AI chat with any data source (using the n8n workflow tool)
Engage in dynamic AI-powered conversations that leverage information from any data source you connect, all within n8n. This workflow empowers you to chat with an AI agent, providing it with real-time context from external platforms. It starts with a manual chat message trigger, feeding your input directly to an AI Agent node. This agent can then query various data sources, exemplified here by fetching articles from Hacker News through the Hacker News node. The AI Agent intelligently processes this external data, using an OpenAI Chat Model to generate informed and relevant responses. A custom tool node allows for further workflow calls, expanding the AI's capabilities to interact with even more systems. This setup is ideal for researchers, content creators, or business analysts who need to quickly synthesize information from diverse sources and get AI-driven insights without manual data extraction. It significantly reduces the time spent on data retrieval and analysis, allowing for quicker decision-making and more efficient information processing by bringing AI directly to your data.
Workflow JSON
{"meta": {"instanceId": "cb484ba7b742928a2048bf8829668bed5b5ad9787579adea888f05980292a4a7"}, "nodes": [{"id": "4c52efcf-039b-4550-8a63-3d3d4dde488b", "name": "On new manual Chat Message", "type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.manualChatTrigger", "position": [740, 300], "parameters": {}, "typeVersion": 1.1}, {"id": "adb528f1-b87b-4bb2-99e1-776fd839522e", "name": "Execute Workflow Trigger", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger", "position": [680, 940], "parameters": {}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "092cf737-5b53-4fc8-82f5-c775b77ea0bd", "name": "Hacker News", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.hackerNews", "position": [900, 940], "parameters": {"limit": 50, "resource": "all", "additionalFields": {}}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "a0805137-630c-4065-826e-88afa000660f", "name": "Clean up data", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set", "position": [1120, 940], "parameters": {"fields": {"values": [{"name": "title", "stringValue": "={{ $json._highlightResult.title.value }}"}, {"name": "points", "type": "numberValue", "numberValue": "={{ $json.points }}"}, {"name": "url", "stringValue": "={{ $json.url }}"}, {"name": "created_at", "stringValue": "={{ $json.created_at }}"}, {"name": "author", "stringValue": "={{ $json.author }}"}]}, "include": "none", "options": {}}, "typeVersion": 3.2}, {"id": "e1b255f4-e970-42d6-9870-4e302bf2da83", "name": "AI Agent", "type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent", "position": [960, 300], "parameters": {"options": {"maxIterations": 10}}, "typeVersion": 1.1}, {"id": "91e3391e-909e-4d63-9649-ff62781dbba9", "name": "OpenAI Chat Model", "type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi", "position": [960, 520], "parameters": {"options": {}}, "credentials": {"openAiApi": {"id": "", "name": "[Your openAiApi]"}}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "cd1f0028-635e-48eb-ac38-4c6fb25ed63e", "name": "Stringify", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code", "position": [1340, 940], "parameters": {"jsCode": "return {\n 'response': JSON.stringify($input.all().map(x => x.json))\n}"}, "typeVersion": 2}, {"id": "7df241eb-67d3-4724-8b32-4b53561ed55f", "name": "Sticky Note", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote", "position": [880, 820], "parameters": {"color": 7, "width": 150, "height": 293, "content": "### Replace me\nwith any other service, e.g. fetching your own data"}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "270845df-7c2d-4035-9ac0-e41d418b3026", "name": "Sticky Note1", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote", "position": [600, 738.125], "parameters": {"color": 7, "width": 927.5, "height": 406.875, "content": "### Sub-workflow: Custom tool\nThis can be called by the agent above. This example fetches the top 50 posts ever on Hacker News"}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "1d796a86-45d1-4fc4-8245-893525505d1f", "name": "Sticky Note2", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote", "position": [600, 200], "parameters": {"color": 7, "width": 927.5, "height": 486.5625, "content": "### Main workflow: AI agent using custom tool\nTry it out by clicking 'Chat' and entering 'What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?'"}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "38ff64b5-6f47-4d2d-9051-caab418bb0e8", "name": "Sticky Note3", "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote", "position": [440, 300], "parameters": {"width": 185.9375, "height": 218, "content": "## Try me out\n\nClick the 'Chat' button and enter:\n\n_What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?_"}, "typeVersion": 1}, {"id": "3532e461-bd74-48f7-93e1-96d608c88688", "name": "Custom tool to call the wf below", "type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolWorkflow", "position": [1120, 520], "parameters": {"name": "hn_tool", "workflowId": "={{ $workflow.id }}", "description": "Returns a list of the most popular posts ever on Hacker News, in json format"}, "typeVersion": 1}], "pinData": {}, "connections": {"Hacker News": {"main": [[{"node": "Clean up data", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]}, "Clean up data": {"main": [[{"node": "Stringify", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]}, "OpenAI Chat Model": {"ai_languageModel": [[{"node": "AI Agent", "type": "ai_languageModel", "index": 0}]]}, "Execute Workflow Trigger": {"main": [[{"node": "Hacker News", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]}, "On new manual Chat Message": {"main": [[{"node": "AI Agent", "type": "main", "index": 0}]]}, "Custom tool to call the wf below": {"ai_tool": [[{"node": "AI Agent", "type": "ai_tool", "index": 0}]]}}}How to Import This Workflow
- 1Copy the workflow JSON above using the Copy Workflow JSON button.
- 2Open your n8n instance and go to Workflows.
- 3Click Import from JSON and paste the copied workflow.
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