in n8n, an open-source automation tool.
You can import the JSON file into your own n8n instance and customize:

• Your Gmail credentials
• Your company’s sponsorship guidelines
• The tone of the AI-generated replies

👉 With just a few tweaks, you’ll have a smart email assistant running on autopilot!

💡 Pro Tip

Even if you don’t deal with sponsored deals, you can repurpose this workflow for:

• Job applications
• Customer support inquiries
• Lead qualification

The same logic applies — just adjust the AI prompts and reply template.