AI Conversational Assistant with Custom n8n Tools & OpenAI

Unlock Enhanced Conversational AI with this AI Agent

This AI Agent template empowers you to build sophisticated conversational experiences by connecting an OpenAI Assistant to custom n8n tools. It's not just a chatbot; it's an intelligent agent capable of performing actions and retrieving specific information on your behalf.

This workflow demonstrates how to equip your OpenAI Assistant with two types of custom abilities:

1. Real-time Data Access: A tool that fetches the current date and time directly within the conversation.
2. Custom Information Retrieval: A more complex tool that calls a sub-workflow. This sub-workflow can list fictional countries or provide the capital of a specific fictional country, showcasing how your Assistant can tap into bespoke knowledge or trigger other automated processes.

By defining tools within n8n, you grant your AI Assistant new skills, allowing it to interact with your data, APIs, and other workflows in a dynamic way. This opens up a world of possibilities for automating complex tasks and providing rich, context-aware responses to users.

Key Features & Benefits

• OpenAI Assistant Integration: Leverages OpenAI's powerful Assistant API for natural and intelligent conversations.
• Custom Tool Creation: Easily extend your AI Assistant's capabilities by defining n8n workflows or simple code snippets as tools.
• Action-Oriented AI: Moves beyond simple Q&A to an AI that can perform tasks, query databases, or trigger other automations based on conversational context.
• Demonstrates Two Tool Types: Includes a simple code-based tool (current time) and a workflow-based tool (fictional capitals lookup) for comprehensive learning.
• Modular Design: The sub-workflow for data lookup is self-contained, making it easy to adapt or replace with your own data sources or actions.
• Interactive Chat Trigger: Test and interact with your AI Agent directly from the n8n interface to see its abilities in action.

• An n8n instance (Cloud or self-hosted).
• OpenAI API Key with access to the Assistant API and a suitable model (e.g., gpt-4, gpt-3.5-turbo).
• An existing OpenAI Assistant ID. If you don't have one, you'll need to create it on the OpenAI platform.

1. Download the n8n workflow JSON file.
2. Import the workflow into your n8n instance.
3. Configure the 'OpenAI Assistant' node:
   • Set up your OpenAI credentials by creating a new credential or selecting an existing one.
   • Enter your OpenAI Assistant ID in the Assistant ID parameter. You can find or create this in your OpenAI dashboard under 'Assistants'.
4. Review the 'Tool to call the workflow below' node (named country_capitals_tool). Note its Name and Description fields. This tool is configured to call the sub-workflow included in this template.
5. Review the 'Tool: Get current date and time' node (named date_tool). Note its Name and Description fields.
6. Crucially, ensure your OpenAI Assistant (configured on the OpenAI platform using the Assistant ID you provided) is aware of the tools defined in n8n. You'll need to define these as 'Function' tools in your Assistant's settings on the OpenAI dashboard. The names and descriptions must precisely match those in the n8n 'Tool' nodes (e.g., country_capitals_tool and its description, date_tool and its description). The Assistant uses these definitions to decide when to call your n8n tools.
7. The sub-workflow (starting with 'Execute Workflow Trigger' and marked by a sticky note) demonstrates how a tool can process input and provide structured data back to the Assistant. You can adapt this to your own needs.
8. Activate the workflow using the toggle switch at the top right of the n8n canvas.
9. To test, open the 'On new manual Chat Message' node and click the 'Chat' button that appears at the bottom of the screen. Try asking questions like:
   • "What is the capital of Wakanda?"
   • "List the countries you know capitals for."
   • "What is the current date and time?"